“Events grow on the same stem with persons,” said American transcendentalist philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson. In other words, what comes to us from the outside is related to what’s happening inside us, to who we are.
What’s happening on the outside is challenging right now.
Can all this be the end of something and the birth of something new?
It takes a kind of courage to see that this might be so.
Can it be, could it be that the despair and incongruence, the corruption and lying in the world are preparing us to see beyond the usual stories, are preparing the ground for something else? Can all this be the end of something and the birth of something new?
It takes a kind of courage to see that this might be so. On the surface, things seem to be going down but here you are in the middle, saying, no actually it’s going up! Some are even declaring that it’s going up.
We’re not passive observers of a world out there that’s happening without us. We’re part of it. “Events grow on the same stem with persons.” What’s happening out there is related to who we are. Choice and consciousness are part of who we are. Consciousness is alive and active – we’re alive and active. We’re participants.
The seed in the ground
I like the metaphor of the seed in the ground awaiting what comes next. What seeds are growing down there in the dark? Seeds can’t fully know. The acorn doesn’t know it could be an oak. We can’t know the details, but we can give the seed what it wants, the best chance.
I’m thinking of 2023 as the year of the seed. It’s about watering and nourishing the seeds we sense inside. Charles Eisenstein calls it the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible - a beautiful phrase for it. I’ve felt that seed of the more beautiful world. It’s not different from our heart’s desire.
Seeds need micro-climates
Seeds do well with micro-climates in which to grow. The soil of the current public ecosystem is like the physical soil suffering under the abuses of Big Agriculture. It’s pumped with stimulants but not truly healthy.
It’s OK to have those micro-climates to help the seeds be strong enough to get on their way. Or to help us. We’re the seeds of the new.
We know a lot about how to help the consciousness seeds grow and do better. There are names and protocols – asmallgroup, Presencing, Collective Presencing, Action Learning, Constellations, Bohmian Dialogue, Men’s and Women’s Work, and more. But the healthy soil is more than forms and practices. If it’s not emergent and alive in the present it’s just some dead form. What actually nurtures the seed and helps it grow is very much alilve.
I’m excited to be offering some or all of these seed-nurturing practices in the year to come, seeds to water and help individual seeds to do better, especially to help pass along what we know to those who are themselves sowing seeds. Many small ecosystem changes seed changes in the larger system.
Andrew
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This Thursday, Jan 5 at 11am Eastern you’re welcome to join a 90 minute experiential small group practicing micro-climate skills. This week’s theme is Authentic Dissent - as distinct from Denial, Resignation or Rebellion. The cost is your willingness to participate. Click here to pre-register.
Planting seed with a look at the old and new history
https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/what-is-the-next-story?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=427455&post_id=95654379&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email