The Great Turning; Tools and Resources

The Great Turning 2.0

Introduction to the Great Turning

Globally, we are in the midst of the simultaneous emergence of a sustainable civilization (The Great Turning) and the collapse of the life-supportive capacities of the Earth. Allowing awareness of the criticality of this situation is evocative, humbling, frightening, challenging and profoundly catalytic within the scope of every activists heart.

Intent of this article on the Great Turning

This article is intended to provide a map for understanding the criticality of this time, for joining together disparate perspectives, revealing a map that we might use to orient ourselves such that our efforts can be a concerted pulse of leverage in accentuating the birth of a sustainable, just, harmonious human presences on planet Earth.

From the Great Turning to the Great Turning 2.o

The shift to a sustainable civilization is called the Great Turning. Tony Robbins suggests that we raise the standards for ourselves, so the question that I would like to posit in the face of this historical moment is:

“what would it take to allow the emergence of a thriving, harmonious, unified, awakened human presence on the planet in this time?”

Vision

In the face of this moment, my vision is to show up to the challenges of today with all of me present, and to illuminate the fundamental leverage points that I discover along the way.

Context

From Ken Wilber’s Integrative map of existence, there are several perspectives we can take on this matter. Wilber’s Integral Map (also called the AQAL map) illuminates 5 sets of perspectives that are fundamentally irreducible to each other: Quadrants, Levels, Lines, States, Stages, Types. Applying the Quadrants lens to the Great Turning we discover 4 distinct views upon it. Personal, Cultural, Behavioral and Systemic.

Quadrants

Quadrants illustrates the distinction between interior experience (e.g. thoughts, feelings, intentions, sensations, impulses, etc) and exterior behaviors (e.g. how you or I show up in the world) as well as individual phenomena (e.g. my thought on this matter), vs groups of phenomena (e.g. our collective thoughts, feelings, on this matter)

Intersubjectivity

One of the overlooked elements of the great turning is the Intersubjective (or cultural) elements. The Intersubjective is disclosed by attending to the intersections of our interior experiences. Emerging methods for training individuals in intersubjective awareness exist. Thomas Hubl’s work, Waking Down in Mutuality and Circling.

Personal elements of The Great Turning

  • The evolution of consciousness may be a leverage point in the Great Turning.
    • Some perspectives on this may include the following:
      • Robert Kegans research in developmental psychology points to the evolution of conscious awareness as accentuated through a subjective/objective flip: when the subjective experience becomes the object of a subjects awareness, a higher order of conscious awareness is attained.
        • Becoming aware of our interior experience shifts the relationship between us and what is arising from one that is unconscious to one that is conscious. Consciously relating to our interior affords us a shift from reaction to choice. The Interior experience contains sensations, impulses, emotions, thoughts, desires and so on.
      • Buddhism and studies in the Enneagram both point to the same fundamental leverage point; that of awareness as a focal point for ones maturation.
        • Reviews:
          • The Enneagram has, for me, been a profound resource for recognizing patterns within patterns that arise within the field of the human psyche. I recommend the “Wisdom of the Enneagram” as a starting off guide. I find this useful in coaching and consulting, as well as self discovery and Inquiry.
    • Resources for this may include
      • Contemplative Inquiries that aim to bring awareness to the subjective experience such as some of the videos in this site:

Cultural elements of The Great Turning

Behavioral elements of the Great Turning

  • In regards to our behavior, one of the quotes that comes to mind is “you must be the change you wish to see in the world” Ghandi.
    • A question I would like to raise on this matter is “HOW?”… or in other words, “what would it take for me, for each of us, to become the change we wish to see in the world?

Systemic elements of the Great Turning

  • Agricultural
  • Economic
  • The Work that Reconnects
    • Training for activists may be useful in accentuating the evolution of consciousness and cultivating latent capacities that may be poignant in showing up for this shift.
      • Joanna Macy’s trainings for awakening the Shambhala Warrior
        • Workshop Schedule
        • Why this seems to have leverage: Joanna Macy’s trainings address several fundamental elements in the awakening of the Shambhala Warrior.
    • Training I have personally created for bringing the subjective experience into the field of awareness

Resources for navigating the Great Turning

Resources for actualizing latent human potential

  • Life Coaching Resources
  • Therapy Resources
    • Hakomi – rating 4/5 stars
  • Resources for navigating the present moment
  • Resources for Inquiry and Subtle Energy Work
    • Access Consciousness – rating 4/5 stars
      • From applying Inquiry based learning methods, I discovered the leverage of being in a question. The concept came from meeting an Access Consciousness Facilitator, now one of my mentors.

About the initiating author

Jonathan Haber B.A. CMT

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