4. Humanity is crossing into a new era
Why can’t we agree
what to call the new era?
Do we really understand the
nature of the journey?
5. Humanity is crossing into a new era
Why can’t we agree
what to call the new era?
Are things getting
better or worse
along the way?
Do we really understand the
nature of the journey?
6. To answer these questions,
we first need to recognize that
humanity is evolving
according to the pattern
of all living systems.
7. Across the eras of humanity
Throughout our individual lives
In our economies and organizations
The pattern of living systems
is everywhere
Fractals display self-similar structure at different scales, the way the pattern of this leaf mirrors the pattern of the tree
itself. Examples include leafy trees, cauliflower, broccoli, and systems of blood vessels. This phenomenon may help
explain why the pattern of living systems is so prevalent at all scales of human activity.
8. Like a roadmap, this pattern
offers important clues about the
journey into the emerging era.
9. It works like this:
All living
systems have
4 defining
characteristics
10. cells in your body bees in a hive
trees in a forest
people in an
organization
1. There are Parts
11. The more divergent
(or diverse) the parts,
the more resilient, adaptive
and creative the
living system will be.
13. The more open and free-flowing
the relationships,
the more resilient, adaptive and
creative the living system will be.
14. your body the beehive
the forest the organization
3. There is a Whole
an emergent level of life with characteristics & capabilities of
its own that can’t be understood by looking only at the parts
15. The more convergent the whole
(for example: the more you remain
recognizably you even as your
cells are continuously replaced)
the more resilient, adaptive and
creative the living system will be.
16. 4. There is a
“Self-Integrating
Property”
This is how biologists describe the way that…by itself the living system
integrates all those divergent parts into a convergent whole in dynamic
relationship internally and externally in an ongoing,
moment-by-moment process of self re-creation.
In other words, it’s what makes the living system alive.
18. We can imagine this pattern as
a prism
Context*comesin
and as it
passes
through
the living
system
it is
transformed
* People, matter, energy, information…
31. Hunter-Gatherer Era Agrarian Era Industrial Era ????
…you notice that each era has had a distinct
guiding story about life.
The universe is
an unbroken
whole. There is
no separateness.
The universe is
a web of
interconnected
relationship.
The universe is a
machine made of
individual parts.
32. Hunter-Gatherer Era Agrarian Era Industrial Era ????
Each story represents a different (and equally valid) way of
understanding reality and engaging with the world.
The universe is
an unbroken
whole. There is
no separateness.
The universe is
a web of
interconnected
relationship.
The universe is a
machine made of
individual parts.
37. systems
thinking
Action
Plan The universe is
a web of
interconnected
relationship.
The universe is
made of
individual parts.
The universe is an
integral living
system made up of
parts, relationships
and wholes.
Gaia
The universe is
an unbroken
whole.
the
network
38. Hunter-Gatherer Era Agrarian Era Industrial Era ????
The universe is
an unbroken
whole. There is
no separateness.
The universe is
a web of
interconnected
relationship.
The universe is a
mechanism made of
individual parts.
The universe is an
integral living
system made of
parts, relationships
and wholes.
It’s as if we focused on one capability at a time in order to
become more resilient, adaptive and creative as a species.
40. converge relate diverge integrate
As we’ve moved into each new era, it’s as if we’ve
turned down the volume on the consciousness of
the previous era and denied its relevance.
Now, we’re discovering that if we turn up all three, we find
the harmony of integration. We’re realizing that they’re all
necessary and valuable, particularly in high complexity.
This matches the pattern all living systems follow to become
more resilient, adaptive and creative:
41. 1Consciousness is learned, not inherited genetically.
Feral children do not develop self-awareness, language or concepts of
relationship, though they share our basic genetic code.
The nature of consciousness
42. 1Consciousness is learned, not inherited genetically.
Feral children do not develop self-awareness, language or concepts of
relationship, though they share our basic genetic code.
The nature of consciousness
2In our lives, we’re constantly spiraling around the
living systems prism to polish, learn and integrate
all three sides.
We may pause to focus on one type of consciousness for a moment, an
extended time or even a lifetime.
Our journey around the spiral is influenced by the focus of our surrounding
culture. The current Western culture is focused on divergent awareness, to
the near exclusion of the other types of consciousness or intelligence.
43. 1Consciousness is learned, not inherited genetically.
Feral children do not develop self-awareness, language or concepts of
relationship, though they share our basic genetic code.
The nature of consciousness
2In our lives, we’re constantly spiraling around the
living systems prism to polish, learn and integrate
all three sides.
We may pause to focus on one type of consciousness for a moment, an
extended time or even a lifetime.
Our journey around the spiral is influenced by the focus of our surrounding
culture. The current Western culture is focused on divergent awareness, to
the near exclusion of the other types of consciousness or intelligence.
Imagine:
how different things would be if our culture actively
supported and integrated all types of consciousness.
44. All hunter-gatherer cultures (past and present)
exhibit shamanistic practices to tap collective
intelligence.
Contrary to popular belief, hunter-gatherer cultures
are the happiest on Earth – one researcher calls
them “the original affluent society.”
Unity consciousness, non-duality
A living, conscious world
Present moment awareness, “The Power of Now”
Tapping into the will & wisdom of the whole
– Instincts
– Inspiration
– Communion with nature
– Meditative states
– Dreams (Jung’s universal archetypes)
Abundance mentality, gift economies
Quantum physics, the non-local unifying realm
Convergent consciousness
45. In the Agrarian era, we worked on the ability to be in relationship with
nature…and with each other and the world around us.
Agriculture emerged, but also language, mathematics, architecture,
religion, civilization …all artifacts of our ability to be in relationship.
Systems thinking, complexity science
Social networking, informal networks
Emotional Intelligence, EQ
Relationship economies
Never-ending circle of life, cycles
Web of interdependent existence
Community, belonging, rituals
Play, curiosity, flow
Process, “the journey is the destination”
Relationship consciousness
systems
thinking
the
network
46. The modern era (originating with the ancient
Greeks), with its focus on separateness
Clockwork Universe (Newton)
Mind/body dualism
Individual achievement, individual rights
Science (Newtonian physics in particular)
Scientific management, mechanization
One right answer
Rationality
Reducing things to their component parts
Continuous improvement, progress, problem-
solving, efficiency
Market economies
Scarcity mentality
Isaac Newton
Ludwig von Mises,
Father of
Libertarianism
Divergent consciousness
47. Values multiple perspectives, all types of
intelligence
Able to hold the paradox of individuality within
the unity of all life
Wisdom
Gaia Theory, nature-based spirituality
Multi-disciplinary studies
Evolutionary enlightenment
The Perennial Philosophy
Synchronicity, the power of intention
Theory U, Presencing
The US Constitution, the Founding Fathers
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Buckminster Fuller,
Albert Einstein, Karl Jung, Barbara Marx
Hubbard, Ken Wilber, Margaret Wheatley,
Joanna Macy, Brian Swimme, Peter Russell,
Elisabet Sahtouris Ken Wilber
Buckminster Fuller
Integrative consciousness
48. Developmental psychologists have noticed
the same pattern across our individual lives.
What if we were raised in an integrative society?
Might we reach the wisdom stages in youth rather than waiting for old age (if we’re lucky)?
49. Could they be the first
integrative generation?
Refuse to compromise on total individuality.
Value multiple perspectives.
Value connectivity and their
network of relationships.
Place high priority on
constant learning and play.
Want to make a
contribution to
something
meaningful (social,
environmental).
Recognize their connection to the
whole, having grown up in a
global, interdependent context.
Stereotypical traits of Gen-Yers
Generation Y…or Generation I?
54. “Our world society is
presently on a non-
sustainable course.”
page 498
It’s not a good path to be on.
55. 1 Many predict crisis & crash (economic, social, environmental).
If this happens, we risk falling back to earlier stages.
(Think of the Dark Ages that followed the fall of ancient Rome.)
56. 1 Many predict crisis & crash (economic, social, environmental).
If this happens, we risk falling back to earlier stages.
(Think of the Dark Ages that followed the fall of ancient Rome.)
2 Divergent thinking keeps us stuck looking for ways to
tweak “the machine” and to make the “business case
for sustainability.”
57. 1 Many predict crisis & crash (economic, social, environmental).
If this happens, we risk falling back to earlier stages.
(Think of the Dark Ages that followed the fall of ancient Rome.)
This is like slowing down a bus
that’s going the wrong way fast.
It’s a good first step,
but eventually you want to turn the bus around.
2 Divergent thinking keeps us stuck looking for ways to
tweak “the machine” and to make the “business case
for sustainability.”
58. 1 Many predict crisis & crash (economic, social, environmental).
If this happens, we risk falling back to earlier stages.
(Think of the Dark Ages that followed the fall of ancient Rome.)
2 Divergent thinking keeps us stuck looking for ways to
tweak “the machine” and to make the “business case
for sustainability.”
3 What’s truly needed is wholesale revision of how we
think of and craft our organizations and our societies.
60. The most important task of
our era is to acknowledge life.
Our current guiding story tell us that:
Everything in the universe operates like a machine
(especially our organizations and economies).
We are separate from each other and from nature.
We exist to compete and consume.
61. The most important task of
our era is to acknowledge life.
Our current guiding story tell us that:
Everything in the universe operates like a machine
(especially our organizations and economies).
We are separate from each other and from nature.
We exist to compete and consume.
With what we know about how life really works,
is it any wonder that the society we’ve built based on
that story is unable to sustain life over time?
62. Life is the critical missing piece in
the dominant mechanistic paradigm.
63. Life is the critical missing piece in
the dominant mechanistic paradigm.
We know that integration must increase
with rising complexity –
and it is life that integrates and animates.
64. Life is the critical missing piece in
the dominant mechanistic paradigm.
We know that integration must increase
with rising complexity –
and it is life that integrates and animates.
Acknowledging life invites wonder and
reverence – for all life, including our own.
65. Life is the critical missing piece in
the dominant mechanistic paradigm.
We know that integration must increase
with rising complexity –
and it is life that integrates and animates.
Acknowledging life invites wonder and
reverence – for all life, including our own.
Only by acknowledging life - in all its underlying integrality -
will we develop sufficient will and compassion to achieve
not just sustainability but thrivability.
66. After all, the point is not to “sustain” or to “be integral.”
It’s to create the conditions for life to thrive.
67. So how do we
build a bridge to an
Age of Thrivability?
71. This is the conversation we need to have:
How can we re-imagine our lives not as
consumers, not as “human capital,” but as
vibrant contributors to the whole of life?
72. How can we reinvent our organizations so that
they work with the full patterns of living systems
to build not just sustainability but thrivability?
This is the conversation we need to have:
How can we re-imagine our lives not as
consumers, not as “human capital,” but as
vibrant contributors to the whole of life?
73. This is the conversation we need to have:
How can we re-imagine our lives not as
consumers, not as “human capital,” but as
vibrant contributors to the whole of life?
How can we restructure the artifacts and
architecture of our lives so that they support
wiser, life-enhancing ways of living?
How can we reinvent our organizations so that
they work with the full patterns of living systems
to build not just sustainability but thrivability?
74. This is the conversation we need to have:
How can we re-imagine our lives not as
consumers, not as “human capital,” but as
vibrant contributors to the whole of life?
What will it take to make life
the true bottom line?
How can we restructure the artifacts and
architecture of our lives so that they support
wiser, life-enhancing ways of living?
How can we reinvent our organizations so that
they work with the full patterns of living systems
to build not just sustainability but thrivability?
