Phase 3 of our On-Line Journey
Becoming a real group
April-May 2010
Picture a group of people who gather together without external constraints. It’s not a business, so no one’s livelihood depends on the functioning of the group. It’s not a political party, so there’s no ‘cause’ to champion. It’s not a religion, so there’s no belief system one has to adopt. It’s not a social club, so there is no membership… nothing to join. It’s not a biological family with fixed biological relationships like father, mother, sister or uncle. It’s not a college where you have to pass certain classes in order to get a certification recognized by the world. It’s not any of these things. It’s just a seemingly spontaneous creative expression of free association.
Now picture this group from a slightly different perspective… not as a collection of individuals, of which you are one, but as though you were the entire group, or rather a higher intelligence whose ‘body’ is the group. From that perspective each ‘individual’ becomes an integrated ‘organ’ in the body, able to provide a specific and unique function, just like lungs, heart, stomach and eyes do for the physical body.
In this ‘body’ the unique character of each person is valued. There would be no point in trying to get everyone to duplicate one pattern, just as there would be no need for two hearts or two right hands or two mouths or two left knees. Each individual is a unique, integrated contribution to the whole. The whole can do something that none of the parts can do. The whole has a level of intelligence and being and will far beyond that of the parts. But the whole can only exist through the conscious agreement and cooperation of the parts.
So far we have studied our individual parts… things like centers, selves, bodies, and so on. And we see that instead of being the ‘higher intelligence’ of an integrated, cooperative whole we are the custodians of a warring collection of contradictory, self-interested forces, pulling in all directions. We can clearly see that this is not good for the whole. And we can just as clearly see that this is not at all useful for the parts; that the parts would be far better off sacrificing their independence (though not their unique character) and entering into integrated cooperation through the guidance of a higher intelligence.
If we can see ourselves from the perspective of being the higher intelligence of our various unique parts, can we also see our role as a part of the higher intelligence of the group? And can we consciously agree to become a unique but integrated cooperative element of the whole group?
And further, can we see that being in both positions (as the higher intelligence of our individual parts, and a unique part of a larger whole) can help us to transform both situations?
This is the exciting challenge and extraordinary opportunity before us during the next phase of our journey.
Contact John Hutcherson (john@jrhmail.com) or Nanji Davison (registrar@campcaravan.org) for more information.