Introduction to The Nostalgic Future

excerpt from The Nostalgic Future ©2026 www.hiddenhouse.world

Isn’t it just like me to start my book at the end? In the future? This is my story. You may not believe me, but every single word is the Truth, which is actually harder to believe than fiction because it’s stranger and frankly, just more creative.  

This is the story of not just my journey, but our journey, the journey to the Nostalgic Future. It’s going to happen; it already is happening. It’s inevitable. Everything is rising to its highest conclusion, I was told by a mysterious Voice.   

But I have to say the words. I have to tell you. I’m afraid, though, because I don’t want my version of it to influence yours. You have to make your own. Anybody can do it, though not everyone will want to.    

To me, the Nostalgic Future might feel like I’m walking onto the set of a 1940’s movie.  I’ll walk down the wide, treelined streets of a historic neighborhood, just like the one I live in now. Every old house will be swathed in a rosy glow, the amber of a perpetual sunset. Actually, come to think of it, it’s a lot like where I’m sitting. I’m in my office today, looking out over the maple tree and the jacaranda on my front lawn. It’s winter now and the leaves are almost gone from the maple; it’s getting colder. I can smell the rain coming, but not yet. This is a good season to make the future. I go within, I get off the internet, I ignore the world, and make things that make me happy: a warm stew, a painting, a crafty thing…even a book. By lifting my own consciousness, I change the Whole.  

The most telling thing about the Nostalgic Future is that it will feel familiar. Like an “of course” moment, a deep recovered memory, or a reunion Home. Like a fairytale, this is a golden kind of “memory” of a point on a future timeline. It is Destiny and “it is written,” so there’s no need for concern, as it’s definitely coming. But it also requires our full intentionality in all we do, each moment, so we’d better get to work immediately (but no pressure). I can only imagine how we will feel when we see it coming towards us, like seeing harbor lights after what has felt like a lifetime at sea.  

We’ll recognize each other from some “greater place” outside of this one, even if we’ve never met. A slower tribe, maybe we’ll respect “word of mouth” more than centralized propaganda, and deal with the things that are right in front of us, instead of on a screen. We’ll work together better, more communally, and come up with more interesting solutions. The most important thing is that we’ll know it by how it feels. Confidently hopeful, we will remember that we MADE the Nostalgic Future. We created it by awakening ourselves.  

Just as important as what the Nostalgic Future will be, is how we get there. (Expeditiously, with a little luck.) I’ve been calling the leadup to the Nostalgic Future the Awakening Project. Obviously, this means we need to wake up…which means we have to grow up. We’ve been asleep at the wheel for such a long time, coasting on auto-pilot. Someday, we’ll have to remember: We are here to wake up, that’s part of the Game!   

But let me go back, because I’m sure you’ll want to see all this for yourself. But to show you, I’ve got to go backwards past many seasons in reverse, cold to warm and cold again. Long ago, when I was still unaware of all this, back when I lived in a dream…fast asleep.