Trans-egoic creative collaboration

In my previous blog, I made reference to the book "The Wisdom of Crowds", by James Surowiecki. Coincidentally, a few days after posting the blog, I came across an article that also referenced the term, which I found really encouraging. It's called "Thinking Together Without Ego: Collective Intelligence as an Evolutionary Catalyst" and it was written by husband-and-wife team, Craig Hamilton and Claire Zammit (see http://integralenlightenment.com/pages/articles/index.php?id=763899701).

The article starts by addressing the issue of 'groupthink', which typically hampers creative intelligence, then goes on to paint a picture of a truly beautiful alternative:

"Imagine a group of people gathered for a creative strategy session with an unusual mandate. The entry fee for this conversation is that everyone has made a sincere and educated effort to check their "ego" at the door. With personal agendas temporarily set aside, there is a noticeable absence of self-consciousness, or self-concern of any kind. The familiar jockeying for position has vanished, and along with it, all approval seeking. No one seems invested in being right, appearing smart, or appearing any particular way at all. In the absence of these familiar negative social behaviors, there is simply an authentic, innocent, undefended interest in creatively engaging the task at hand. Without the familiar, primitive "mental noise" blocking the system, listening is deep and there is plenty of space for considered reflection. Unified by a heartfelt and soulful commitment to a greater good, the group flows easily from one idea to the next. Diverging points of view are engaged organically, effortlessly, in the recognition that a diversity of perspectives represents a rich field of data to mine for insights. All questions and concerns are welcomed into the inquiry. Aware of the ever-looming specter of paralyzing group dynamics, an atmosphere of humility pervades, and an embodied knowledge that confronting the questions that challenge our deepest assumptions is our only safeguard against collective error."

Isn't that an amazing picture?! Hamilton and Zammit admit that it may seem like wishful thinking, but as thought leaders in the field of evolutionary consciousness, they also know that there is a collective shift taking place - they know that more and more people are relinquishing the cynicism that characterised so much of the past few decades and are coming to a heart-knowledge that something big and beautiful is taking place in the consciousness of humankind. With this in mind, they present a list of 10 key principles that reflect a culture of genuinely non-egoic collaborative thinking. It's high-quality article, and I'd encourage you to read it.

The principle of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts is never more powerfully demonstrated than when like-minded, spiritually-oriented people begin to think and work harmonically. It results in an extraordinary amplification of heart-based energy that can transform the deepest darkness into beautiful light. Many of us know this to be true and many of us believe that it's possible. And, as far as I can see, there's no reason why we shouldn't get on with it!

Having the courage to express your own view

In his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki makes the following observation: "You do not need a consensus to tap into the wisdom of a crowd... the search for consensus encourages tepid, lowest-common-denominator solutions which offend no one, rather than exciting everyone. Instead of fostering the free exchange of conflicting views, consensus-driven groups - especially when the members are familiar with each other - tend to trade in the familiar and squelch provocative debate. If, as the saying goes, a camel is a horse produced by a committee, it was undoubtedly made by a committee looking for consensus."

It takes no courage to agree with the prevailing view. But progress only happens when people stand up and question the prevailing view, and when they present information that doesn't fit into the accepted models of 'how things work'. We can't put consciousness in a box, because it's always unfolding. And each one of us experiences the unfolding differently. Courage is choosing to be a peace with the tensions that ever-unfolding consciousness generates... tension between individuals and groups, because of their different experiences and perceptions, and tension within ourselves, as we sit with the things that don't yet make sense to us.

And on that note, I'd like to disagree with Mr Surowiecki... the committee that designed the camel did an excellent job... it kept the end clearly in mind and came up with a design that really works...... it may not be pretty and it smells like hell, but it definitely works!

Longing for home...

The most basic characteristic of choosing to take on the constraints of being human is that we intentionally cut ourselves off from our True Home. And that results in an inevitable pathos - the pain of an often unnamed longing that, for most people, is drowned out, by the immersion in the illusion that being human is what's really real. But no matter how much clamour and we create around us, and no matter how much we egoically alienate ourselves from one another, our hearts cannot help but long for connection.... because there is nothing more true or real than our connectedness. This is what underlies our deep, deep longing for intimacy.... and that's a discussion for another time....