In a previous article I explained this diagram and in this one I am going to expand on my own worldview. On first read it may be difficult to grasp but is actually, according to recent quantum science and indigenous wisdom, connecting with the way the world and our minds really work.
My Worldview: Unity (Oneness), Bildung & Regenerative Living-Systems.
‘The greatest breakthroughs of the 21st century won’t occur because of technology; they will occur because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.’ John Naisbitt.
Our worldview shapes the way we act in the world.
The current capitalist, neoliberalist and individualist worldview is at breaking point with the crises we face, and we are hitting the wall. To find our way out of this we need to change our logic and worldview by which we operate. We need to become more humanity aware[1] – that is a world where all living beings thrive.
For me, there are three interconnected parts to my worldview. Unity, Bildung, & the Regenerative paradigm all of which have a common theme of what it means to be human. I will explain these three concepts and how I see them coming together to light the way forward for us.
Unity: Oneness & Interconnectedness
Science, spirituality, and indigenous wisdom are coming together to explain that, despite what we may instinctively believe, we are not separate but are one with nature and with each other.
Our thinking, emotions, life experiences, interests, hobbies and passions make each of us unique. However, the concept of “unity” states that underneath this we have the same ability of awareness. We are all human beings and we are actually interconnected. We are “one”.
This teaching uses terms such as oneness, unitive consciousness, non-duality, and living systems field which are all similar in meaning and point to a natural intelligence, a pervasive field that informs us and the world around us.
It is described as a feeling of aliveness, a responsive intelligence, and an infinite potential for fresh thinking and new ideas. It is the source of all innovation.
This may seem a tricky concept to comprehend. However, a famous quote from Albert Einstein may help.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
“Before” or subtractive psychology[2] says that there is something prior to our thinking, feelings, and our emotions. There is something that informs us. This is our intuitive mind or “presence-awareness”. We have our natural inbuilt awareness prior to all our learning and thinking.
We get a hint of this when we are in “flow” or “in the zone”. We lose all sense of self, and time flies. We are not thinking of our past or an imagined future, we are present and aware and “connected” to our natural being.
Our thinking, learning and educational process have promoted our rational mind and emphasised our individualism and our separateness from each other, creating a competitive mindset of “what is in it for me?”.
We do need this ego-thinking but also need to rebalance or reconnect to our innate “before thinking” awareness. This state of being, or intuitive mind, is our natural peaceful, content, creative selves.
Our route to this awareness is through self-enquiry with an open mind.
It also becomes so much more useful. We can create a distance between our thinking, feelings and emotions. When we observe our thinking, seemingly from a distance, we do not swiftly move to anxiousness, worry or anger. Our emotions’ hold over us dissipates more quickly and we return to our peaceful state.
We learn to not overthink and to let creativity flow from our peaceful state. We also learn to not let our emotions dominate our lives and to let go of our limiting beliefs. We stop managing other people’s impressions of ourselves, playing politics, covering up weaknesses and hiding our true selves. This gives us a freedom to act from our heart. These are all important parts of “Bildung”, which I’ll now explain.
Bildung: The Nordic Secret
Have you ever wondered why the Nordic countries top the wellbeing lists? They followed the concept of Bildung in the 1850’s and it is very ingrained within Nordic society, the story of which is in the book The Nordic Secret[3].
The European Bildung Network states “Bildung is the combination of the education and knowledge necessary to thrive in your society, and the moral and emotional maturity to both be a team player and have personal autonomy. Bildung is also knowing your roots and being able to imagine and co-create the future”[4].
Nice to have a definition but it does not clearly get across the depth of meaning and transformation involved. Fortunately, the websites https://www.globalbildung.net/ and https://www.nordicbildung.org/ provide more information as well as the Nordic Bildung organisation’s new book “What it means to be human” published in March 2024.
The Bildung Rose, below, is a societal and educational model made up of seven domains: Production, Technology, Aesthetics (the Arts), (political) Power, Science, Narrative (political, economic, social), and Ethics.
Our mind needs to be able to grasp as much as possible of all seven domains and their increasing complexity in order for us to be able to navigate society and make informed decisions to co-create a better “humanity aware” planet. A few personal observations are that ethics in business is sadly lacking; performance arts, painting, and music are undervalued and underfunded; and the political and economic narrative is progressively and worryingly narrowing.
The purpose of Bildung vertical education is to develop social awareness through curiosity, integrity, critical thinking, challenging of assumptions, deep listening, understanding the perspectives of others, care and equity. Bildung also puts ethical principles above self, status and fitting in with others and combines this with independent thinking prioritising the greater good and personal integrity over social expectations.
This transformation moves our thinking from what’s in it for me, the “I”, to how can I help others and society, the “we”. Richard Barrett, a guru on values and consciousness, explains that higher level consciousness is all about service towards others and the planet (www.valuescentre.com) .
In a webinar I attended he discussed consciousness as:
“Awareness + Inner Stability + External Equilibrium”.
By this he means that there are various areas of awareness for example Self, Social, Political, Economic, Nature, Climate, and Technology. When we know more about the world about us and the crises we face it is easy to get overwhelmed. But by getting to know ourselves better we do not get overwhelmed as we achieve inner stability. Then there is treating other people as you would like to be treated yourself, with equity and kindness which provides external equilibrium.
I was pleasantly surprised with the introductory video on the home page of Richard Barrett’s Humanity Awareness Initiative website that states to move to being more humanity aware – a world where all living beings thrive – we need more Bildung!
Moving next to the regenerative paradigm, I believe it connects with Unity and Bildung on an individual level and also moves into the way organisations work.
Regenerative: Living Systems
‘Regenerative’ means working the way life works, the process of tending toward regeneration (harmony with life) – See Regenerative, Regenerative Leadership, Regenerative Business, Regeneration – What’s it all about? | Giles Hutchins
At the core of regenerative leadership practices is attuning with the natural world and having a mindset that sees organisations as vibrant ecosystems of human relationships.
This requires deep self and system awareness. Self-awareness is knowing our inner-nature and learning through our relationships with others. Systemic-awareness is a deep sense of the organisational system, the way it works inside and out. Not just control mechanisms and decision-making protocols but attuning to the people inside, and the stakeholder environment and wider society outside.
Nature is a totally efficient self-regenerating system. It’s diverse, resilient, adaptive, sensing, responding, innovative, interdependent, relational, collaborative, nurturing and life affirming. All the attributes regenerative leaders need.
Organisations are made up of people. The quality of relationships and connectedness are key to making the living system thrive.
“The shift to regenerative practices requires business leaders to change themselves, to change their organizations, and ultimately, to change the business world so that we start to work with nature rather than against it”. So says Giles Hutchins’ in his excellent blog www.thenatureofbusiness.org . I also recommend Laura Storm’s website www.regenerators.co and her academy for more on regenerative leadership and paradigm.
My Worldview in short – combining Unity, Bildung & the regenerative paradigm.
Moving on to my worldview, I see that the way the world is working, isn’t working.
We are living in a world with an individualist, capitalist, neo-liberalist, and mechanistic worldview that has brought significant benefits but has reached its limit as shown by the global crises we face.
A humanity-aware living systems worldview is craving to emerge. A world where all living beings thrive and we all act from a place of freedom from our thinking, emotions and needing to protect an image of ourselves. My worldview is:
- Where we move from what’s in it for me to understanding our interconnectedness and caring for each other and the planet. (Unity)
- Connecting with the living systems field that informs us and the world around us and our before thinking presence-awareness. (Unity)
- Having a deep understanding of the way society works with the curiosity, integrity, critical thinking, ethics, and desire to take action to challenge and transform the way the world currently works. (Bildung)
- Promoting “a paradigm based on regenerative principles. A paradigm that moves away from the take, make, dispose of our natural and human resources, and instead makes room for consciousness to evolve and for creativity to flourish, inspired by nature” www.regenerators.co . (The Regenerative Paradigm).
Curious and wish to discuss more?
Chris Burton is a UK Chartered Accountant, Collective Leadership Specialist, Inner Development Goals coordinator, and was part of the 2022 Regenerators Academy programme. I partner with like-minded consultants and organisations to encourage the co-creation of a better world that works 100% for humanity and the planet.
I believe that we can all be Mavericks for Active Hope.
[1] Humanity Awareness Initiative https://www.humanityawarenessinitiative.org/
[2] Before Psychology – Piers Thurston (https://www.qualityofmind.co.uk/ ) and Subtractive Psychology – Jamie Smart (https://www.jamiesmart.com/innate-thinking/ )
[3] The Nordic Secret by Lena Rachel Anderson and Tomas Bjorkman
[4] What is Bildung? https://eaea.org/project/bildung/?pid=15007