Kljub aktualnim oglasom in sloganom se svet ne spremeni enega za drugim. Spreminja se, ko se med ljudmi oblikujejo mreže odnosov, ki odkrijejo, da imajo skupen cilj in vizijo tega, kar je mogoče. To je dobra novica za tiste med nami, ki želimo spremeniti svet in ustvariti pozitivno prihodnost. Namesto da bi skrbeli za kritično maso, je naše delo spodbujanje kritičnih povezav. Ni nam treba prepričevati velikega števila ljudi, da se spremenijo; namesto tega se moramo povezati s sorodnimi dušami. Skozi te odnose bomo razvili nova znanja, prakse, pogum in predanost, ki vodijo k obsežnim spremembam.
Vendar omrežja niso vsa zgodba. Ko mreže rastejo in se preoblikujejo v aktivne, delujoče skupnosti prakse, odkrivamo, kako se življenje resnično spreminja, kar je skozi pojav. Ko se ločena lokalna prizadevanja med seboj povežejo kot mreže , nato pa okrepijo kot skupnosti prakse , se nenadoma in presenetljivo pojavi nov sistem na višji ravni obsega. Ta sistem vplivanja ima lastnosti in zmožnosti, ki jih posamezniki niso poznali. Ne gre za to, da so bili skriti; preprosto ne obstajajo, dokler se sistem ne pojavi. So lastnost sistema, ne posameznika, toda ko so tam, jih imajo posamezniki. In sistem, ki se pojavi, ima vedno večjo moč in vpliv, kot je to mogoče z načrtovanimi, postopnimi spremembami. Nastajanje je način, na katerega življenje ustvarja radikalne spremembe in spreminja stvari v obseg.
Inštitut Berkana od svoje ustanovitve leta 1992 eksperimentira z življenjskim ciklom nastajanja: kako se živi sistemi začnejo kot mreže, se preusmerijo v namerne skupnosti prakse in se razvijejo v močne sisteme, ki so sposobni globalnega vpliva. Z našim delom s skupnostmi v številnih različnih narodih se učimo, kaj je mogoče, ko povezujemo ljudi čez razlike in razdalje. Z uporabo spoznanj živih sistemov in namenskim delom s pojavom in njegovim življenjskim ciklom dokazujemo, kako je mogoče lokalne družbene inovacije povečati in ponuditi rešitve za številna najbolj zapletena vprašanja na svetu, kot so zdravje skupnosti, ekološka trajnost in gospodarska samozavest.
Zakaj moramo razumeti omrežja
Raziskovalci in družbeni aktivisti začenjajo odkrivati moč omrežij in mreženja. In vse bolj se priznava, da so mreže nova oblika organiziranja. Dokazi o samoorganiziranih mrežah so povsod: družbeni aktivisti, teroristične skupine, mamilarski karteli, ulične tolpe, spletne interesne skupine. Čeprav jih zdaj vidimo povsod, to ni zato, ker so nova oblika organiziranja. To je zato, ker smo odstranili naše stare paradigme, ki iščejo mehanizme hierarhije in nadzora v prepričanju, da se organizacija zgodi samo s človeško voljo in posredovanjem.
Omrežja so edina oblika organizacije, ki jo uporabljajo živi sistemi na tem planetu. Ta omrežja izhajajo iz samoorganizacije, kjer posamezniki ali vrste prepoznajo svojo soodvisnost in se organizirajo na načine, ki podpirajo raznolikost in sposobnost preživetja vseh. Omrežja ustvarjajo pogoje za nastanek, tako se življenje spreminja. Ker so omrežja prva stopnja nastajanja, je bistveno, da razumemo njihovo dinamiko in kako se razvijejo v skupnosti in nato v sisteme.
Vendar večina trenutnega dela na omrežjih kaže pristranskost stare paradigme. Pri analizi socialnih omrežij so fizične predstavitve omrežja ustvarjene s preslikavo odnosov. To je uporabno za prepričevanje ljudi, da omrežja obstajajo, ljudje pa so pogosto očarani, ko vidijo, da je omrežje vidno. Drugi omrežni analitiki imenujejo vloge, ki jih igrajo člani omrežja, ali razlikujejo med različnimi deli omrežja, kot sta jedro in periferija. Morda to ni namen teh raziskovalcev, vendar voditelji pogosto uporabljajo njihovo delo, da bi našli načine za manipulacijo omrežja, njegovo uporabo na tradicionalen in nadzoren način.
* Kar manjka v teh analizah, je raziskovanje dinamike omrežij:
* Zakaj nastanejo mreže? Kakšni so pogoji, ki podpirajo njihov nastanek?
* Kaj ohranja mrežo pri življenju in rasti? Kaj ohranja člane povezane?
* Kakšna vrsta vodenja je potrebna? Zakaj ljudje postanejo voditelji?
* Kakšna vrsta vodenja moti ali uničuje mrežo?
* Kaj se zgodi po oblikovanju zdravega omrežja? kaj sledi
Če razumemo to dinamiko in življenjski cikel nastajanja, kaj lahko storimo kot voditelji, aktivisti in socialni podjetniki, da namerno spodbujamo nastajanje?
Kaj je Emergence?
Pojav krši toliko naših zahodnjaških predpostavk o tem, kako pride do sprememb, da pogosto traja kar nekaj časa, da to razumemo. V naravi se spremembe nikoli ne zgodijo kot rezultat vnaprej zasnovanih strateških načrtov od zgoraj navzdol ali zaradi mandata katerega koli posameznika ali šefa. Spremembe se začnejo, ko se lokalne akcije pojavijo hkrati na številnih različnih področjih. Če te spremembe ostanejo nepovezane, se zunaj vsake področne nastavitve ne zgodi nič. Ko pa se povežejo, lahko lokalne akcije nastanejo kot močan sistem z vplivom na bolj globalni ali celoviti ravni. (Globalno tukaj pomeni večji obseg, ne nujno celotnega planeta.)
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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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