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A Futures Vision of Sacredness As the Formative Base of Democratic Governing: Source, Model and Transformation of Spirituality Into Government

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A futures vision of sacredness as the formative base of democratic governing: source, model and transformation of spirituality into government. Candidate: Rosemary Jane Beaumont MA BSc Dip Ed This thesis is submitted for the Doctor of Philosophy degree as the total fulfilment of the requirements for that degree. School of Education University of Western Sydney June 2006 University of Western Sydney Candidate’s certificate I certify that this thesis entitled A futures vision of sacredness as the formative base of democratic governing: source, model and transformation of spirituality into government submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis in whole or part has not been submitted for an award including a higher degree to any other university or institution. Signed: Name: Rosemary Jane Beaumont Date: Acknowledgements In this journey of exploration I thank my family and friends who have given encouragement and sustaining faith in the value of this endeavour – in particular Di and Sol. My thanks go also to the generosity of the research participants. My supervisor, Susan Murphy, said at our first meeting that she would ‘hold the space’ for this project – and she has. I am grateful to the Faculty of Social Ecology, UWS, for its openness to many ways of knowing. My wish is that this research contributes to expanding the options and discussion space for evolving inherently inclusive and sustainable forms of democracy. Table of Contents Chapter one: Introduction 1 Rationale for the research 2 Human experience and the sacred 2 Separateness: the metaphysical base of the western psyche 2 Time to evolve democracy 4 Aim of this research 6 Approach of this research 7 Assumptions about reality 8 Knowledge arising from interconnectedness 9 Theoretical limitations and expansions 10 Transpersonal research and issues of validity 12 Futures studies and transpersonal approach 14 Overview of chapters 16 Limitations of the research and clarification of terms 18 Spirituality is different from religion 18 Discussion of the sacred and spirituality 19 No golden age replication 19 Framework for government and democracy 20 Praxis but no manifesto 21 Healthy doubt 22 A western cultural exploration 22 Metaphors from science 23 Language 23 Personal statement 24 Story of a sacred mountain 25 Personal commitments and positions 26 Bias 27 Personal intention 29 Chapter two: Interconnectedness of reality 30 Introduction: intention 30 Living in reality 31 Critical selection of authorities 32 Interconnectedness through spirituality: experience of the sacred 36 Definition of the sacred 36 Experiential interconnectedness 36 Commonality of the experience of interconnectedness 38 In-the-experience – embodied inclusivity 39 Dwelling in the experience 40 Talking – a mind shaping experience 41 Spiritual experience and culture 41 Gateways to the sacred 42 Direct experience 42 Acknowledgement of sacredness 43 Personal journey within 43 The body – dwelling in embodiment 44 Nature 45 Alignment with Earth, the land and landscape 46 Patterns of nature 48 Wildness 49 Sacred sites 50 Sacred ceremony 51 Interconnectedness as scientific reality 52 Intention 52 Science: yoga of the west 53 Quantum physics: non-locality and holographic realism 53 Interpenetrating fields 55 Morphogenic fields: coming-into-being of form 56 Consciousness: medium, activator and creator 57 Chaos, creativity and conscious change 58 Summary of key understandings 60 Limits and potentials of science 61 Living within the unity of consciousness 63 Transformative political potentials of consciousness 65 Conscious holographic interaction 65 Conscious morphogenic interaction 65 Ancestral and future voices 66 Contestation of social realities 66 Ability to see the whole 76 Creative government 68 Timely application of interconnectedness 69 Chapter three: The vortex of Life 71 Introduction 71 Evolutionary phenomenon of humans in a journey to wholeness 72 Intention 72 Overview of the phenomenon of humanity 73 Processes of evolution 75 Life 77 Reflective Consciousness 77 Convergence to wholeness 78 Noosphere 79 The problem of evil 80 Wholeness of humanity 81 Omega 82 Love 82 Co-creation and imagination 83 Earth 84 Resonance of centres 85 Summary of the evolutionary phenomenon of humanity 87 Phase change 88 Jumps in evolution 88 Indicators of progress 88 Evolution and democracy 90 Democracy as the sense of the species 90 Gaian politics 92 Chapter four: Western psyche, mythology and democracy 95 Introduction 95 Definition of democracy 96 Separateness 97 The metaphysical base of the western psyche 97 Dualism 98 Adversarial democracy: a model of war 98 Westminster democracy 98 Aggressive behaviour selected 99 Hegemonic masculinity 99 Costs of adversarial government 100 Public disengagement 101 Crisis in democracy 104 Systemic obstacles to democracy 104 Western culture and sacredness 105 Limits of cultural acceptance 105 Cultural inertia 107 Time of transition 108 Pragmatic realism of interconnectedness 109 Evolve democracy 109 Chapter: five: It’s time to dream again 111 Introduction 111 Imagination 111 Imagination: magnetic and creative 111 Role of imagination in humanity’s journey 112 Ethical alignment of imagination 114 Collective images of futures 115 Power of societal future image 115 The land of Oz 116 An epoch of cultural pessimism 117 Atrophy of imagination 118 Politics of imagination 120 Unshackling the imagination 122 Women and futures vision 124 Gendered visions 124 Power at the liminal threshold 124 Women’s capacities suited for the futures 126 Women’s authenticity: a transformative social force 128 Women’s visioning 129 Women quietly growing the future 131 Transformative spiritual action 132 Chapter six: methodology 134 Rationale of methodologies for interconnectedness 134 Future Orientation 137 Future studies streams 137 Male dominated futures 139 Women and futures studies 139 Feminist Research Paradigm 140 Social transformation and personal empowerment 140 Knowledge generation 141 Vision and visioning 142 Deeper visioning 144 Research strategies 145 Strategy one: political candidature 146 Strategy two: a visioning ceremony on experientially interconnected government 146 Vision ceremony: events of the day 149 Data collection and analysis 152 Chapter seven : Withinness: evolutionary starting point 155 Introduction 155 Withiness – evolutionary starting point 156 Earth pilgrimage – the meander to wholeness 156 The journey is personal awakening 157 Lead oneself 157 Truth 158 Process of knowing one’s truth 158 Truth recognition and emanation 159 Truth-speaking from the heart and spirit 160 Recognition of untruth 161 Interiorisation of truth 161 Truth energy: centred within one’s truth 162 Centred coherence within 162 Intra and inter coherent synchronisation 164 Socio-political synchronisation 166 Unitary consciousness 167 Each a unique centre 168 Inter-knowing from centredness 168 Implications of truth-energy 170 Surrender 172 Surrender: a spiritual process of opening to the new 172 Holding the space for surrender 174 The gifts of the child 175 Openness 175 Letting go 175 Lightness, joy and playfulness 175 Surrender space, energy and process 176 Surrender the experiential process 176 Surrender as a space 176 Surrender and vortex power of Life 177 Surrender as creative service to the whole 179 Skills of surrender 180 Surrender in decision-making 181 Implications of the surrender experience 182 Love 183 Interconnectedness and love 183 Altruism and spaciousness 183 Unity through love entrains harmlessness 183 Decision-making from love 184 Denial of love 184 Love turns worlds 184 Love cares 185 Love energy and action 185 Love as energy 185 Personalised love 187 Love induced transformation 188 Applications of love to governing 190 Service to the whole 192 Spiritual service and aliveness 192 Dedication to service 192 Aligned purpose or delusion 193 Authority and self-responsible service 195 Wholeness and service 197 Experiential routes to wholistic government 198 Chapter eight: possibilities and process 200 Introduction: possibilities for future government 200 Singing Hill: a site for visioning 200 Sacredness within 203 Premise of sacredness 203 The word, sacredness 203 Experienced sacredness 203 Human Be-ing 204 Expanded human identity 204 Disconnectedness 204 Interconnectedness 205 The web of Life 205 Interconnected across lifetimes 205 Connected within the cosmos 205 Interconnected through time and with Earth 206 Connectedness of global humanity 206 Harmony across scales of size 206 Shared wish for peace 206 Emotion and compassion 207 Emotion 207 Passion for spiritual values in governing 207 Hope 207 Shared responsibility 207 Emotional zest and spiritual values 208 Emotional culture and com/passionate empathy 208 Spiritual values for inclusive governing 209 Sacredness together: process as living model 211 Process of coming-into-wholeness-together 211 Self preparation 212 Commitment to be present 213 Lead from the sacred site within 213 Council of Elders 214 Wholeness in groups 214 Centring and circles 214 Different sources of experiential sacredness 216 Inclusivity 217 Council of all beings 218 Difference engaging creative governing 218 Earth connectedness 219 Sacred circle 219 Processes in shared sacredness 220 Individual within the circle 221 The circle as a whole entity 222 Circle as a pattern of energy 224 Socio-political application 224 Sacred timespace 227 Present actions create future government 227 Play and
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