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Experiencing as…

Last winter I started playing a little game. Call it “I am the universe experiencing itself as…___

It began after having an awakening where I saw myself as one perspective that the universe has for seeing itself, and holding that as one among gazillions of others. Let us imagine the the universe, or god, or whatever greater consciousness may exist, is using everything created as a way to perceive everything else. Let us be in that perception from a state of non-judgment. No experience is more valuable than any other in this game with our imaginations.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trodel/3598596315/

by http://www.flickr.com/photos/trodel/3598596315/

Imagine a rock. A common pebble you find in your walk. What does it experience? How was it formed? How did, over time, it transform into the current shape? What is the experience of time to the rock? A grain of sand. A drop of water? A tree? A piece of petrified forest? A star?

We begin. Number of players: 1 to ? Rules:

  • Begin each turn with “I am the universe experiencing itself as…_____”
  • Fill in the blank at the end.
  • When playing with others, try being radically different in scale or experience, place, or time. Alternately, try surprising your playmates with a completely different angle on the same body. Say, one person fills the blank with _body of a 5 year old boy in Africa_ then the next might say _the bacteria in the boys intestines_ or _his great-great grandmother_.
  • Be creative. You win when you are moved by it. To laughter, to tears, to ahas, or to sleep. 😉

Spots of interest. Note from the perspective of the universe that the experience of death is not a pain felt in the body as pain – it is an experience. There is a slight detachement to what that experience feels like because it is all taken in as information about the experience. Also, all experiences add to the knowledge of the universe, so the experience of being vomit is no less valuable than the experience of being the body of a superstar. This exercise can be (or has been for me) a great leveler. And yet, I don’t think of the world as all being equal. It is different. Apples to oranges. Usually when I describe this, I use the metaphor of my hands. Why would one hand be better than the other? They are different (one being right and one being left). Or the cells in my foot are no less valuable than the cells in my ear.

Try it. See what happens for you. And tell me how it goes for you.

Network Weaving: A Key to Creating Thrivability

My roots are connected deep into the ground, engaged in a continuous interplay with the soil, bacteria, microorganisms, fungi, insects, and water, gathering nourishment to help me thrive.  My leaves and branches dance with the wind, the sun, with animals, birds, insects, microorganisms, bacteria, all in continual flow. My body returns to the soil and is soon transformed into new life. And so the cycle continues.

A thrivable entity is one that is richly and dynamically interconnected into its ecosystem, engaged in a process of continuous co-creation. The upward spiral.

So when looking to grow a thrivable venture, to nurture an upward spiral, one of the primary considerations is in connecting it into a rich dynamic network of resources, to help nourish its growth, in a way that brings value to all concerned. Networks are all about dynamic exchange.

So to be thrivable, you need to know all about Network weaving! (thanks June / Valdis / Jack)

Weaving the network of advisors.
Weaving the network of ideas.
Weaving the network of supporters.
Weaving the network of collaborators.
Weaving the network with society.
And weaving the network with nature.

A dynamic process, weaving consciously opens and holds the space for the ongoing communication and flow.