Collapse, Goo, Butterfly!

As I write and speak about our time of whole systems transformation, it is dawning on me afresh that this entails a messy, challenging period of collapse, a time of gooeyness, redesign and struggle, and then an energetic rebuilding phase. It’s sort of like becoming a butterfly after caterpillar deconstruction and interim gooeyness and reorganization. We are in the first phase of collapse but need to be working on the design of a new societal order.

Are we headed toward a degraded planet ruled by the super-rich and religious fundamentalists? Or are we going to create a new civilization based on compassion, sustainability, equality, justice, participation and tolerance? What strategies are needed now and over the next two decades which will deal with what is blocking our movement towards our noble vision? Let’s brainstorm a few strategies to get started.

Transforming Mindsets and Values

·         Universal education from preschool to university in the arts, humanities, social sciences, evolution and other physical sciences
·         Training in mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, journaling and community celebrations
·         Training in compassion for and understanding of all people, air, water, land, animals and plants
·         Training in creative thinking regarding time, space, energy, patterns, models and relationships

Changing Individual Behavior

·         Training and modeling of group facilitation, integral development and social artistry
·         Training and modeling of team building, dialogue, collaboration and cooperation
·         Training and modeling of responsible behavior in relation to  people and planet
·         Training and modeling of nonviolence and peacemaking

Catalyzing Cultural Evolution

·         Assuming a new common sense of sexual and gender equality and human rights
·         Promoting a culture of compassion, understanding, happiness  and peace
·         Manifesting a culture that celebrates learning and the realization of each person’s full potential
·         Creating science-based myths and stories of the evolution of the universe, the Earth, life and consciousness

Redesigning Whole Systems

·         Designing policies and institutions that ensure sustainable ecosystems that protect the   atmosphere, oceans, land, animals, plants and humans
·         Designing social policies and institutions of health care, education, protection and justice for all
·         Designing economic and fiscal policies and institutions that ensure access to capital and necessities of life for all
·         Designing participatory and accountable governance systems by, for and of the people

Will those do the trick of turning us into butterflies? HOW will we do them? When, where, and most importantly, who will do them? Which one are you working on or to which one do you want to dedicate your life?