PUNCTUATIONS
by John L. Petersen
New Human - New World
We need to start the discussion about how a new world might operate. We need to get going. We're already late. One of the most profound historical transitions defining how humans will live on this planet is fully underway and it's about time that those of us who intend to shape the emergence of the new world start seriously thinking about how things might work after the dust of change settles.
This extraordinary shift gives every indication that it is going to produce both a new human and a new world. The new humans will see themselves differently, both in terms of who they are and how they relate to the rest of reality. The essential defining characteristic appears to be understanding that we do not exist apart from or independently of anything else around us. We're all part of the same experience. Many call it oneness.
This is distinctly unlike the way almost all of us were raised. We were taught (both directly and implicitly) that humans stood apart from the planet, the environment and of course, other people. We were separate.
Now, it is quickly coming clear in very tangible terms, that we are all interconnected and interdependent. The behavior of the environment and climate, the global financial system, geopolitical groups, and certainly the Internet show us daily that human behavior in one isolated place affects significant change in other, very unanticipated locations. These initial, physical indicators are harbingers of a much more broadly defined paradigm that is already flowering all over the world.
Many good individuals and groups are working on the new human issue - the elevation of the human spirit and consciousness. Call it what you'd like - enlightenment, awakening, ascension - the idea is a rising new level of awareness and being.
The world we'll live in after this transition is a different issue.
If the new human has different perspectives, values, and objectives, then all of the world's institutions, concepts, and processes - governments, corporations, the idea of national security, education, the economic system - will fundamentally change as well. They will be structured differently around new purposes using a fresh set of incentives. People will be seen and valued differently by and within organizations. The role of money will probably shift. Maybe the whole definition of work will evolve to something new. It's really big, multidimensional change . . . all happening at the same time.
The whole system, which was designed around and for old ideas and principles that have existed for centuries, will need to be re-imagined.
Designing the New World - Two Initiatives
So, the question is, should we wait until the old system fails and the necessity for designing the new world is pressing in all around us? Or, should we begin thinking about how this new world might work now - while we have the time and space to fully consider the many possible options?
I vote for starting the design process now. Not only do we have the time, but as the new model starts to come together we can hold it up for millions to see as an alternative to the world that will be eroding around them. It will provide much needed hope. It will show a way to a new world.
I don't know if there's anyone else trying to comprehensively evolve a model of a new world, but here at The Arlington Institute we are smartly moving in that direction.
December Workshop
The workshop that Don Beck and I are holding on December 11-12 is the first concrete step toward summoning up the thinking that will support a larger global design initiative. If being a creator of this new world appeals to you, then you should consider being with us next month. If you plan to come, you should register now. Participants are signing up fast. Half of the places are already taken, and we only announced it two weeks ago.
Also, if you're in the Washington area and want to hear more about some of these ideas, come spend the day with us at Unity of Fairfax on the 14th of November. You'll find more info here.
New World Project
The larger initiative is a project that we've been calling the New World Project - a six-month process to bring together a relatively small group of extraordinary thinkers to rapidly build an initial, tentative model of the essential framework of a possible new world . We want to come up with something that when it is held up for all to see, people say, "Yeah, that could work!"
The model will be designed only to function as a discussion/debate starter. I call it a "logical seed" that can be put on the table in a virtual environment in front of many thousands of people as a straw man concept that they can begin to shoot at and modify. We'd like to start - and encourage - a global, evolutionary and emergence process. This is about planting the clear idea of a tangible, reasonable, achievable, new world in the collective consciousness of those who know that they are here to contribute to, design, and help build such a place.
Our plan then, is to provide a novel environment where very large numbers of people from across the world can come together to systematically design the beginnings of this new world. Imagine many thousands of "transitioneers" collaborating together in a very fun and highly incentivized environment. That's the idea, and we have a very well thought out approach to making it happen. This is an initiative that can literally change the world.
We're looking for funding for this project - the first priority being to build the discussion-starting model, which is something less than $400,000. If you think the time is right to start a global movement to design a new world and you would like to learn more about the New World project and how you might get involved in supporting it, send me a note at johnp@arlingtoninstitute.org with your name and email address (and telephone number, if you'd like to talk) and I'll get back to you directly.
Be well. I'm off to carve pumpkins.
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