A Practice of Compassion, Presence and Shared Humanity After placing an order at a fast food restaurant takeout menu, Linda pulled up to the window. I was in the passenger seat. She handed over the money and moments later, when the bag of food was delivered she noticed a sandwich was missing. She waved to […]
Our collective consciousness created it Left to right: Sven?, Fran Macy, Donald Keys (Moderator), Gehard Elston, Bill Porter In June 1983, under the auspices of the World Good News Network (WGNN), I led a team to Toronto, Canada to video document a week-long event entitled, “The Congress of the Planetary Initiative for the World We […]
Why the “Domination” Paradigm Fails and the “Communion” Paradigm Endures Through decades of studying the rise and fall of the ancient Maya civilization of Central America, one of my areas of interest has been the formation and decline of “kingship,” how power was gained and wielded and how it failed. Universally, and from a whole-systems […]
What can we do in the face of unsettling change, eroding confidence and civility? The world has tilted in the direction of uncertainty. Social, economic and cultural norms are shifting and many are being dismantled.[1] Droughts, tornados, fires and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe. Technologies are evolving faster than the wisdom to manage […]
Considering Reincarnation, Karma and Compassion “I think I was ten different people in this lifetime.” I hear words to that effect quite often and share that sentiment. Looking back on some of my beliefs, things I’d said and done, it’s hard to believe it was me. Who was that guy? How was that possible? I’m […]
It can manifest as an open hand or a clenched fist Nationalism is a point of view that puts the identity, interests and values of a nation ahead of other nations, regarding itself as independent and self-sufficient, the ultimate authority on what’s best for its citizens. Grounded in national pride, it has brought people together […]
The Power of Emergents The earth’s atmosphere with watery clouds was established about three billion years ago. When creatures emerged with eyes around 100 million years ago, they probably beheld skies something like this. While researching the evolutionary timeline for this information, my attention peaked at the word “emergence,” defined by science as a process […]
Introduction This begins a series of posts on the subject of whole systems thinking. After the topic is introduced, I’ll offer a contemplation that relates to the headline photograph and text. Historically, patterns observed in nature were discussed and documented in China five thousand years ago, before they were articulated by Lao Tzu (Gia-fu Feng, […]
Consciously or not, every day we choose between breakdown and transformation Because the rust is so prominent in this image, giving the appearance of a “bleeding” or disintegrating stairway, I see it as an excellent illustration of entropy—matter in the process of dissipation, reverting back to heat energy. According to the Third Law of Thermodynamics, matter […]
The safety of system’s syntropy against the forces of entropy Obviously, guard rails are intended to keep vehicles from running off the road and to reduce the severity of injuries when they do. Not so obvious is the observation that their presence indicates a lack of trust. Appropriately so. Bad accidents, even death, may have […]
Contemplative Photography 