NETWORK OF CIRCLES - NEW ARCHETYPE FOR COLLECTIVE SELF-GOVERNANCE
Previous | Next | Return

From: Bruce Schuman
Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 7:50 AM
Subject: Network of Circles - New Archetype for Collective Self-Governance
ID: 266775

Submitted to Kosmos Journal

http://kosmosjournal.org

*******

NETWORK OF CIRCLES - NEW ARCHETYPE FOR COLLECTIVE SELF-GOVERNANCE

All over the world, and bursting forth today from its underground co-creative crucible into clear public discussion, there is a dawning excitement regarding the creative power and wisdom of collective human genius.

The election of Obama seems to have sparked the vision or wild hope that something divine or magical is in the air.  We have prayed, we have read and studied, we have gathered together in small groups everywhere, we have been unfolding and discovering the collective wisdom and intelligence of humanity.  In a world that is badly fractured and divided by the crunching intersection of old ideas and assumptions, a new and resonant integral model is being born in a million local conversations.

And Obama seems to understand this.  Has he been trained in the research on dialogue and community?  How is it that he seems so deeply in tune with the keys to building shared understanding in a context of great diversity?  Millions of people in the USA could sense this talent and instinct, and responded powerfully to his call to community and trust.

In his outreach to the world, he seems to balance this broad calling with great artistry and diplomatic skill. Through his internet outreach, he has convened millions of people all over America, into a single online context.  Like a national meetup.com network, Obama's web system is ready to organize ten-thousand local conversations around the USA.

This is an astonishing possibility, amazing not only for its breadth of inclusion and its profound sensitivity to the call for community, but also because of its deep organic elegance of design, its primal simplicity, its natural attunement with the form of being itself.

We can combine network design with deep wisdom, with the most profound calls to holism and to all that is good in human nature.  We can convene the collective genius of our society here in the USA and around the world, through an emerging network that grows like a vine.  Our network could interconnect the good everywhere, have no central organizing authority, and simply unfold as the expression of an organic and deeply mystical ontology that resonates like the dream of every religion coming true.

Are we indeed at some tipping point?  Are we ready to move past our collective confusion and sense of overwhelm and frustration, into a new era of accelerating harmony and resonance and vibrant creativity?  There is a gathering force out there that says yes.  That gathering force is saying yes we can.

*******

Bruce Schuman
Interspirit Foundation -- http://interspirit.net/foundation
PO Box 23346, Santa Barbara CA USA 93121
bruce@interspirit.net - (805) 966-9515

*******

Received from Kosmos Journal, January 9

Dear Friends of Kosmos,

We are now immersed in creating the next issue of Kosmos on the theme of Transformation. We always look forward to hearing from you at this time, as you add immeasurable richness to our inquiry.

As always we invite our readers to write a short essay of no more than 425 words on a particular topic relating to the theme of our current work in progress. We then select 4 of the essays to publish in the next issue of Kosmos and post the selections in the Our Readers section of the Kosmos website.

Please observe the 425 word limit and note February 22, 2009 as the final deadline for all submissions.

Here is the current topic for reflection:

Many of us have been living with the knowledge that our world and its institutions are nearing collapse. We long for that time - that rare opening - when evolution takes a momentous leap forward. The election of Barack Obama aroused an explosion of spirit in the world. It seemed to be an outer symbol of an inner knowing that the tipping point from collapse to creation may well have arrived.

The slogan heard around the world is "Yes we can."  What does this mean to you?

We look forward to hearing from you,

The Kosmos Team

Nancy Roof
Leslie Olving
Tara Stuart