På trods af aktuelle annoncer og slogans ændrer verden ikke én person ad gangen. Det ændrer sig, efterhånden som netværk af relationer dannes blandt mennesker, der opdager, at de deler en fælles sag og vision om, hvad der er muligt. Dette er gode nyheder for dem af os, der har til hensigt at ændre verden og skabe en positiv fremtid. I stedet for at bekymre os om kritisk masse, er vores arbejde at skabe kritiske forbindelser. Vi behøver ikke overbevise et stort antal mennesker om at ændre sig; i stedet er vi nødt til at forbinde os med åndsbeslægtede. Gennem disse relationer vil vi udvikle den nye viden, praksis, mod og engagement, der fører til en bred forandring.
Men netværk er ikke hele historien. Efterhånden som netværk vokser og forvandles til aktive, arbejdende praksisfællesskaber, opdager vi, hvordan livet virkelig ændrer sig, hvilket er gennem fremkomsten. Når lokale indsatser er adskilte, forbinder de med hinanden som netværk , for derefter at styrkes som praksisfællesskaber , pludselig og overraskende dukker et nyt system op på et større skalaniveau. Dette system af indflydelse besidder kvaliteter og kapaciteter, som var ukendte hos individerne. Det er ikke, at de var skjult; de eksisterer simpelthen ikke før systemet opstår. De er systemets egenskaber, ikke individet, men når først de er der, besidder individer dem. Og det system, der opstår, besidder altid større magt og indflydelse, end det er muligt gennem planlagte, inkrementelle forandringer. Emergence er, hvordan livet skaber radikal forandring og tager tingene i skala.
Siden starten i 1992 har Berkana Institute eksperimenteret med fremkomstens livscyklus: hvordan levende systemer begynder som netværk, skifter til intentionelle praksisfællesskaber og udvikler sig til magtfulde systemer, der er i stand til global indflydelse. Gennem vores arbejde med fællesskaber i mange forskellige nationer lærer vi, hvad der er muligt, når vi forbinder mennesker på tværs af forskel og afstand. Ved at anvende erfaringerne fra levende systemer og arbejde bevidst med fremkomsten og dens livscyklus, demonstrerer vi, hvordan lokal social innovation kan tages i skala og levere løsninger på mange af verdens mest vanskelige problemer – såsom samfundssundhed, økologisk bæredygtighed og økonomisk selvhjulpenhed.
Hvorfor vi skal forstå netværk
Forskere og sociale aktivister begynder at opdage kraften i netværk og netværk. Og der er en voksende erkendelse af, at netværk er den nye form for organisering. Beviser på selvorganiserede netværk er overalt: sociale aktivister, terrorgrupper, narkokarteller, gadebander, webbaserede interessegrupper. Selvom vi nu ser disse overalt, er det ikke fordi de er en ny form for organisering. Det er fordi vi har fjernet vores gamle paradigme skyklapper, der leder efter hierarki og kontrolmekanismer i den tro, at organisation kun sker gennem menneskelig vilje og indgriben.
Netværk er den eneste organisationsform, der bruges af levende systemer på denne planet. Disse netværk er et resultat af selvorganisering, hvor individer eller arter anerkender deres indbyrdes afhængighed og organiserer sig på måder, der understøtter diversiteten og levedygtigheden for alle. Netværk skaber betingelserne for opståen, og det er sådan Livet ændrer sig. Fordi netværk er det første stadie i opståen, er det vigtigt, at vi forstår deres dynamik, og hvordan de udvikler sig til fællesskaber og derefter systemer.
Alligevel viser meget af det nuværende arbejde med netværk gamle paradigme-bias. I social netværksanalyse skabes fysiske repræsentationer af netværket ved at kortlægge relationer. Dette er nyttigt til at overbevise folk om, at der eksisterer netværk, og folk er ofte fascineret af at se netværket gøres synligt. Andre netværksanalytikere nævner roller, som medlemmer af netværket spiller, eller skelner mellem forskellige dele af netværket, såsom kerne og periferi. Det er måske ikke disse forskeres hensigt, men deres arbejde bliver ofte brugt af ledere til at finde måder at manipulere netværket på, til at bruge det på en traditionel og kontrollerende måde.
* Det, der mangler i disse analyser, er en udforskning af dynamikken i netværk:
* Hvorfor dannes netværk? Hvilke forhold understøtter deres skabelse?
* Hvad holder et netværk i live og i vækst? Hvad holder medlemmerne forbundet?
* Hvilken type ledelse er påkrævet? Hvorfor bliver folk ledere?
* Hvilken type ledelse forstyrrer eller ødelægger netværket?
* Hvad sker der efter et sundt netværk er dannet? Hvad er det næste?
Hvis vi forstår disse dynamikker og fremkomstens livscyklus, hvad kan vi så gøre som ledere, aktivister og sociale iværksættere for bevidst at fremme fremkomsten?
Hvad er Emergence?
Emergence krænker så mange af vores vestlige antagelser om, hvordan forandring sker, at det ofte tager et stykke tid at forstå det. I naturen sker forandringer aldrig som et resultat af top-down, forudtænkte strategiske planer eller fra mandat fra en enkelt person eller chef. Forandring begynder, når lokale handlinger opstår samtidigt på mange forskellige områder. Hvis disse ændringer forbliver afbrudt, sker der ikke noget ud over hver lokalitet. Men når de bliver forbundet, kan lokale handlinger opstå som et magtfuldt system med indflydelse på et mere globalt eller omfattende niveau. (Global betyder her en større skala, ikke nødvendigvis hele planeten.)
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1 PAST RESPONSES
Intrinsically connected to any concept that is emerging is looking to what stands in the way and blocks the new from arising. This is why ignorance and arrogance are both self and collectively-defeating; they prevent the respect and freedom that is necessary for true innovation and evolutionary knowledge to emerge. Attempting to control, intending results, and consciously or unconsciously forcing inherently blocks the movement of the larger "spirit", which is bringing healing, and new growth. Clinging and insisting upon former paradigms that are no longer working, meaningful, appropriate, and are even dangerous to persist in doing is counter-productive to advancement. It requires courage to turn and face what was good in the past, but is now detrimental in the present and for the future, and remain open and generous to the newly emerging. Fear of the unknown and close-mindedness keep ignorance and arrogance brokering for leverage to sway all things to the former, to the known, to controlling, to continuing to force antiquated ways of thinking and doing. And yet, we cannot manipulate our way into revelation. We can only step aside, and with open generosity step aside, and allow "the spirit", which moves all things and all of life to pass through us, both as individuals and as a collective humanity. Ground-breaking art and revolutionary innovation do not arise from predetermination, but seek revelation from higher forms of knowing. Only surrender to freedom can free us, or reveal new and emerging ways of being and knowing. We cannot truly "fight" our way to attaining freedom, anymore than we can "fight" our way to achieving love or respect. Love and respect require that they be freely bestowed and freely received.
If we truly seek a new and emerging better world, we should first look to getting out of the way, and permitting it to manifest. All true seemingly-miraclous knowledge and events, magical understanding and wonder are never forced or capped, which is exactly why they are so capable of bringing delight and joy. There is more to life than intention and force, which limit us to only knowing and also existing in the past. The new is always waiting for us; it never arises from our force or deliberate suppression. It is free, or we cause it to wither and vanish. The new would joyfully emerge if we weren't always holding it back, disallowing it from arising, or dictating to it, telling it who to be and how to be, manipulating it from the start to suit us and our limited views or selfish desires. So often, we stand in the way from all our actual and true wealth of healing that knowledge and wisdom have to graciously offer. If we learn nothing else in life, we would benefit the most from learning respect, for oneself, for all other human beings, for all animals, birds, fish, insects, plants, trees, forests, natural seeds, soil, water, rivers, oceans, air, all of creation, and natural forces and energies.
We continue to reject the essential deep and abiding respect for nature, the wisdom of natural processes and natural abundant energies, which are contained within and by our planet earth home, and are freely bestowed by our good universe to all inhabitants of earth. Nature, and knowledge contained in nature and natural processes and energies, is our most trustworthy and life-sustaining teacher that we have available to us, and right under our noses. Free energy devices do not create or store energy; they tap into existing, unlimited, zero-emmission, natural supplies provided by the universe. In rejecting and suppressing the breakthrough, ambient, free energy technological gifts of nature and natural processes, we gamble that our archaic, explosive, and lethal energy manipulations of nature and the (inflated and disappearing-unto-dust) money and power gleaned from them can and will increase our status over others, and also somehow save us and a future for the next generation and beyond. Yet, the reality is that the marketplace is no longer a viable answer to either our energy needs, environmental concerns, or even in providing true and lasting wealth. Nature is aligned with respect, health, freedom, abundance, inclusion, and continuing life. Sole reliance on trade within global monetary systems, which are ever-inflated even unto nothingness, are intrinsically anti-cooperative, and dependent upon competition that involve force, scarcity, fear, limitations, manipulations, profiteering, engineering of nature and natural processes, suffering, violence, and destruction of our natural (and cultural) world.
This competing mentality that continues to demand financial competition over, and monetary compensation from, the natural world, even though only global suffering and death is now the only possible outcome, also spiritually robs both individuals and collective human civilization of common decency, benevolence, and even sanity. We bankrupt more than just our grossly-inflated monetary currencies. Even more tragically, we bankrupt our true and lasting wealth in the natural abundance of our planet earth, and the spiritual soul of our own humanness. It is not just the physical lives of human beings, creatures, plants, crops, seeds, trees, forests, soils, rivers, oceans, and all waters that we are irrevocably losing, we are throwing away and trampling the heart and soul of our own humanity, and at grave risk of renouncing all respect for others, for love and for life. Ultimately, we will lose self-respect and dignity, and be consumed with collective and self loathing, or even worse, lose more and more conscience, open ourselves to the callous and violent harding of the heart and numbness of soul that accompanies the predatory devaluing of love and life, which can no longer feel empathy, connection, unity, or oneness with others, or even with or for oneself. These spiritual loses are preceding, and already foretell that we quickly losing the last bastion against the darkness of mounting despair that will trap all the living, both rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless in ever-increasing and spiraling-downward decadence, violence, physical and spiritual deterioration, degradation, destruction, suffering, mayhem, and death.
We cannot add to the bounty of nature; we can only limit and destroy the bountiful and abundant generosity of the universe when we are unconscious, or disregard deliberately the destructive travesties that we are doing on a global scale to our true and lasting wealth - life and love, health and vitality, our shared humanity, all of creation on our planet home, and all future generations. The natural world is capable of supplying all of our needs, while sustaining and enhancing our lives, if we allow the new, free and freeing, and truly saving power of natural, cosmic energy technologies to emerge.
Nature scatters their secrets and knowledge throughout all diverse human classifications, within all creatures and in every possible direction, even unto the cosmos. There is more to learn from studying nature right here on planet earth than many lifetimes could ever reveal. And yet, we choose everything that destroys nature and costs us, and now tragically and perhaps even irreversibly robs and costs us, our most precious and priceless gifts - love and life itself on on one shared planet earth home. All newly emerging knowledge, life and love are intrinsically dependent upon respect and generosity of spirit. We clearly don't have all the answers, but someone, some Universal One, both out there and within, might if we finally, and for the first time in human history, stepped aside and with due respect and awe, let them emerge and be revealed.
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