the school of nothing

the school of nothing is investigating the realm of nothing.
As an applied research project it develops and implements artistic and scientific interventions in the public space and open performances | workshops for people being interested into exploring the qualities conntected to nothing, e.g. nothingness, silence, emptiness, darkness, pause, serenity, Lassenskraft, waiting, withdrawing, contemplation, doing nothing, leisure

Curious Leaders

Our philosophy as business coaches and transformation facilitators is rooted in an understanding of identity that integrates executive branding expertise with our experience in designing multiple leadership programmes for FTSE 50 companies, SMEs, social enterprises and as adjunct faculty members of a corporate university.

How an organisation communicates externally with customers from a product or service perspective is only one dimension of identity. The quality of relationships, credibility and trust is determined by the congruence between what is said on the outside and what is practised internally.

The ongoing dialogue between these internal and external relationships defines who we are. It creates a sense of identity ® that, when managed consciously, can act as a powerful resource for positive growth.

Organisations and individuals that have a clear understanding of who they are, what they stand for, and how they make decisions have more inner resilience, agility and access to creativity.

We help individuals, teams and organisations leverage identity as a leadership practice through a proprietary sense of identity ® framework and Strategic Identity Management™ coaching process.

Margaret and Matthias manage the overall client relationships. They co-create and deliver programmes with senior associates they trust and know well. When engaged on large projects CuriousLeaders collaborates with global partners to deliver on the scalability required.

The 3 core values that guide us are: Creative, Honest, Compassionate. We believe that:

  • Curiosity sparks transformation
  • Good decisions come from the head. Great decisions comes from head and heart
  • Change is constant. You can choose to run it or to be run by it

About Us

The Communities of Practice Playbook

Working through communities of practice has never been more encouraged in organisations than it is now. Better gathering, sharing and using of data, information and knowledge in public organisations such as the European Commission are essential to deliver integrated policy work and overcome silo mentalities. This is highlighted explicitly in European Commission President von der Leyen’s work guidelines stipulating transparency and the ambition to become a digitally transformed, user-focused and data-driven administration. Communities of practice are an excellent instrument for fostering collaboration among internal and external stakeholders: they can bring groups with different knowledge perspectives together and can strengthen their capacity to work and learn creatively together. Thus, communities of practice harness the collective intelligence in organisations and help improve performance.

Buen Vivir SchoolHouse

We want a Good Life in Togetherness.
Individualism, isolation and fear are among the plagues of western societies. They could be overcome by living a sense-making, happiness-oriented, future-building community life.
But where to start? We are convinced that the first step to salvation is knowledge. Not just our own knowledge, but the wisdom that comes from relying on the collective knowledge of the people we know and we are close to.
And we also think that we need to learn to be brave showing our vulnerability when we ask others for help or support.

Our dream is to use this place as a permanent laboratory of conviviality and reciprocity, where we can…
… learn, together with others, to share and develop manual skills, techniques and abilities.
… deepen our knowledge in reciprocity, to respond to the challenges of the future in an exportable and networked way.
… shape the opportunities to slow down, reflect, think and understand reality and ourselves in a continuous and deep way.
… re-learn to trust others and ourselves.
We believe that “exchange without money as a mediator should be a daily component of everyone’s life“. 
This is why we propose to our visitors to explore together how to regulate our exchange of space and time in order to avoid the use of money as much as possible and lay the foundations for a relationship of true reciprocity (barters can be circular, not necessarily dual). 
In case guests want to reciprocate the hospitality, they can:
1.Choose a way to help us maintain or manage these spaces, by picking from the list of objects and works still needed in the house.
2.Consider expanding our respective network and skills, by offering a workshop (or think of someone they know that could offer one).
3.If nothing we to exchange falls within their possibilities or preferences, then they can help us cover some running costs (for example leaving a “suspended fee” as cash offer for a future offer or some works or bringing a bag of pellets) or propose other exchange possibilities.

Hafner, Judith

Her context of languages (German, Italian, English, French, Chinese) and professional experiences (business, international cooperation, community building) speaks of her longing to connect spaces through listening.

Her body-felt and mind-opening experience of flow in different trainings (Presencing Institute, Seele und Sein, Thomas Hübl, Art of Hosting) shifted her deeper into inner alignment and availability as basic drivers for growth.

She coordinates, together with four other women, the network future.bz.it in Nortnern Italy around the Agenda 2030, and tries to stay in service of the emerging field, driven by simplicity, curiosity and a sense of connection.

Schönwitz, Tobias

Tobias Schönwitz is a program director and Coordinator of the funding department at the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany’s largest private, non-profit organization engaged in the promotion and support of academic research; not a corporate foundation and not affiliated to the Volkswagen automobile manufacturer).

Muten, Erik

Kailo Mentoring Group serves to integrate Ego & Soul through individual, couples, families, groups, & organizations. Erik work/plays with his life and business partner, Amelia Perkins (www.ameliaperkins.com)

Erik has been a Psychologist for over 35 years and spent over 30,000 hours exploring both the the conscious and unconscious patterns in people and organizations. He has consulted to some of the biggest corporations in the world on Emotional Intelligence as well as non-profits and family businesses.

With individuals, Erik mentors them in the Socratic Method with the assumption that the people seeking out his services are willing to take responsibility for creating the story of their lives. Erik believes that each individual has the responsibly to be their Unique Self. At the age of 67, he now only work/plays with people who are consciously focusing on their Agency in the world and their Connection. Erik spends most of his time in individual mentoring sessions, leading seminars, and mentoring ‘high performance teams’.

Erik loves his profession and his work in the world. While taking into consideration the ‘big picture’, most of what he does is practical and draws on his experience in participating and creating the forms and forums for transformation. Erik is an applied researcher and has gathered many ‘maps’ to guide himself and others into the unconscious epigenetic patterns that can rule lives if not explored and uncovered.

Zeng, Yilan

After demolition and resettlement in 2017, we are still in flux. During the slow recovery, we first focused on the establishment of a visualized online community, hoping that by finding like-minded partners, we can once again restore and rebuild the green art entrepreneurship park on the earth.

Schroeder, Heike

Heike Schroeder is Professor of Environmental Governance at the School of International Development, University of East Anglia. Her work focuses on global environmental politics, forest governance and REDD+, the international climate negotiations, non-state actors, urban climate governance, indigenous peoples/knowledge and sustainable development, transformative learning, trust and sustainable food governance. She is PI of the Indigenous-International Interactions for Sustainable Development (INDIS) project. She is also a member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and a lead faculty member of the Earth System Governance project. Heike was a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam in 2019.

From 2007 to 2011, Heike was a Tyndall senior research fellow and an Oxford Martin senior fellow in forest governance at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford. From 2003 to 2007, she was a researcher at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as the Executive Officer of a 10-year international research project on the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC), a core project of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP).

Key Research Interests

Heike’s research interests include global environmental politics, forest governance and REDD+, the international climate negotiations, indigenous peoples/knowledge and sustainable development, transformative learning, trust, sustainable food governance and planetary health.

Mues, Andreas

Andreas Mues works for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) where he has been involved particularly in the studies on nature awareness (Naturbewusstsein) and the connection between mindfulness and nature protection.

You Matter More Than You Think. Quantum Social Change in Response to a World in Crisis

You Matter More Than You Think is the starting point for an inquiry about quantum social change and its implications for climate change. The book explores how the metaphors and meanings of quantum physics can contribute to new understandings of the relationship between individual change, collective change, and systems change. It considers how paradigms and practices can change the way we relate to each other, the environment, the planet, and the future.

This is a book for those who are interested in social change, and open to the possibility that each of us can contribute to an equitable and thriving world. It is also for those who are concerned about climate change and may be feeling a deep anxiety about the future and if /how they matter. Most of all, it is about why you matter more than you think.

von Meibom, Barbara

Alles Leben ist Bewegung und ein ständiges Ringen, um das rechte Gleichgewicht, um lebensfördernde Balancen und um Synthesen zwischen vermeintlich unvereinbaren Widersprüchen. Dabei haben wir ein feines Gespür dafür, wenn etwas „aus der Spur geraten“ ist und destruktive Entwicklungen für uns selbst, für das Miteinander und für das Leben auf diesem Planeten entstanden sind.

Ich habe in meinem Leben erfahren müssen, was es heißt, sich der Welt zu sehr kognitiv zu nähern. Als Universitätsprofessorin, Politik- und Kommunikationswissenschaftlerin hatte ich gelernt, meine mentalen Fähigkeiten mit aller Kraft in den Dienst der Wissenschaft zu stellen.

Doch ich musste erfahren, dass damit mein Leben in ein destruktives Ungleichgewicht rutschte, und nicht nur dies:  Auch mein Menschen- und Weltbild wurden durch die mentale Perspektive verengt.

Ich begab mich also auf die Suche nach einem neuen inneren und äußeren Gleichgewicht, einem Gleichgewicht, das dem Leben dient.

Dazu entwickelte ich ein zweites Standbein, erschloss mir die Welten der transpersonalen und humanistischen Psychologie und Psychotherapie, vertiefte meinen Zugang zur spirituellen Dimension des Seins durch ausgedehnte Studienreisen nach Asien und erprobte mich seit Mitte der 90er Jahre, zuerst neben der universitären Tätigkeit und dann selbständig mit CommUnio.

​

Mit diesem reichen Hintergrund, in dem sich Unterschiedliches vereint, bin ich bis heute unterwegs und mit mir die vielen Menschen und Organisationen, die ich im Laufe meiner 20jährigen selbständigen Tätigkeit begleite und begleitet habe. Geholfen hat mir dabei, dass an meiner Wiege „Thron und Altar“ standen, repräsentiert durch zwei übermächtige Großväter, die so unterschiedliche Welten wie Macht und Liebe vertraten und eine Mutter, die sich mit hohem Engagement in den Dienst von Verständigung stellte.

​Zugänge, die ich im Laufe meiner langen beruflichen Tätigkeit gewählt habe, sind vielfältig: Einzelarbeit, Lehrgänge, Moderationen, Mediationen, Vorträge, Publikationen. Doch immer geht es mir darum, gemeinsam Wege zu ebnen, in denen sich Stimmigkeit im Innen wie im Außen herstellt, eine Stimmigkeit, die sich aus der produktiven Synthese unterschiedlichster Sichtweisen, Interessen, Anliegen und Weltzugänge herstellt.

taken from https://www.communio-fuehrungskunst.de/ueber-uns

 

Trescher, Dino

Helping humans reaching their human potential. With this calling in life I serve, cooperate and co-create to proesses of inner change and systems change towards sustainability transformations.

Creating space for reflection and dialogue: Examples of new modes of communication for empowering climate action

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” This quote by Albert Einstein highlights our need for new formats of communication to address the knowledge-action gap regarding climate change and other sustainability challenges. This includes reflection, and communication spaces, as well as methods and approaches that can catalyze the emergence of transformative change and action. In this article we present and reflect on experiments we carried out at international climate negotiations and conferences.

 

(Taken from www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oekom/gaia/2021/00000030/00000003/art00010;jsessionid=bc027khsn74t1.x-ic-live-02)

A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations

ABSTRACT

In sustainability science, revising the paradigms that separate humans from nature is considered a powerful ‘leverage point’ in pursuit of transformations. The coupled social-ecological and human-environment systems perspectives at the heart of sustainability science have, in many ways, enhanced recognition across academic, civil, policy and business spheres that humans and nature are inextricably connected. However, in retaining substantialist assumptions where ‘social’ and ‘ecological’ refer to different classes of entity that interact, coupled systems perspectives insist on the inextricability of humans and nature in theory, while requiring researchers to extricate them in practice – thus inadvertently reproducing the separation they seek to repair. Consequently, sustainability researchers are increasingly drawing on scholarship from the ‘relational turn’ in the humanities and the social sciences to propose a paradigm shift for sustainability science: away from focusing on interactions between entities, towards emphasizing continually unfolding processes and relations. Yet there remains widespread uncertainty about the origins, promises and challenges of using relational approaches. In this paper, we identify four themes in relational thinking – continually unfolding processes; embodied experience; reconstructing language and concepts; and ethics/practices of care – and highlight the ways in which these are being drawn on in sustainability science. We conclude by critically discussing how relational approaches might contribute to (i) a paradigm shift in sustainability science, and (ii) transformations towards sustainability. Relational approaches foster more dynamic, holistic accounts of human-nature connectedness; more situated and diverse knowledges for decision-making; and new domains and methods of intervention that nurture relationships in place and practice.

(Taken from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/26395916.2020.1814417?needAccess=true&fbclid=IwAR2_Xw9Nv21rLb-7tp5zUpoO2IDTWuSHYX7MRNMYgCWTSmOjsxv0FHOesYw)

Connecting to Change the World: Harnessing the Power of Networks for Social Impact

Something new and important is afoot. Nonprofit and philanthropic organizations are under increasing pressure to do more and to do better to increase and improve productivity with fewer resources. Social entrepreneurs, community-minded leaders, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropists now recognize that to achieve greater impact they must adopt a network-centric approach to solving difficult problems. Building networks of like-minded organizations and people offers them a way to weave together and create strong alliances that get better leverage, performance, and results than any single organization is able to do.

While the advantages of such networks are clear, there are few resources that offer easily understandable, field-tested information on how to form and manage social-impact networks. Drawn from the authors’ deep experience with more than thirty successful network projects, Connecting to Change the World provides the frameworks, practical advice, case studies, and expert knowledge needed to build better performing networks. Readers will gain greater confidence and ability to anticipate challenges and opportunities.

Easily understandable and full of actionable advice, Connecting to Change the World is an informative guide to creating collaborative solutions to tackle the most difficult challenges society faces.

 

(taken from https://islandpress.org/books/connecting-change-world)

Nachhaltigkeit braucht Spiritualität

“Das Wissen steht bereit, Umsetzungsmodelle ebenso, doch der große Wurf zur Nachhaltigkeit lässt auf sich warten. Anlass genug, bei der gängigen Übersetzung des Drei-Säulen-Schemas Ökologie – Ökonomie – Soziales anzusetzen und es auf Fehlstellen zu untersuchen. Spiritualität gehört zum Menschsein, der Umgang mit und die Lösung von ökologischen Problemen kann hier eine Erweiterung erfahren, die angesichts der aktuellen Entwicklung dringend geboten ist. Nachhaltige Entwicklung kann es nicht geben, wenn nur der Verstand der Menschen oder ihre Bereitschaft zu moralischem Handeln angesprochen werden, so die These dieses Buches: Die Menschen müssen auf einer tieferen Ebene des Menschseins erreicht werden – in ihrem Herzen. Konkret geht es dabei um die Verknüpfung von Leitwerten und dem menschlichen Streben mit einer ausgewogenen Wirtschafts- und Lebensweise, wie sie sowohl im Christentum als auch im Buddhismus gefordert und angestrebt wird. Ob tibetisches Kloster oder Benediktinerabtei: Diese Publikation führt zusammen, was Parallelen besitzt, und eröffnet neue Horizonte für die religiöse Beschäftigung mit Nachhaltigkeit.”

Wir sind dran. Club of Rome: Der große Bericht: Was wir ändern müssen, wenn wir bleiben wollen. Eine neue Aufklärung für eine volle Welt

“In seinem ersten, weltweit beachteten Bericht zur Lage der Menschheit (»Die Grenzen des Wachstums«, 1972) prognostizierte der Club of Rome den ultimativen Kollaps des Weltsystems in den nächsten 50 Jahren. Seitdem hat sich viel verändert und wir verfügen über genügend neues Wissen für die erforderlichen Veränderungen zum Erhalt unserer Welt. Sehr wohl sind laufende Trends aufzuhalten und sind wir in der Lage, bestimmte Philosophien und Überzeugungen ad acta zu legen. Somit können wir uns auf eine aufregende Reise in die Zukunft machen.

Der hier vorliegende neue Bericht des Club of Rome formuliert die Agenda für alle gesellschaftlich relevanten und möglichen Schritte der nächsten Jahre: faktenorientiert und debattenstark.”

Die harte Landung der Achtsamkeit in der westlichen Konsumkultur

Das aus dem Buddhismus stammende Konzept der Achtsamkeit bettet sich nach und nach in die verschiedenen Lebensbereiche der westlichen Kultur ein. Was bedeutet dieser Kontextwechsel in einer von Konsum geprägten Gesellschaft? Welche Potenziale der Meditation an sich und des “mindfulness-movements” im Allgemeinen lassen sich hinsichtlich einer ökologisch-nachhaltigen Zukunft festmachen? Und vor allem: welche Gefahren birgt dieser Prozess? In der Bachelorarbeit “Die harte Landung der Achtsamkeit in der westlichen Konsumkultur” werden die Wechselwirkungen, welche zwischen den westlichen Adaptionen der Achtsamkeit und den Entwicklungen der Konsumgesellschaft bestehen, analysiert und kritisch beleuchtet. Die Verfasserin nimmt dabei abwechselnd eine anthropologische, philosophische und soziologische Betrachtungsweise ein.

O’Brien, Karen

Karen O’Brien is an internationally recognized expert on climate change and society, focusing on themes such as climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation including how climate change interacts with globalization processes and the implications for human security. She is interested in how transdisciplinary and integral approaches to global change research can contribute to a better understanding of how societies both create and respond to change, and particularly the role of beliefs, values and worldview in transformations to sustainability. She is passionate about what potential there is in quantum social theory and the implications for climate change responses. She currently leads a Norwegian Research Council Topforsk project called AdaptationCONNECTS (Adaptation: Combining Old and New kNowledge to Enable Conscious Transformation to Sustainability), that aims towards developing new understandings of whether and how transformations can contribute to successful adaptation to climate change. She has been heavily involved in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Global Change Programmes and the transition to Future Earth, a 10-year global change research initiative. She is the co-founder and partner in cCHANGE, an Oslo-based company.  cCHANGE is a beacon for individuals and organizations seeking a new perspective, inspiration, knowledge, and tools on climate change and sustainability transformations.

Awaris

We transform mindsets, build capabilities and help give birth to new ways of seeing, working and organising.

We embody a deep grounding in systems thinking, mindfulness, neuroscience, and leadership development with a touch of courage thrown in.

We believe that resilience, awareness, and collective intelligence play a central role in transformations and the future of organisations.

One Resilient Earth

Humanity is not prepared to live in a climate altered world. And no policy, plan or initiative happening today to reduce or respond to climate change matches the scale of this global existential threat.

For our team, the climate emergency is both the result and the accelerator of a deeper ecological crisis, which stems from a vision of the Earth as resources to tap. We need to transform that vision and all resulting practices now to limit, address and cope with the crisis. We propose to move away from exhausting ourselves, others and nature for some temporary relief or pleasure, and start protecting and regenerating all the ecosystems we host and belong to. Only then can we ensure that humanity cuts down greehouse gas emissions and becomes more resilient to unavoidable climate instability. We do not have much time to limit the damage that is underway. And even if we had more time, the team has not found a more fulfilling nor joyful work than fostering resilience and regeneration.

 

What do we do?

We believe that a change has to happen within individuals’ minds, in how they relate to living beings, time, and space, to foster the transformation needed to respond to the current crisis. We also believe that individuals are resilient, in the sense that they can recover from hurt and limiting beliefs, and have the ability to adjust to change easily. Last, we believe in creativity and daring actions to transform the way humanity thinks and acts, and give rise to regenerative and climate-positive initiatives.

We co-design projects with a variety of partners who are open to experiencing and growing their inner resilience as they engage into the regeneration of communities and/or ecosystems through context-specific initiatives. We mobilize ancient wisdom and modern science, work across disciplines and generations, integrate new technologies when impactful, and value art as a channel for transformation. Our three main areas of work foster inspiration, global connection, and responsible experimentation, through Tero magazine, the Tapestry programme for local communities, and our Resilience Nests.

One Resilient Earth

Humanity is not prepared to live in a climate altered world. And no policy, plan or initiative happening today to reduce or respond to climate change matches the scale of this global existential threat.

For our team, the climate emergency is both the result and the accelerator of a deeper ecological crisis, which stems from a vision of the Earth as resources to tap. We need to transform that vision and all resulting practices now to limit, address and cope with the crisis. We propose to move away from exhausting ourselves, others and nature for some temporary relief or pleasure, and start protecting and regenerating all the ecosystems we host and belong to. Only then can we ensure that humanity cuts down greehouse gas emissions and becomes more resilient to unavoidable climate instability. We do not have much time to limit the damage that is underway. And even if we had more time, the team has not found a more fulfilling nor joyful work than fostering resilience and regeneration.

 

What do we do?

We believe that a change has to happen within individuals’ minds, in how they relate to living beings, time, and space, to foster the transformation needed to respond to the current crisis. We also believe that individuals are resilient, in the sense that they can recover from hurt and limiting beliefs, and have the ability to adjust to change easily. Last, we believe in creativity and daring actions to transform the way humanity thinks and acts, and give rise to regenerative and climate-positive initiatives.

We co-design projects with a variety of partners who are open to experiencing and growing their inner resilience as they engage into the regeneration of communities and/or ecosystems through context-specific initiatives. We mobilize ancient wisdom and modern science, work across disciplines and generations, integrate new technologies when impactful, and value art as a channel for transformation. Our three main areas of work foster inspiration, global connection, and responsible experimentation, through Tero magazine, the Tapestry programme for local communities, and our Resilience Nests.

Stiftung Freie Gemeinschaftsbank

Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank Genossenschaft setzt sich zum Ziel, Menschen zu begleiten, die sich in den Dienst von Mensch und Umwelt stellen. Wir fördern einen bewussten und verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit Geld und engagieren uns dafür, Geldprozesse zu durchschauen.

 

Gestützt auf die Erkenntnisse der Anthroposophie, arbeiten wir mit Menschen und Institutionen zusammen, die sich für Mensch, Tier, Pflanze und Erde einsetzen.

Geld ist weder Ware noch Spekulationsobjekt.
Zentrale Aufgabe der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank ist es, zwischen Menschen zu vermitteln, die Geld zur Verfügung stellen können, und Menschen, die Gelder für das Erreichen ihrer Ziele benötigen. Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert verantwortungsvolle und zukunftsgerichtete gemeinnützige Initiativen. Geld soll dabei der Entwicklung des Menschen dienen.

Geld ermöglicht sozial, ökologisch und ethisch verantwortbares Wirtschaften.
Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert Projekte, die Mensch, Tier und Umwelt zugute kommen. Sie versteht sich als gemeinnützige, nicht gewinnorientierte Bank. An profitmaximierenden Unternehmen ist sie nicht interessiert.

Geld arbeitet nicht, es sind immer Menschen, die ihren Zins erwirtschaften.
Den Zinssatz bei ihren Spargeldern können die Anleger bei der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank bis zu einem bestimmen Maximalzinssatz selber bestimmen. Jedes Jahr verzichten viele Bankkunden auf jegliche Guthaben-Verzinsung und ermöglichen damit günstige Kreditkonditionen für Kreditnehmende. Diese richten sich – so weit möglich – nach der wirtschaftlichen Situation des Kreditnehmers.

Geld wird nach Möglichkeit so eingesetzt, wie es der Anleger wünscht.
Anleger der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank haben die Möglichkeit zu wählen, in welchem Kreditbereich sie ihr Geld einsetzen möchten. Die Einleger wissen, wofür ihr Geld eingesetzt wird.

Geld ist mit Transparenz nicht unvereinbar.
Grosse Bedeutung misst die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank dem transparenten und solidarischen Umgang gegenüber all ihren Anspruchsgruppen bei. Sie veröffentlicht beispielsweise in ihrem Jahresbericht sämtliche Kreditnehmende.

Geld besitzt verschiedene Qualitäten.
Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert das Bewusstsein für die verschiedenen Geldqualitäten “Kaufen”, “Leihen”, und “Schenken”.

Björkman, Tomas

My name is Tomas Björkman and I am an applied philosopher and social entrepreneur.

One of the strongest personal drivers in my life has always been to unlock the hidden structures of the world around me. Curious and exploring, I constantly strive for a better understanding of science, people and social phenomena. Based on my understanding of human and societal needs in a world that is in many ways falling apart, I have committed myself to facilitating the co-creation of a more conscious society.

I want to give momentum to the right kind of changes

I am by no means the only person trying to become more conscious about the problems in the world. Many are also actively doing something about it. My main contribution is to bring change-makers together by creating arenas and initiatives with the goal of stimulating the right kind of development at both an individual and a societal level. The overall goal is to co-create a future at a higher level of individual, cultural, societal consciousness.

In 2008, I started my personal journey by founding Stiftelsen Ekskäret (Ekskäret Foundation) together with a number of future-oriented thinkers, social entrepreneurs and change-makers who became members of the board or creative partners. The Foundation’s strategic vision is to “support a sustainable world where people are creating more well-being for themselves, each other and the planet”. I strongly believe that personal development is a prerequisite for societal change.

Under the umbrella of the Ekskäret Foundation, we have created primarily two venues for events, Learning Labs and exploratory meetings etc.: the workshop facility at the island of Ekskäret (literally: the island where the oak-trees grow), located in the Stockholm archipelago, and the co-working space Ekskäret Klustret in central Stockholm.

The workshop facility on the island of Ekskäret welcomed its first curious and creative visitors in 2011. The facility provides a breath-taking venue and is a perfect arena for exploring existential questions and personal development – for teenager as well as adults. All activities on the island are carried out according to the principles of the Foundation. Ekskäret Klustret, a creative, activity-based co-working space located in the very heart of Stockholm city centre, opened its doors in 2016.

I believe that providing physical and digital meeting venues will create fertile soil for change. Gathering change-makers under one roof will stimulate sharing of ideas and creativity and lead to the co-creation of new initiatives and projects. It will also expand the networks of all participating entrepreneur and generate greater momentum for their important work.

I like to think of these two arenas as important incubators for co-creating positive changes. They are physical manifestations of the idea that a more conscious and sustainable society is possible, and we do watch and guide the ripple effects that result.

More recently I have taken the initiative to create K9 Co-living, Stockholm; Perspectiva Institute, London; the Co-creation loft, Berlin and the digital initiatives 29k.org and ‘Emerge’: www.whatisemerging.com.

Bayr, Tobias

I am Meteorologist, deep ecologist and passionate “feelings worker”

Hosang, Maik

MAIK HOSANG researches interdisciplinary relationships between people,
Nature and culture. He has a
Professorship for cultural philosophy, social and cultural change at the Zittau / Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. He
is co-creator of the interactive philosophy-experience world »Sophia im
Spiegel «and author of several books.

Voggenreiter, Valerie

Sustainability – Self – Silence
Silence Spaces is a collective of four people, which resulted out of sustainable higher education at the Eberswalde University for sustainable development. During the M.Sc. program we realised, that the inner dimension is under represented when sustainability efforts come into action. Hence, we created a space for the self to empower sustainable behavior in silence and finally helping to transform mindsets and societies. Silence Spaces are physical as well as symbolic spaces. They are free of cyber activities, talking, reading, writing or any kind of input as long as there is not a a conceptualized learning journey taking place. In Silence we learn how to drop into ourselves, observe, reflect, relax – deep learning can take place and this environment can help us to deal more sustainable with ourselves instead of exploiting our own resources. Finally, Silence Spaces want to empower each single individual to invite inner change in order to initiate and shape sustainable outer change – and Silence is the container where this processes can origin from. Silence allows to LISTEN to our inner needs, become more empathic and caring towards oneself as well as the surroundings.

Silence Space

What is sustainability? Often, environmental aspects are in the foreground, while the social dimension is neglected. A transformation towards a more sustainable society, though, needs to consider the social and individual dimension as inner change causes outer change – and vice versa. We see the inner dimension underrepresented in public spheres.
We raise the awareness, that we need more than a technological understanding of sustainability, which cares primarily about the ecological consequences of our actions. We call for a shift in consciousness, too, which influences our thinking and action.
To think critically and acting according to it, is asked from each one of us. We believe that these capacities can be found in Silence. It offers a container for subjective transformation processes – by pausing consciously and taking part at learning journeys on (self)transformation. Deep inner change towards sustainability can’t happen in times of overwhelming stress and acceleration.
Silence Spaces in public places allow a transformation on both levels with the emphasis on internal spaces. The potential to become a part of the solution of grievances lies in every one of us and is able to unfold here. Silence Spaces are physical as well as symbolic spaces. They are free of cyber activities, talking, eating or any kind of input as long as there is not a learning journey taking place. In Silence we can drop into ourselves, observe, relax and reflect. We can gather strength and become observers when we exploit ourselves or witness exploitation of others and the environment. We need an economic and political shift and therefore promote spaces where critical thinking can happen, which is needed to bring along system change. The time for cool headed action is now.

Fackenthal , Jeremy

The Institute for Ecological Civilization works internationally to support systemic approaches to long-term sustainability by developing collaborations among government, business, and religious leaders and among scholars, activists, and policy makers. We build effective partnerships across social sectors through consultations, think-tank gatherings, and policy engagement.

The Great Mindshift – How a New Economic Paradigm and Sustainability Transformations go Hand in Hand

This book describes the path ahead. It combines system transformation research with political economy and change leadership insights when discussing the needfor a great mindshift in how human wellbeing, economic prosperity and healthy ecosystems are understood if the Great Transformations ahead are to lead to more sustainability. It shows that history is made by purposefully acting humans and introduces transformative literacy as a key skill in leading the  radical incremental change.

Integrating Personal, Social, and Ecological Transformations toward Ecological Civilization

This invitation-only workshop will convene fifteen leading Chinese environmentalists, international sustainability scientists, grassroots organizers, and spiritual activists to share their knowledge and expertise working on Ecological Civilization. We will employ a highly participatory process of creative inquiry to explore the following question:

“How can we integrate personal, social, and ecological transformations toward Ecological Civilization? What strategic steps can we take to cultivate such an integrated understanding among key stakeholders?”

This workshop will examine how a relational approach to Ecological Civilization may better align its philosophical and political dimensions across sectors, cultures, and contexts. We will invite guests who offer case studies that bridge theory and practice and who are interested in taking a relational approach to their work. The workshop will apply methods that integrate knowledge, experiences, and skills (knowing, being, and doing) in sessions designed to consider case studies from three different orientations: forward, inward, and looping (FIL).

EcoCiv Workshop Agenda

Love and the Anthropocene

Abstract

The Anthropocene is an existential crisis facing humanity, wherein human beings worldwide are confronted with the fact that not only are we in the midst of an unprecedented ecological crisis that endangers the basic living conditions of humankind, but that we are the culprit.
This narrative has elicited increasing and widespread feelings of fear, anxiety, and disillusionment in citizens of every nation on the planet. Einstein said that we cannot solve a problem with the same line of thinking that created the conditions for it. Much has been written about the Anthropocene from scientific and ecological perspectives; this thesis will approach the issue from a philosophical standpoint in an attempt to address the ideological frameworks premised on control and domination of one another and our environment that brought about our current predicament. To understand from whence these ideas originated, we will examine Plato’s Cosmology, specifically his theory of Forms, Reason and Necessity, and the ruler/ruled dynamic. Having considered the impact, evolution, and consequences of Platonic ideals in the development of the western political tradition, we will turn our attention toward contemporary philosophical concepts in search of new frameworks and solutions. Using the phenomenological method, we will consider the non-egoistic existential philosophy of Karl Jaspers and the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt.
The works of Jaspers and Arendt have been selected for several reasons. If humanity is indeed experiencing an existential crisis, Jaspers provides an existential antidote through striving toward non-egoistic Existenz in pursuit of higher consciousness. We will discuss paths toward realizing one’s Existenz such as existential communication, cultivating interrelated freedom, and the loving struggle. Next we will turn to Hannah Arendt’s critique of Plato’s philosophy and the western political tradition, specifically addressing her concepts of plurality, ‘the fact that men, and not Man live on the earth and inhabit the world;’ natality, our unique ability to begin new processes; and the pre-socratic polis, the political space which emerges through people acting in consort (HC, 7). Arendt’s concepts of action and natality offer us hope that we can always embark on a new course.
The Anthropocene imposes its existential question on all people at once, demanding each person to ask, why exist? What does it mean to be a human being in this context? The Anthropocene has awakened our awareness to the fact that not only humans inhabit the earth, but also millions of other species. Plurality seems to be a law of the planet and the foundation of the resilience of entire ecosystems. For human beings, it is also the foundation and condition of politics. To act with others, we must engage people from a spectrum of viewpoints to build a common world that is symbiotic rather than antithetical to our environment, the earth, and the other people and creatures who inhabit it. The reflections of this thesis provide guidance on how the concepts of Jaspers and Arendt can inform and support us in our efforts to move beyond the disturbed human relationships that have contributed significantly to the emergence of the Anthropocene and its existential threats to human and non-human life.

Dierksmeier, Claus

Claus Dierksmeier was appointed director of the “Weltethos-Institut” (Global Ethic Institute) in 2012 to an endowed chair (sponsored by the Karl Schlecht Foundation). Since summer 2018 he has been working at the Institute for Political ScienceP as a professor for “Globalization Ethics with special consideration of the Global Ethic Idea”.

The general focus of his work is the ethics of globalization with regard to its economic and political applications. The current focus is on a secular foundation of a global ethic based on an idea of “qualitative freedom”.  His courses are mainly in the field of political theory.

taken from https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/faculties/faculty-of-economics-and-social-sciences/subjects/department-of-social-sciences/ifp/institute-of-political-science/people/chair-of-globalization-ethics/

 

Bornemann, Boris

Ich interessiere mich für Emotionen und Bewusstsein – und welchen Einfluss Meditation und Achtsamkeit darauf haben können. Ich forsche dazu mit Methoden der Psychologie, Neurowissenschaft und Phänomenologie. Ich betreibe Meditation seit vielen Jahren und unterrichte sie in verschiedenen Kontexten. Gerne helfe ich Ihnen oder Ihrem Unternehmen dabei, einen einfachen und hilfreichen Zugang zu Meditation und Achtsamkeit zu finden.

taken from https://www.borisbornemann.de/

Thinley, Cheten

I have a B.Sc. Forestry degree (2011-2013) from the College of Natural Resources (CNR) where I obtained a Diploma in Forestry (1996-1999) earlier. I also have a Graduate Diploma in Forestry (2003 to 2004) from the Southern Cross University (SCU) Australia .

I carry a huge research experience of more than 15 years and have worked with Forestry Research Center Yusipang. I specialize in Broadleaf Forest Ecology: Sustainable management and forest classification.

Presently, I am actively engaged with the research on the adaptation and mitigation potentials of forests to climate change in western Bhutan. My future interest continues to understand the impacts of climate change on Forest ecosystem and advocate mitigation and prevention of climate catastrophes in the world.

Taken from http://www.uwice.gov.bt/read_fullprofile.php?empid=9908054

Evolver

“Catalyzing a culture of spirituality, healing and connection through content and community.

Who We Are

The culture of the future is conscious. It acknowledges spirit. It’s designed around healing. It’s based on our interconnection with one another. It celebrates humanity’s role as part of a living planet and cosmos. Since 2007, Evolver has been an innovation hub for this emerging consciousness culture. We produce a podcast, publish articles, offer online courses, and organize events in our home city of New York and across the country. Our botanical dispensary, The Alchemist’s Kitchen, is dedicated to the power of plants.
Our Core Values
  • Love of nature and deep caring about its preservation, and its natural balance
  • Strong awareness of the planet-wide issues of sustainability and a desire to see more action on them
  • Belief that change is the constant
  • Thinking global, acting local
  • Investing time as volunteers with one or more good social causes
  • Wellness of mind, body, and spirit are high priority pursuits
  • Optimistic about the future
  • Concern and support of the wellbeing of all women and children
  • Love and respect for the animal kingdom
  • Design science, innovation in technology and artisanship are desirable

Contemplative practices in action: Spirituality, meditation, and health.

“This book seeks to provide a scholarly and multidisciplinary approach on the topic of contemplative practices for the development of well-being, wisdom, healing, and stress management that includes state-of-the-art science, practice, and applications of contemplative practices in the professional workplace, educational settings, pastoral care, and medical, psychological, or other health care interventions. The chapters articulate current findings and practice in contemplative practices from a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions and from experts in the integration of contemplative practices and psychology, nursing, pastoral care, business, and so forth in order to achieve well-being.”

(Source. The book’s preface)

A new psychology for sustainable leadership: the hidden power of ecological worldviews

“During the last decade, the sustainability position in multinational corporations has grown in influence. Much literature has explored how corporations can play an important role in solving the environmental challenges facing the planet. However, until now, there has been little research on sustainability leadership at the individual level. In this book, Schein explores the deeper psychological motivations of sustainability leaders. He shows how these motivations relate to overall effectiveness and capacity to lead transformational change and he explores the ways in which the complexity of sustainability is driving new approaches to leadership.

Drawing on interviews with 75 leaders in more than 40 multinational corporations and NGOs, Schein explores how ecological and post-conventional worldviews are developed and expressed in the context of global sustainability practice. By empirically grounding key theories from developmental psychology, integral ecology, and eco-psychology in sustainability leadership practice, the author encourages us to think about leadership in a different way.

A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of educators, students, corporate executives, social science researchers, and concerned citizens. The insights from this book can be usefully integrated into leadership curriculum and development programs to help the next generation of leaders respond to global challenges.”

(Source: http://steveschein.net/books/a-new-psychology-for-sustainability-leadership/overview/)

Integral Yoga at Work – A Study of Practitioner’s Experiences Working in Four Professional Fields

“Formerly a research psychologist in the USA, the author conducted a qualitative study of sixteen long-term practitioners of the Integral Yoga working in the fields of business management, education, health care, and the arts. Initial chapters frame his research methodology and examine some general findings regarding the participants’ practice of the Yoga in work. Results of the study in each field are based largely on interviews with the participants, and include textual references from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the author’s reflections on central themes and common experiences. The final chapter identifies the various principles and insights regarding the application of Integral Yoga in these four professional fields and presents some of the broader implications of the study.”

Ecological Footprint of the Findhorn Foundation and Community

“The study was commissioned by HIE Moray, a Highlands and Islands Local Enterprise Company, to measure the Ecological Footprint of the Findhorn Foundation and Community. The ecological footprint method has been used to determine the extent to which the Findhorn Foundation’s sustainable practices are reducing the Community’s environmental impact.”

Restoration of the tropical dry evergreen forest of peninsular India

“Abstract: The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) ofIndia is only found on the south eastern seaboard of thepeninsular. It has a very limited range, and extends only 60km inland. The TDEF occurs in an area of high populationdensity and consequently it is the rarest type of forestecosystem found in the subcontinent.The establishment of the Auroville International Township in1968 initiated a major work of eco-restoration which has turneda highly eroded lateritic plateau into a re-emerging ecosystemof the TDEF.The work now spreads out beyond the boundaries of theinternational township and involves working with local people,especially women and children. Many lessons have beenlearnt and the work continues to reintegrate the forest in thesocial fabric of a rapidly changing rural environment.”

(source: Blanchflower, P. (2005). Restoration of the tropical dry evergreen forest of peninsular India. Biodiversity, 6(1), 17-24.)

Sadhana Forest

“Sadhana Forest started its ecological revival and sustainable living work on December 19th 2003.

The vision of its founders, Yorit and Aviram Rozin, is to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid land on the outskirts of Auroville. In a spirit of human unity, their aim is to introduce a growing number of people to sustainable living, food security through ecological transformation, wasteland reclamation, and veganism. Our energy and resources are focused on the creation of a vibrant, indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF).

Sadhana Forest won the third place in the Humanitarian Water and Food Award (WAF) 2010. The ceremony took place in the Marble Hall of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 25th, 2010. Shri Ashok Kumar Attri the Ambassador of India to Denmark honored Sadhana Forest by attending the ceremony.
This award is an international recognition of the quality of the ecological and humanitarian work done by Sadhana Forest in India and Haiti.”

(source: https://sadhanaforest.org/about-us/)

Films for the Earth

“Films for the Earth: sharing knowledge and raising awareness with the most moving films about sustainability.

Films for the Earth is an educational initiative awarded by the UNESCO which creates settings, in which important films are showed to move gathered people and to develop visions and aims for a more sustainable society. You are on the most comprehensive website about films and sustainability, ecology and environment.

Films for the Earth means: hundreds of volunteers and contributing companies, active members and thousands of fans!

Find film screenings, free environmental movies for passing on, nature movies or watch right now films on the website!

Films for the Earth is an international centre of excellence for environmental documentaries and a network of environmental country sections. We want to reach as many people as possible with selected films, pass on knowledge about sustainability and inspire them to act.  

We know the best films about sustainability and how they can be used. We make this expertise available in an advisory capacity but also online, on our most comprehensive film and sustainability directory in the world. In three countries we reach over 100,000 people a year with our international festival, school events and member network. Films for Earth inspires, amazes, creates awareness and moves!”

(source: https://filmsfortheearth.org/en/about-us)

InnSaei – the Power of Intuition

“The ancient Icelandic word for intuition is “innsæi,” but in Iceland it has multiple meanings. It can mean “the sea within” which is the borderless nature of our inner world, a constantly moving world of vision, feelings and imagination beyond words. It can mean “to see within” which means to know yourself, and to know yourself well enough to be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. And it can mean “to see from the inside out” which is to have a strong inner compass to navigate your way in our ever-changing world.

In the inspiring and thought-provoking InnSæi – the Power of Intuition, Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Kristín Ólafsdóttir go on a soul-searching, global journey to uncover the art of connecting within in today’s world of distraction, disconnection and stress. They meet with world-renowned scientists like Marti Spiegelman, an expert in neuroscience and indigenous consciousness who believes that we are only using a fraction of our capacity as human beings, with devastating consequences for the planet; artists like Marina Abramovic, the “grandmother of performance art” who teaches that “in order to create something new human beings need to go into the unknown”; and spiritual leaders like the captivating Malidoma Patrice Somé, a West African elder and author who reasons that “intuition binds us together. Without it we lose our sense of purpose and belonging.”  They also meet an extraordinary group of British schoolchildren who are learning how to better cope in today’s world by unlocking the power of nature and mindfulness.

Illustrated with gorgeous animation and stunning imagery, InnSæi is a film like no other, and one that offers radical insights into how we think and sense the world today.”

The Bridge

RESEARCH EXCHANGES IN AUROVILLE

Auroville is the largest and longest-standing intentional community in the world, practically researching into the evolutionary potential of humankind, developing award-winning transformational practices across fields of culture, economics, governance, education, environment, and health, recognized by UNESCO, the Indian Government, and major industries such as Tata. Visiting researchers can bridge this future-facing body of experimentation with developments in their fields worldwide, for the benefit of humanity as a whole.

WHO WE ARE

The Bridge promotes exchange between Auroville and visiting researchers similarly dedicated to the progress of human society.
We curate presentations and forums that facilitate exchange and the intiation of collaborative projects between Aurovilian and visiting experts.

WHO ARE YOU?

Are you an Aurovilian or visiting expert – in any field? We invite you to offer a presentation of your work.
Contact: thebridge@auroville.org.in
Are you an Auroville community member, volunteer, or visitor? You are welcome to attend our public events series!

Litfin, Karen

Karen Litfin, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of political science at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. from UCLA in 1992. Karen’s first two books were Ozone Discourses: Science and Politics in Global Environmental Cooperation (Columbia University Press, 1994) and The Greening of Sovereignty in World Politics(MIT Press, 1998). She has also written on the politics of earth remote sensing; the political implications of Gaia Theory; the relationship between climate science and politics; the ecological politics of sacrifice; the global ecovillage movement; and contemplative pedagogical practices. For links to some of these publications, please click on “Research” tab.

Karen’s latest book, Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community, traces her yearlong journey to ecovillages around the world in language that is at once intellectually and emotionally engaging. The book explores these micro-laboratories of deep sustainability through four broad windows—ecology, economics, community, and consciousness—or E2C2, and gleans their lessons for a viable human future at every scale, from the neighborhoods to cities to countries to global governance. Click here for her video.

In her teaching, Karen takes an innovative “person/planet politics” approach rooted in two questions: What does it mean to come of age at the dawn of the Anthropocene, as we learn that prevailing institutions, practices and values are unraveling the tapestry of life? And how does one serve as a mentor under these conditions? Karen is currently working on a book based upon her twenty years of experience with contemplative pedagogical practices in environmental and global education.

taken from https://www.polisci.washington.edu/people/karen-litfin

Lawrence, Mark

My role in the team:

Setting up a project like AMA was a keen interest of mine already before starting at the IASS.  After the first years of developing our program on our core topics like air pollution and climate change, and connecting to the spiritual and religious communities through dialogues and workshops, the time was finally ripe to kick off a pre-AMA project with Tom Bruhn, Zoe Lüthi and other colleagues.  Watching that grow into what the current team has made out of AMA today has been deeply fulfilling, and I’m pleased to continue to interact with the team however I can connect to and support their efforts.

Background & expertise

  • PhD in Atmospheric Science
  • Habilitation in Physics
  • Research focus on air pollution and climate geoengineering
  • Additional research: the Anthropocene and Earth-system science
  • Transdisciplinarity & co-creation
  • Various facilitation & moderation forms
  • Leadership experience and deep interest in Taoist leadership principles
  • Black belt in Aikido

My responsibilities:

  • Advisory role, mainly reflecting on major developments with the team
  • Connecting to like-minded colleagues and stakeholders
  • Representing AMA and its principles at academic and public events

Manemo

Ganzheitlicher, weil wir langfristig und umfassend Ergebnisse, Freuden und Sorgen mit unseren ›Kunden teilen wollten. Also haben wir auf Basis unserer Kompetenzen einen ›Blauen Ozean entwickelt, der ›Managementtraining, ›Organisationsentwicklung und ›Unternehmensberatung in einer Nutzeninnovation kombiniert.

Konsequenter, weil die Anfrage eines Kernkraftwerksbetreibers unsere ›Wasserlinie offensichtlich und die Arbeit mit einem Öko-Pionier uns glücklich gemacht hat. Seit dem gönnen wir uns den Luxus, nur mit Kunden zu arbeiten, die uns am Herzen liegen und die an ›nachhaltigen Transformationsprozessen Interesse haben.

Wir wollen nichts weniger als unsere Berufung leben und gemeinsam mit ausgewählten Kunden ein klein wenig die ›Welt retten. Denn die Welt ist unsere Freundin…

MANEMO ist ein kunterbunter Haufen mit ausgeprägten Persönlichkeiten und vielfältigen Kompetenzen: wir treten den Beweis an, dass eine ›ökosoziale Marktwirtschaft jetzt und hier schon gelebt werden kann.

taken from: https://www.manemo.de/wer-wir-sind/

Teucher, Tina

Working to inspire for sustainability, especially sustainable business. Knowing that the great transformation needs a change of mindset. Connecting interested people and organisations and initiatives already on their way. Hoping to contribute to the growth of the critical mass with the mindset for the anthropocene.

 

Dynamic Planet

Dynamic Planet advises, develops and invests in businesses that restore nature. We believe in a business approach that makes conservation projects sustainable for the long term. Our goal is to maximize ecological, social and economic returns with local stakeholders.

We live in an era of unprecedented global hyper-connectivity. Yet we often don’t have the context, history, or perspective to make the best decisions related to ourselves and our larger living system. The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities far removed from the sea and land that support us. Yet everything is connected through our common atmosphere, our one ocean, and our humanity. Trash and pollution produced in one place often ends up in other places. What affects one affects us all.

Dynamic Planet is developing a number of platforms and products to connect us more deeply to our living system so that people can make daily decisions that are less damaging to our environment. We have learned much from the indigenous communities we’ve worked with, and like them, place a high value on reflection, calm, and strategic long-termism.

Nature is our great teacher – nurturing patience, judgment, and courage. While we work to restore nature, our projects also aim to improve the lives of the local people and visitors. We believe that the well-being of our environment is in itself a fundamental human right.

Towards a mindful cultural commons

Peter Doran points to the way buddhist concepts are being corrupted by the commodifying pressures of capitalist culture, and outlines the ways in which true mindfulness practices can help us resist the growing demands of the ‘attention economy’.

Balanced Rock

Yoga and Backpacking Trips in Yosemite. Yosemite journeys for mind, body and spirit. Our retreats and backpack trips harness the transformational power of nature to inspire deep connection with your own inner wisdom.

Creation Justice Ministries

Creation Justice Ministries (formerly the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program) represents the creation care and environmental justice policies of major Christian denominations throughout the United States. We work in cooperation with 38 national faith bodies including Protestant denominations and Orthodox communions as well as regional faith groups, and congregants to protect and restore God’s Creation.

Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning

EIAL offers education and sponsorship for learning opportunities in applied spirituality, that is, the application of spiritual practice and experience to everyday life: peace studies, ecology and psychology.

 

For further information see abwoon network.

 

 

Mother Pelican – A Journal of Solidarity and Sustainability

INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Integral human development includes all dimensions in the life of each person, including the physical, intellectual, pyschological, ethical, and spiritual dimensions. In particular, the spiritual development of each and every human person is crucial for sustainable development. It is recognized that spiritual growth is impossible for people living in misery. However, the extreme poverty of many is mostly a consequence of the spiritual underdevelopment of people living in abundance. Therefore, the mission of Mother Pelican encompasses the full range of social and ecological justice issues, but is specifically focused on how they relate to spirituality and the practices of various religious traditions. Gender inequalities that emerge from religious patriarchy are explored as major obstacles to integral human development, solidarity, and sustainability.

FORUM “DAS WIR-POTENZIAL. INNOVATION DURCH EMPATHIE”

ICH oder WIR? Unsere Fähigkeit zur Empathie spielt auf dem Weg zu einem anderen, humaneren Kapitalismus eine Schlüsselrolle. Der Homo oeconomicus, eingespannt in die Pole von Selbstsucht und Mitleid, kann an sich arbeiten und sein Mitgefühl gezielt trainieren – zum Wohle der Gemeinschaft und zum Wohle der Gesamtwirtschaft. HEED, das von der Karl Schlecht Stiftung geförderte Institute for Human Engineering & Empathic Design der Hochschule Pforzheim, nimmt diese Thematik auf: In dem öffentlichen Forum „Das Wir-Potenzial. Innovation durch Empathie“ am 12. und 13. April 2018 beleuchten führende Vertreter aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Kultur das Thema Empathie facettenreich.

Mit:
Matthias Bolz, Psychologe und Labor Manager für soziale Neurowissenschaft am Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften in Leipzig

Robert Eikmeyer, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter für Kunst- und Designtheorie an der Hochschule Pforzheim

Uwe Jean Heuser, Leiter des Wirtschaftsressorts der ZEIT und Autor von “Humanics”

Wolfgang Henseler, Professor für intermediales Design an der Hochschule Pforzheim und Managing Creative Director von SENSORY-MINDS

Robert Besta, Schauspieler, verkörpert in Serien wie Tatort und Polizeiruf 110 häufig das Böse

Eva Köppen, Beraterin für ko-kreative und mensch-zentrierte Innovationsprozesse und Autorin von “Empathy by Design”

Fritz Breithaupt, Professor an der Indiana University Bloomington und Autor von “Kulturen der Empathie” und “Die dunklen Seiten der Empathie”

Das Forum findet in der Aula der Fakultät für Gestaltung, Holzgartenstraße 36, 75175 Pforzheim statt. Für externe Gäste fällt eine Tagungsgebühr in Höhe von 250,- € an. Studierende und Angehörige von Hochschulen sind frei. Um Anmeldung bis 2. April 2018 wird gebeten. Details zum Programm und zur Anmeldung unter HEED.

 

https://www.hs-pforzheim.de/forschung/institute/heed/aktuelles/detailansicht/news/forum_das_wir_potenzial_innovation_durch_empathie/

Gross National Happiness Center

To create a unique place of reflection, learning and action where nature, culture and spirituality blend in a harmonious way towards happiness and compassion for the world.

Sophia Institute

Transforming Our Lives, Transforming Our World

The Sophia Institute is a center of learning that provides innovative programs that foster the rise of the Feminine, cultivating wisdom and mindfulness, for a more just, sustainable, and flourishing world. Sophia offers retreats, lectures, classes, and special events, featuring nationally and internationally renowned leaders and teachers.

Global Peace Initiative of Women

The basis of GPIW’s work is the dynamic expression of unity, emerging from the heart of wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions, and our own hearts, into a community. We believe this narrative can help animate social and economic structures and systems that better reflect humanity’s natural evolution toward greater wholeness. An essential part of this shift is the coming into a balanced and sacred relationship with the earth and all living beings. Feminine wisdom and the power of love can serve as the fulcrum for this inner and outer transformation.

Institut für Achtsamkeit und Nachhaltigkeit

Unse­re Phi­lo­so­phie basiert auf der Über­zeu­gung, dass wir uns selbst auf einer kon­ti­nu­ier­li­chen Ent­de­ckungs­rei­se befin­den. Wir kön­nen nur ver­mit­teln, was wir selbst ver­kör­pern.

Contemplative Sustainable Futures

Humanity is facing increasingly complex environmental and sustainability challenges. Current coordination mechanisms, problem-solving strategies, and modes of scientific inquiry, teaching and learning appear insufficient to address these challenges. As a result, inner transition (embodied in notions such as mindfulness and compassion) is emerging as a potential new area of exploration. The “Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program” was set up to explore this new area and create space and opportunities for learning, networking and knowledge development on this topic. In this context, special attention is given to the issue of – what we call –  ‘mindful climate adaptation and risk reduction’.

taken from https://www.lucsus.lu.se/research/urban-governance/contemplative-sustainable-futures

Wamsler, Christine

Christine is an expert in sustainable city development with focus on inclusive climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction/ management, climate policy mainstreaming, urban resilience and transformation.

Center for Compassion And Altruism Research And Education

While science has made great strides in treating pathologies of the human mind, far less research exists to date on positive qualities of the human mind including compassion, altruism and empathy. Yet these prosocial traits are innate to us and lie at the very centerpiece of our common humanity. Our capacity to feel compassion has ensured the survival and thriving of our species over millennia. For this reason, the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University School of Medicine was founded in 2008 with the explicit goal of promoting, supporting, and conducting rigorous scientific studies of compassion and altruistic behavior. Founded and directed by Dr. James Doty, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, CCARE is established within the Department of Neurosurgery. To date, CCARE has collaborated with a number of prominent neuroscientists, behavioral scientists, geneticists and biomedical researchers to closely examine the physiological and psychological correlates of compassion and altruism.

The Center for Spirituality in Nature

The Center for Spirituality in Nature offers relaxed and engaging experiences in nature, which provide the time and space for those who want spiritual connection to be a more regular part of their lives.  We also offer a variety of resources and practices that help individuals and communities regularly explore, and respond compassionately to, our deep theological, spiritual and ecological connections with the earth, all its creatures and the Divine.

Spiritual Ecology: New principles for addressing the ecological crisis

The calling for us to reconcile our relationship with the Earth, our common home which is in deep crisis, could not be more urgent. Moving beyond mainstream approaches, spiritual values can provide the foundation from which to respond and rebuild, and create real and lasting change. Join us for this special two day workshop!

Feb 24th 2018 ~ Feb 25th 2018

St. Ethelburga’s Centre

Kalliopeia Foundation

Reconnecting Ecology, Culture, and Spirituality

WEBSITE: Kalliopeia Foundation is responding to a call – a global challenge – to take spiritual as well as physical responsibility for our common home. Our projects and those we support engage with contemporary issues at their root, with the understanding that ecological, cultural, and spiritual renewal are interdependent.

Nachhaltigkeit durch Achtsamkeit?

Nachhaltigkeit durch Achtsamkeit?, Vienna, Dienstag, 20. Juni 2017

WU Matters. WU Talks. Nachhaltigkeit durch Achtsamkeit? Über Mindfulness, Megatrends und Managementmoden
Infos & Anmeldung:

„Mindfulness“ ist in aller Munde. Weisen die vielen Diskussionen und Events zum Thema Achtsamkeit auf einen Megatrend hin? Oder haben wir es mit einer Modeerscheinung zu tun? Und warum ist das Thema für die Nachhaltigkeit relevant? Bei der 14. WU-NachhaltigkeitsKontroverse beleuchten hochkarätige Expertinnen und Experten diese und andere Fragen aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Es geht um die Rolle von Achtsamkeit in Management, Personalführung und Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftstheoretische Perspektiven auf das Thema. Eine Übung und Interventionen werden einen direkten Einblick davon vermitteln, was Achtsamkeit praktisch bedeuten kann.

Diese NachhaltigkeitsKontroverse ist eine Kooperation des Kompetenzzentrums für Nachhaltigkeit mit der Executive Academy.

Vortragende:
– Karin Bauer, Der Standard
. Dr. Ingolfur Blühdorn, Institut für Gesellschaftswandel und Nachhaltigkeit, WU
– – Thomas Klien, Achtsamkeitstrainer
– . Michael Müller-Camen, PhD, Institut für Personalmanagement, WU
– Helga Pattart-Drexler, M.A., WU Executive Academy

Icewisdom – Angaangaq der Schamane aus Grönland

WEBSITE: “Angaangaq ist ein Ältester der Eskimo-Kalaallit aus Westgrönland, der von seinem Volk in den höchsten Rang des Schamanen berufen wurde. Er ist seit vielen Jahren als traditioneller Heiler tätig. Sein Einsatz für Umwelt und indigene Themen führte ihn in über 60 Länder der Welt.”

BiNKA – Education for sustainable consumption through mindfulness training

BiNKA (German acronym for education for sustainable consumption through mindfulness training)
is an inter- and transdisciplinary research and development project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

It aims to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and sustainable consumption in an intervention study.

BiNKA is a cooperation of the Technische Universität Berlin and the UNESCO Chair of higher education for sustainable development at the Leuphana University Lüneburg. Project management is located at the Technische Universität Berlin, in the department of vocational education/economics and sustainable consumption. Three partners in practice, two project partners and several network partners are also part of the cooperation. The project is funded for three years (2015 to 2018) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Mind & Life Institute

WEBSITE: Since the first Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Mind & Life has held 32 others that bring together scientists and contemplatives on a wide range of critical subjects: addiction, ecology, ethics, attention, neuroplasticity, destructive emotions, altruism, economics, and more. Additionally, over the past 26 years, Mind & Life’s work has extended beyond the Dialogues. The Institute has become a direct funder of individual research via its grant and scholarship programs. It convenes an annual Summer Research Institute, as well as the field’s marquee biennial conference: the International Symposium for Contemplative Studies. In the process, Mind & Life has become more than just a leader in the field of contemplative science; it has become an incubator for discovery in all of the fields this new science touches.

IASS

WIKIPEDIA: Located in Potsdam, Germany, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) aims to identify and promote development pathways for a global transformation towards a sustainable society. The IASS employs a transdisciplinary approach that encourages dialogue to understand sustainability issues and generate potential solutions in cooperation with partners from the sciences, politics, the economy, and civil society. A strong network of national and international partners supports the work of the Institute. Its central research topics include the energy transition, emerging technologies, climate change, air quality, systemic risks, governance and participation, and cultures of transformation in the Anthropocene.