What follows is an excerpt by EE Magazine from a longer article originally published as Activism Revisited: Conscious Participation and Collective Intelligence, by Daniel Christian Wahl.
In Reflections on Evolutionary Activism, Tom Atlee highlights three evolutionary dynamics:
i) integration of diversity,
iii) self-interest rooted in the wellbeing of the whole.
These are key characteristics of regenerative cultures aligned with the evolution of life. They are also guidelines to help us, as individuals, keep on learning and contributing to the creation of regenerative businesses, communities and cultures.
Atlee begins his book by reminding us of the long evolutionary journey from the beginnings of the universe to our times. Our bodies literally contain atoms forged in the death of giant stars. As participants in this ever-transforming and evolving whole, we are expressions of what Atlee calls the Creative Power of the Universe. He extends an invitation to all of us:
As evolutionary activists we can step out of [separation] and into the awareness that we are part of the ongoing creation of the universe, that our power is the Creative Power of the Universe working through us, and that we have a creative job to do, a really important undertaking to be part of.
We are the eyes and ears and hands and feet and heart and mind of the Creative Power of the Universe at work in our world at this time forming the first sustainable self- evolving, wise civilization ever seen on this planet.
Every decision we make — including how to spend this precious moment and where to put our precious energy and which precious people to work with and how we are going to be with them — all these decisions are the Big CPU feeling its way about what to do next here, what is possible now. […]
You and I are that Power, in that Power, of that Power. Welcome home. We’re all in this job together, backed up by the greatest creative force on Earth — and beyond. Let’s go to work, as consciously, in tune, and together as we can manage.
— Tom Atlee (2009:33–34)
Tom Atlee’s work offers profound inspiration and practical support for people willing to live the questions together in order to redesign the human presence on Earth.
He describes how a series of questions has guided his own journey as a life-long activist (pp.43–47):
How can I help make a better world?
What is the meaning of self-organized collective intelligence?
How can activist groups become more collaboratively effective?
How can communities and countries be more collaboratively effective?
How can humanity wisely and creatively work with the crises of our time?
How can we help our social systems and cultures consciously evolve?
How can we grow into being evolution — and take responsibility for our own role as the increasingly conscious co-intelligence of the universe?
How do we activists humbly become the world consciously evolving in directions that deeply support all forms of aliveness?
— Tom Atlee
The last two questions invite us deep into a participatory and evolutionary perspective, which we are participants in and expressions of, aiming to become more fully conscious of how our being and doing creates conditions conducive to life.
Republished with permission from Daniel Christian Wahl
Featured Image/graphic link added by EE Magazine, .
It seems like in order to evolve consciously a large segment of the world population needs to break off from the politicians who aren’t leading us in a direction we want to go. Does that seem true?