The Ecovillage Design Mandala was created by ecovillage educators in 2004, as the core symbol of the Ecovillage Design Education (EDE). This map describes a holistic map for sustainable design and development, embracing the social, worldview, ecological and economic dimensions of sustainability. The mandala can be applied to systems on all levels: to the life of an individual, to an organization or enterprise, an intentional community, traditional village, urban neighbourhood, region, etc. … Read more
Holistic Business and SelfOrganisation The Emergence of the Global Village
We can view humanity as being separate from Nature or being an integral part of it. If we choose the latter view, then we ought to look to Nature to be our teacher. If we do this, we see the following principles at work: ● holism : where all parts of a system are recognised and the parts together add up to more than the whole. ● emergence : we can try to plan for every eventuality and control external events (people, situations and so on) or we can allow ourselves to be led by life and … Read more
Art of Hosting A way of harnessing the collective wisdom and selforganizing capacity of groups.
The Art of Hosting is an approach to leadership that scales up from the personal to the systemic using personal practice, dialogue, facilitation and the cocreation of innovation to address complex challenges. Different methods and techniques are framed under this umbrella that understands that the way of hosting is an invitation that makes a meaningful difference in the way that people and groups interact. Practitioners report improved decision making, capacity building and ability to … Read more
Dragon Dreaming A living systems approach to building successful organisations and projects based upon three principles of personal growth, community building and service to the Earth
Dragon Dreaming is an inspiring, encouraging and meaningful opensource method for assisting individuals and groups who seek to make their dreams come true. It offers simple and playful holistic tools for visionary initiation processes, planning, implementation, evaluation and celebration. Through different theories, tools, tips and techniques it supports the improvement of the effectiveness in the everyday work and life. Dragon Dreaming, first developed by John Croft and Vivienne … Read more
People and Permaculture To facilitate change and turn our ideas into reality.
It can be used for a wide variety of designs, from our own personal health to our family life, from community groups to schools, from healthcare systems to international development projects. The web has 12 anchor points, each focusing on a different are to build up a detailed, holistic picture of where we want to go and how we are going to get there. References: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability; David Holmgren; Permanent Publications, 2002 People & Permaculture; Looby … Read more
Theory U How to lead and cocreate from the emerging yet unknown future
Successful leadership depends on the quality of attention and intention that the leader brings to any situation. The nature of the inner place in leaders is something of a mystery to us. At its core, leadership is about shaping and shifting how individuals and groups attend to and subsequently respond to a situation. Learning to recognize the habits of attention in a business culture requires, among other things, a particular kind of listening. Theory U, initiated by Otto Scharmer, speaks … Read more
Spiral Dynamics A way of mapping the evolution of consciousness.
From his research, Dr Graves formulated a model of human development which was then developed by Don Beck, Christopher Cowan and others into Spiral Dynamics. Graves classified a total of eight levels of increasingly complex human value systems consisting of a hierarchically ordered, alwaysopentochange set of identifiable worldviews, preferences, and purposes. Individuals, groups and even nation states move up and down the spiral in response to changes in life conditions and … Read more
Prototyping Doing what you aim for in a small and fast way.
Prototyping is a process where you do what you want to do early and on a small and easy scale. It does not have to be perfect; but it should lead you into doing and trying out your idea. Try to find a small version of your big idea and start doing it. This helps you to: a: get to know your own role early, so you can adjust and clarify b: see what the project is in a “live surrounding” and get feedback c: get feedback from others fast and early so you can adopt it in your on going … Read more
Meaningful Conversations Creating meaningful relationships of mutual support
A meaningful conversation is called by approaches like the Art of Hosting and Oasis Game to the possibility to active listening to what really matters to everyone that is involved in the conversation. How to do that? There are some questions linked to the appreciative gaze (Elos Philosophy) that support us to do it: a. connect with a personal moment that is very relevant to you b. what made that moment possible? c. Imagine the dream that you have for the world that is connected to that … Read more
Integral Theory of Ken Wilber All Quadrants All Levels A model for everything
Integral theory, as described by Ken Wilber and others in the integral movement, revolves around the concept of two axes and four quadrants. One axis is for the interior/exterior, and the other axis is for the individual/collective. Putting these two axes together creates a simple model of four quadrants: the individual interior (my subjective experience of thoughts, feelings, memories and perceptions); the individual exterior (my physical body and all external perception); the collective … Read more
