[ Copyright Stuart B. Hill ]
(Reprint. Points to consider for discussion)
Sustainability
The Power and Importance of Blindspots
Blindspots in our awareness can have devastating effects upon our lives.
Blindspots can be bad for business, health and personal wellbeing.
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Come to the edge, he said
In my previous article, "Calling Gurus to Account" I mentioned a blind-spot that affects all of us. I inferred that sometimes we get carried away with the idea of possibility and endless happiness, forgetting about those we may leave behind.
That blind-spot sees us ignoring the systems and communities that support us. It's the community and technical infrastructure that enables us to achieve our goals – imagine being dropped into war-torn Somalia, without cells phones, money or an embassy to hide in. What things might we expect to 'attract' in that environment?
Those who do our plumbing, our carpentry, cooking and care-taking all play a vital role in each of us achieving our dreams.
It's the integration and marriage of dreams, desires and potentials with the inherent limitations of systems that is my primary work as a belief doctor. My work involves understanding and explaining how this integration is ignored or denied. It's this lack of integration of supportive systems with individual desires and potentials that is the primary cause of the growing epidemic of depression in the world today. It's people's expectations exceeding the capacity of the present community to support individual dreams and aspirations that causes the upset.
The business value of purpose and meaning
As many business entrepreneurs appreciate, the really important things in starting and running a business are primarily 'mental' -- it's our vision to make a difference, to do things better and to test ourselves that fuels and motivates.
But what about the people that we employ?
It should be no great surprise that for "businesses that pay most regard to the deeper needs of their employees are the ones that perform best."1
The challenge faced when creating a strong, vibrant culture in a business is the intangible 'mental' dimensions - what we think, feel and believe about our work, fellow employees, customers, the work environment etc.
- 1. Michael Trail, Money is important, but so is purpose and meaning, The Weekend Australian Financial Review, Dec. 23-28, Fairfax Media Publications, Sydney, p. 63
Moving beyond a 2,450-year-old era
The Art and Science of Blinking
Around 2,450 years ago the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea was perhaps the first to methodically question a simple fact of life - how do we physically move, such as when blinking an eye, running, or simply falling down?
Culturally we are about to fall off a philosophical cliff. Fortunately, a safe landing in a far more compassionate, sane and exciting world awaits those who come to the edge with the understanding of how to fly.
His questions and arguments, which have become widely known as Zeno's Paradoxes, pointed to the seemingly logical impossibility of the everyday experience of physical movement.
His considerations have perplexed and troubled philosophers and scientists even since. Various assumptions that underpin our modern technologies and sciences were taken for granted. We take for granted that there is always a physical cause for every physical effect - as exemplified by scientists researching to find physical cures for disease, cancer and viruses; and to find the physical genes or brain cells responsible for thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and the experience of love, creativity and joy.
Now, with the advances in the field of quantum physics, we know that a 2,450 year era is nearing its end .. an era in which it has been assumed that our physical brains, bodies and the entire physical universe is continuously existent. An era in which each part (atom, virus, cell, organ, person, planet) was assumed to be continuously existent and functional, with every part contributing to the running of, or dysfunction of, the machinery of life.
We stand at the edge of a grand new understanding of our universe, and ourselves. As Visa International founder Dee Hock foretells, a new era
is struggling to be born -- a shifting of culture, science, society, and institutions enormously greater than the world has ever experienced. Ahead, the possibility of the regeneration of individuality, liberty, community, and ethics such as the world has never known, and a harmony with nature, with one another, and with the divine intelligence such as the world has never dreamed."
Profitable Sustainability
"Sustainability" is one of those loaded terms that is usually taken to mean "living smaller" - of having to ride bicycles to work, reducing our lifestyle, and cutting back on overseas travel ... which all means less choice, freedom and fun!
The expectation that sustainable business practices will reduce profitability is likewise often assumed. Not much fun in that.
Sustainable Living
[ Copyright Dr Werner Sattmann-Frese 2009]
Notions of ‘Sustainable Living’ have recently been considered in relation to topics such as clean air and water, Permaculture and solar panels.
Whereas such environmental initiatives and government programs are important and will continue to play important roles in the ecological recovery of this planet, there is now also a growing awareness that to live sustainably we will also have to address the emotional and psychosocial aspects of sustainability.
The participation and well-being of individuals within all stratas of society are important to the viability of sustainable living programs and practices.
Creating a viable society
[ Copyright Andrew Gaines 2008]
One of the implications of quantum physics is that many futures are possible.
In our current reality all the real-world scientific evidence indicates that our global civilisation will self-destruct environmentally within the lifetime of young people alive today. Jared Diamond's Collapse, the recent evidence that Arctic seabeds are now releasing methane (a major climate tipping point) and Philip Sutton's Climate Code Red makes the case.
Introduction to ecological sustainability
[ Copyright Andrew Gaines 2008]
There is a new generation of graduates trained in various technical aspects of sustainability. But leaders do not need to have a deep mastery of the technical details.
