What are the inner dimensions of the new economy?
Fixing system faults by external changes - ie new systems, is an important part of the solution to our broken economics. But if a root cause of the problem is not addressed, changing the structure alone may not be enough to fully establish any new systems.
There are internal paradigms that exist on individual and society wide levels; for example; insecurity, greed, addictions, past trauma and fear of the other. These have a strong influence on the types of actions that we take as individuals and as society as a whole, and therefore on the systems we end up establishing in our world. What makes it more problematic is that these paradigms are often deeply conditioned and hidden within our psyches, sometimes on very subtle levels, thus making it difficult to avoid their powerful influence on our actions.
There is a lot of evidence that when this conditioning is made conscious and its influence on our psyches thus taken away, then our natural state is revealed. This natural state is revealed to be implicitly compassionate and generous and possesses a profound creative intelligence. An economy that cares for the well-being of the earth and of all people is a natural outcome of this innate state.
There are many available practices that can help to reveal and embody this “natural state”. These can range from meditation and mindfulness practices, to psychotherapy, body based practices, group work and rituals.
It is important to note that this inner work does not deny the need for decisive action to transform the world. Rather there is a realisation that life is an integrated whole and that inner work goes hand in hand with building community and creating positive change in the world - that any one of these without the other two will never be sufficient.
About healthy cultures
Culture is a direct expression of the prevalent individual psychology/cognition/mental health. There is a view that we have a “sick/pathological” culture, indicating that maladaptation/cognitive weaknesses have led to this dysfunctional culture.
Culture can be a barrier or an enabler to changing our own paradigms and behaviours, including our capacity to join with others to promote much needed social change. There is a reciprocal relationship between culture and individual capacity – the greater the capacity of individuals, the more we can build healthy cultures, which then promote healthy individuals who have greater capacity to work with others towards social change.
Convenors
Robin Krabbe, Joy Foley, Michael Berney
To contact: nena@neweconomy.org.au
Current Projects
- To make a space available for discussion and dialogue on all aspects of the inner dimension as it pertains to the new economy.
- Create a Wiki of resources which both allow greater depth exploration of individual topics, and an overarching framework which shows how they all fit together
- To support the development of member’s presentations for NENA conferences.
- To gather a library of related material.
- To make connection with the Transition movement - in particular with their inner transition work