“If the world is complex, then acting congruently with that complexity can be simpler than trying to control a machine that does not exist.” Jean Boulton, Author of Embracing Complexity: Strategic Perspectives for an Age of Turbulence
The Challenge and CONTEXT
•The confluence of our ecological, social and political challenges is bringing about greater complexity and, as a result, society is becoming more fearful, polarised and anxious and less able to deal with challenges and to find solutions.
• Addressing the root cause of our complex challenges requires us to shift our mindsets, values and how we ‘see’ and ‘create’ the world around us. Expanding our consciousness is key to how we do this. More attention is needed to cultivate the ‘inner and outer work’ so that we can better navigate this complexity and embrace and protect the richness of life.
• Understanding more about who we really are as individuals, societies and humanity is not just a rational exercise - we need to cultivate and harmonise different ways of knowing ourselves including psychologically (our mind), somatically (our body) and spiritually (our sense of beyond the individual self).
• There are many inspiring leaders and hundreds of small organisations in the UK that are playing a very important role in helping people to awaken to who they really are. However, they are often working in isolation and with limited resources and reach. We believe that strengthening these organisations will lead to significantly more people wanting to develop their consciousness.
• The scale of the challenge requires leaders of these organisations to intentionally work together as a field to learn, support each other and to generate creative systemic solutions. Systemic action needs concerted convening effort and infrastructure to create enabling conditions to accelerate wider change.
The Opportunity
Our belief is that if we could find a way to work as an inspirational and influential field then, maybe - just maybe - it would be possible to intentionally accelerate the expansion of human consciousness.
This in turn could bring about an increased awareness that helps people to have an enhanced ability to respond, and to adapt to rapidly changing contexts and the complexity of our times.
Consequently, we might then learn - individually and collectively - to have a stronger connection to life itself.
In the short term, we hope that The Murmuration Project will help in three ways by:
• Shining a light on the field so that it can be seen more clearly in the world
• Identifying areas where leaders may need support and resources to grow their work
• Exploring and catalysing the opportunities to connect, learn and work together and collaborate as a field for greater systemic action