All challenges are gateways to transformation and growth. Though we may not realize it, crises come with everything it takes to solve them. This principle applies when you face a personal crisis, if your organization is on the brink, and when we confront the crises humanity faces right now. We must understand this in order to utilize the gifts of each crisis and solve the situation.

Regarding what we have to face as humans, four specific opportunities lie ahead.

Personal

More or less every one of us is, in a way, traumatized or sick, and this blocks our path to fulfilling our potential and gaining agency. We carry the weight of generations before us. We have our own restricting experiences, beliefs, and paradigms, and we are unable to move beyond them and find our true selves. Our crises are the gateway to profound healing at all levels. They point to what we are meant for here on earth. And they show us how to realize this potential. A rich, fulfilling, and vibrant life awaits us.

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Natural

In becoming alienated from nature, we carried out enormous ecological destruction to the extent that it threatened our survival. We have the chance to regenerate nature globally by entering into a new relationship with it, one where we realize our interconnectedness with all living beings. Indigenous people not only show how that’s possible; above all, they show that we all carry that wisdom within us. We have to expose it. This will be a journey of healing for both nature and us.

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Societal

Our societies are based on control and power. Both are the cause of our own destruction and that of nature. By understanding and utilizing our crises, we can create societies geared toward inner growth and potential. They will foster agency and everyone’s power. We will manifest a nourishing, healthy, supportive social fabric that gives freedom to everyone.

Spiritual

We are caged in our material world, in the realm of neediness, lack, and insignificance, simply because we separated ourselves from the infinite intelligence we are embedded in. This separation is the source of the fragmentation and alienation that underpins our lives, just below the level of our awareness. Our crises invite us to overcome that separation and turn our lives towards abundance, connectedness, and contentedness. We can reconnect to the One and experience being guided and carried. We can discover what it means to be an active creator of that infinite intelligence.

That’s what lies ahead of us. We have the choice: will we carry in crisis and continue experience that aspect of human possibility? Or do we turn around, turn towards ourselves, and realize another aspect of our reality? This cannot be accomplished at the snap of our fingers. The path is rich and rewarding, no matter how far we can go. How to embark on that path is explored in the last part of this series.

Read the whole series “The Chance of Our Lifetime”. The opening two parts described the crises we are navigating and illustrated the change we could create. The third section explain how to achieve that change.

We plan, God laughs. (Yiddish proverb)

This moment is unique in what it offers us as humans. To grasp this opportunity we must act, and we should do so wisely. The transformative framework will guide us through the changes ahead. It consists of the five dimensions of transformational work, the four principles, and listening as the essential skill.

Welcome to the last part of this series, entitled The Chance of Our Lifetime. The opening two parts described the crises we are navigating and illustrated the change we could create. This third section will explain how to achieve that change.

The five dimensions of transformational work

We want profound societal change to create a humanity at one with nature. This work unfolds in five dimensions. Taking care of them all will help us fulfil the potential of every transformation.

The first dimension is the personal: fall in love with yourself

We are the start and end points of every transformation: our inner work leads to outer impact. This inner work has four aspects:

1. The gift we embody: we are unique and must understand our uniqueness to step into our power. What are we here for, and how do we want to pursue our dreams?

2. Knowing and working with our limitations. They are the raw material for connecting with ourselves and discovering our true voice.

3. Our consciousness and the task of expanding our minds and our thoughts.

4. We need to understand our role as humans, how our inner lives are connected to reality, and how our consciousness creates our world.

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The second dimension is ecological: reconnect with nature

We see ourselves as being in control of nature. We separate ourselves from nature and from ourselves. This separation is the source of the ecological and societal destruction we enact. We must turn the relationship with our human nature and the environment around us into a nourishing and caring partnership. Nature is life-giving and life-preserving; we can benefit from and take part in that support.

We must give nature the space to regenerate and heal. We have to foster diversity. By doing this, we can create resilience that will help us navigate the climatic and environmental changes that lie ahead.

Society is the third dimension, and it’s about fostering agency

We have created societies that hold us in the prison of our smallness and neediness. While our inner work is the personal key to transformation, changing our societal structures is the collective key, and both are connected. Societal work, just like personal work, encompasses four aspects:

1. How we raise our children through childcare, schooling, and the adolescence we help to create. We must reorganize this according to our nature as social creatures instead of aligning it with technical possibilities. We have to focus on agency—even a toddler is self-driven and empowered. We have to nourish everyone’s intrinsic motivation and focus our support on independence and self-leadership.

2. How we organize our decision-making in the political sphere, again focusing on agency and full participation so that everyone can fulfil their potential.

3. In economics we have to relocalize and create resilient and integrative structures.

4. Our built environment. The spaces where we live, work, travel, relax, and recover. They fundamentally shape our daily lives and relationships with ourselves, nature, families, and communities. They are part of the toxic culture we have created. Building differently will open our minds and create different societies.

Our communities are the fourth dimension: connecting through difference

Returning from a fragmented and polarized state means returning to communities. In humanity at one with nature, communities are the building blocks of our lives and a great learning area. They are the place where we can relearn to connect, where we can heal, and where we can learn to hold each other’s differences, values, identities, cultures, and experiences.

A child’s development evolves in the tension of being held, attached, and gaining freedom, autonomy, and agency. Our communities will have to maintain the delicate balance that parents achieve, constantly negotiating the participation and freedom of all their members.

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The underlying paradigms are the last dimension: we have to change the storyline

Underlying principles and paradigms govern everything we do. So, the fifth dimension is about both understanding and shaping paradigms. We have to understand the current paradigms and how they work, in order to change them. We have to make things transparent, as we can only change those we face.

Specifically, this means changing our understanding and use of power, from “power over” to “power to”. We must find our way from fragmentation to integration, and from being separated to understanding that we are interconnected with every living being.

The four principles of transformational work

While the five dimensions of transformative work give you an understanding of where to work and what to keep in mind, the four-step approach will help you understand how to act.

Work holistically

Always work on all five dimensions simultaneously. Everything you do touches all five dimensions, though not always to the same extent. Working holistically means inviting all perspectives to shape you. It means ensuring that all voices are heard, including those of the next generations that your work will touch.

Work with potential

Every place, every organization, and every being has potential. In our work, we can either cultivate or diminish that potential. We are not used to looking for that potential, so to work with it is an invitation to learn and sense the infinite possibilities that are given in every situation.

Work with guidance

We are embedded in infinite intelligence, and that intelligence is here to support and guide us. Unlike us, this intelligence sees the big picture and is willing to share that with us. Working with guidance means we leave our ego, old beliefs, patterns, and ideas behind, to be guided by our inner voice, which is connected to infinite intelligence.

Work efficiently

Nothing in the universe is either useless or extra; there’s no “should” or “could be”. We do what’s necessary, no more and no less.

Listening: the most important quality

Acting accordingly means going with the flow and doing what’s necessary. It’s not about planning. The essential quality for that is listening: listening to your self and not to the radio station of your ego, listening to the moment and not thinking about tomorrow or yesterday, listening to nature and presence instead of what’s in it for us, listening to infinite intelligence instead of believing we already know everything.

We have to practice and foster that listening. It’s a lifelong practice; meditation and bodywork can support us. It demands us to empty ourselves. Only if our minds are empty can we listen and receive. Only by leaving all those ideas, philosophies, and mental models behind can we open up to the abundant presence we are already living within.

So, if you want to take action, start by listening.

Read the whole series “The Chance of Our Lifetime”. The opening two parts described the crises we are navigating and illustrated the change we could create. The third section explain how to achieve that change.

1. What is it that we are facing?

2. What extraordinary opportunities lie within our situation?

3. What actions must we take to seize those opportunities and solve the challenges?

This is the first text in a series covering these three aspects and offering a path towards resilience, thriving, and the creation of a humanity at one with nature.

Troubled times lie ahead. Many of our self-inflicted problems have now surfaced, and this will increase further. But what does that mean in concrete terms? What lies behind words like “polycrises” or “climate crisis”? While some upheavals are already visible, our vocabulary and our shared understanding of crises often leave us without a clear picture of what’s to come.

We need to be courageous and bold in our actions. This starts with having a clear understanding of our current situation. Essentially, there are five dynamics we have to face.

I Climatic and ecological dynamics are uncontrollable

A climate that remained relatively stable for over 10,000 years has given us the illusion that we can understand and control the environment and nature. We believed we could alter nature without facing any consequences. But now we realize that’s not so.

Sciences talks a lot about tipping points we might reach or have crossed already. Ecological systems have such tipping points, where the status quo collapses and the system becomes something different. However…

• we do not know where the tipping points are and when we are crossing them;

• what happens after crossing a tipping point is unknown and unpredictable;

• the whole Earth is one interconnected and interrelated structure, and crossing one tipping point will enforce or create dynamics we cannot know, control, or predict.

Due to climate change and ecological destruction, we must face dynamics that will alter and transform our societies. We can predict that this will happen and has already happened. But we cannot predict how it will unfold.

And that’s only one part of this dynamic. The social structures we’ve created over the last few centuries—including built forms like cities, networks like the economy, and societal constructs like the public domain—are not adaptive. They depend on an almost stable and predictable environment. The challenge lies not so much in the climatic and ecological shifts we face; this is simply part of life and nature, which constantly mutates, changes, and moves forward. Instead, it lies in our self-created inability to adapt to changing circumstances.

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II Technology amplifies

We are heavily relying on technology to help us navigate and resolve our self-made situation, as technology has been the force that has shaped our lives over the past centuries. However, technology won’t help. Instead, it will amplify the unpredictability of our circumstances due to three factors:

• technology drives ecological destruction, demanding energy and highly sought-after resources like rare earth metals;

• it supports and strengthens the destructive paradigms upon which our society and economy are built—paradigms that underlie our challenges;

• technology makes us more dependent. It is incredible what we can accomplish through our technological advances. However, that also means that for much of our lives, we rely on technology, its demand for energy and resources, and its ecological consequences.

An example that illustrates this point is the way our food supply relies heavily on industrialized agriculture. In the past, we grew food and plants in various climatic conditions thanks to a vast array of domesticated plants and the ability to cultivate them. This turned into a limited number of crops we grow almost everywhere, using technology, fertilizers, and fossil fuels, resulting in depleted soil and diminished biodiversity. Food production is specialized and concentrated, with only a few companies dominating the entire global market. This type of agriculture undermines local knowledge, communities, and markets, and results in food production and distribution that makes little sense.

Another example is AI. Its promises tend to be more mythical than real, and the reality it creates is disastrous. AI increases the demand for energy and sought-after resources in a technology sector that is already very resource-intensive. Instead of empowering everyone, it reinforces existing power and economic structures, often built on repression and the exploitation of both humans and nature. It aids already dominant companies in solidifying their positions. The technology is biased, perpetuating existing unjust and marginalizing social structures.

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III Politics creates crises

The second Trump administration in the U.S. reflects a dynamic that has gradually emerged around the world over the last few decades. The destructive power paradigm embedded in nearly every political system designed by humankind has created a political domain that generates crises.

• Crises, differences, tensions, and polarities within and among societies are deliberately constructed to serve as powerful vehicles for gaining and maintaining political power.

• This power is utilized to shape society and individuals, constraining them into a specific worldview rather than creating societies where everyone has agency and can thrive in their potential.

• It is also used to uphold and reinforce the existing elite, obscuring the consequences this elite has on the majority. Populism and authoritarianism simulate the notion that the governed and marginalized hold power, while simultaneously undermining participation and the rights of minorities.

• The public discourse surrounding relevant topics, decisions, and opinions is either suppressed or distorted, amplified by social media and the rise of AI.

The consequences are twofold: the public attention is drawn away from central challenges (the consequences of ecological destruction, climatic changes, social injustice) to irrelevant topics (like migration), while people are rendered small and held in social stress to rob them of their agency to change their situation profoundly.

IV We destroy our social fabric

Polarization of the public, increasingly pervasive social media usage, and the destructive effects of these phenomena on our families and neighborhoods are among the ways we undermine our social fabric. This issue starts much earlier, as we intentionally damage the biological foundation necessary for building strong relationships and communities. Primary relationships with parents are fundamental to a child’s later ability to form and maintain social bonds and responsibilities. If the first bond doesn’t exist, the latter cannot flourish. Conception, pregnancy, and birth—once a naturally guided sequence—are now technologically mediated, transforming a natural wonder into a high risk. The mother-child bond is consistently disrupted, robbing mothers of their inherent power and leaving children insecure and unanchored. This is further reinforced by societal norms that take children out of families at a very young age and place them into a system of daycares, kindergartens, and schools, based on social selection. Our educational systems deliberately undermine self-worth and the capacity for children to self-direct their lives. They are taught to conform to societal expectations instead of discovering and unleashing their inherent power and potential. The demands of our professional lives exacerbate this issue and hinder contributions to building and maintaining communities and neighborhoods. At the same time, economic forces destroy community and communal building, starting with urban architecture and extending to the monopolization and industrialization of nearly every aspect of our lives.

Individually, people may have a strong network, often globally. However, local communities are no longer places of togetherness, support, learning, and thriving, but instead places of engagement, controversy, and discourse. Many of us feel lonely and isolated.

V We get sick and addicted

Our societies are toxic^.1 We make ourselves sick through environmental pollution, social pressure, loneliness, and isolation, to name just a few ways. And this will only get worse. All four dynamics described above are sources of sickness that reinforce each other. We become ill on all levels of our lives: bodily (increases in allergies, cancer), mentally (burnout, depression), socially (polarization, violence, destruction), and spiritually (loss of self-esteem and meaning). And we become addicted—not only to drugs but also to work, violence, political power, sex, money, and consumption, as addiction can take many forms.

Our challenge in relation to these five dynamics can be summarized in three sentences: we must confront uncontrollable climatic, ecological, and societal dynamics and upheavals. Our primary methods of addressing them through technology and politics will amplify these dynamics or re-introduce their destructive effects. Simultaneously, our personal and societal capacity to adapt or cope with them decreases dramatically.

We need to be courageous, not only in facing what’s ahead but in being open and receptive to understanding that our current situation holds a tremendous gift: the path to a humanity at one with nature. This is another perspective we will discuss in the next part of this series.

Read the whole series “The Chance of Our Lifetime”. The opening two parts described the crises we are navigating and illustrated the change we could create. The third section explain how to achieve that change.

I The main sources of polarization

The first: our inability to connect with each other

Connecting with each other and maintaining nourishing relationships, even amidst differences and tension, is a social ability rooted in biology. We have deliberately destroyed that foundation to such an extent that we can consider this the emergence of a new kind of humanity.1

The basis of all our social abilities is the primary relationship between mother and child. A child must be attached and held closely from the beginning of life in order to bond, build trust, relate, and connect with others while simultaneously developing a strong sense of self and personality. However, this primary relationship is disrupted from the outset because we have altered the naturally proven processes of pregnancy and birth, allowing them to be shaped by technology. Giving birth is no longer the wonder and gift it once was; it has become a high-risk event that robs women of their power and self-empowerment, leading them into dependency and significant insecurity, which causes stress for both the child and the mother. The result is the gradual diminishing of the biological structures for relating, bonding, and joy, which continue to decline from generation to generation.

We are amping this up with two other dynamics. The first one is our educational systems, which are built on fragmentation and which undermine self-esteem, self-leadership, and agency. We turn our children into unstable adults who seek support from peers who are equally unstable, fostering a climate of loneliness, isolation, violence, and insecurity.

The second one is technology, particularly social media, which acts as a simulation of communication that ultimately lacks personal and intimate contact with others and oneself. In highly developed countries in particular, we are able to maintain our lives without any physical contact, thanks to online meeting tools and automated delivery services. Everything is only one click away.

The second: our political systems and their power dynamics.

All our political structures are organized around power, with gaining and maintaining power as the central goal of all participants. Since the end of the last century, political parties have used certain issues, especially "migration", to gain attention and political momentum. The method has always been the same: first, create a "crisis". Second, use this "crisis" to exert pressure on political competitors and shape societal discourses. There’s no need for that "crisis" to be real or backed by facts. The effectiveness of this method lies in the narratives surrounding the "crisis"; it is based on psychological fears, the competitive nature of the political system, and the media's hunger for news. The "crisis" is employed to create an "us vs. them" mentality, using the marginalization of a specific group to define political followers by identity rather than by political issues, in order to gain popularity. Once a party or leader gains power, they employ legal and administrative strategies to solidify their position: political adversaries are persecuted, democratic rights and the rights of minorities are undermined, unwanted cultures and communities are suppressed, and the media is brought into line. This development is leveraged by the same technological advancements that have amplified our inability to connect. The rise of social media has shifted the political discourse to one of fragmentation, isolation, and the pursuit of attention, moving away from any semblance of dialogue or genuine listening to one another, preventing the exchange of diverse arguments.

We have two dynamics that are closely connected and reinforce each other. One is the decline of our ability to create and maintain strong relationships, build communities, and connect with one another. The other is the use of a constructed identity and manufactured crises to gain political and media power. Both dynamics exacerbate our current challenges and simultaneously leave us without agency, without the power to create or resolve our situation.

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II How to move beyond a polarized society?

First, we must be clear that we are in it for the long haul when it comes to healing our societies. Our polarization is a symptom of deep dysfunctional structures and dynamics that permeate all levels of humanity. Confronting and overcoming those dynamics will take a lot of time and effort. A few essential things will help us achieve this.

1. We need to be aware of our own tendencies

Polarization is based on mental patterns and beliefs, and it has a strong physiological impact. We can’t heal polarization if we carry a polarized heart or if we follow the same patterns of "us vs. them". We need to become resilient and strong, and gain the ability to lead ourselves and others.

2. We need to learn how to connect

We all lack the ability to bond, and we all risk being distracted and disturbed by technology. Only a few of us have had truly fulfilling and nurturing childhoods. So, we have to learn to bond, to get in touch with ourselves, and to heal our own wounds if we haven’t properly taken care of ourselves.

3. We need to understand that polarization is a fiction

Yes, polarization is a reality, but it’s a constructed one, based on fiction. If we think and act as if it exists, we will foster it; there’s no way around it. We can only overcome polarization if we simultaneously accept it as a given and do not attach to it, instead acting from paradigms that are free from polarization.

4. We should play our own game, by our own rules

Polarization is a symptom, not the crisis itself. If we want to heal polarization, we need to be clear about what we want to create. We particularly need to understand what kind of communities we want to build. They define the new paradigms that we must establish from the beginning. Those paradigms enable us to create our own rules instead of taking part in the games led by others.

5. Change political discourses and decisions

This is the first of three fundamental shifts we need to create: we require a new way to govern ourselves and a different form of discourse regarding the societal issues that matter to us and how we will address them.

6. Change the way we give birth to our children

That’s the second shift. We need to regain our sovereignty over pregnancy, birth, and childhood. We need our women to be powerful, to understand that they are empowered to give birth and raise their children, and to bond properly.

7. Change the way we raise our children and youngsters

The third shift focuses on raising our children. Trusting and allowing them to guide their learning and development is essential. This approach is the only way for them to discover and realize their potential, strength, and capacity to create significant changes.

8. Build communities on diversity and differences

Polarization is built on the idea of otherness, and every kind of community carries the seed of otherness simply because there’s always a "we" and an "other". Communities need to include and exclude; otherwise, they won’t work. So, if we create and restore our communities, we must focus on how we define whom to include and exclude, and we must stay open and adaptable.

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But transformations occur by themselves; they carry an inherent intelligence. We participate in the transformation and shape it as much as we are shaped by it. What’s essential to understand is that this inherent intelligence unfolds through the actions of people, and can only manifest to the extent that we allow it. To be able to do so, we need to extend our understanding of transformation and change in different ways.

Are we self-empowered?

Only if we have inner freedom can we create agency in transformation and in our work with others. The degree of our inner freedom defines our impact and influence on others. That’s why transformation asks for leadership of a different kind: self-leadership, which empowers us to overcome the old power paradigms.

Are we aware of our mental models?

We always carry world models, and these understandings shape how we perceive, think, and act; they drive our transformational work. We can’t eliminate them as they are deeply rooted in our biology. We can only lessen their impact by making them transparent and working with them.

One such model is our theory of change, and our true transformational power comes when we can set it aside for a moment and perceive what the organization and its transformation truly need. That leads to another understanding of facilitation, one that works with and in the given moment.

Are we able to work with uncertainty?

We walk on unfamiliar ground. There is power and creativity in the unknown, and to harness it we must work with uncertainty – even when that uncertainty feels overwhelming. We must seek guidance from the infinite intelligence in which we are embedded. We can learn and practice that, but we must take action. Otherwise, our deep desire for security and support will take over and re-establish old patterns.

Do we understand what it means to be embedded?

Our organizations are embedded and interconnected with everyone and everything they touch. So are we. Transformations are only regenerative and healthy if they respect and integrate this interconnectedness. Therefore, we need to create spaces for those who are not present but are equally affected by our work.

This is part of a series on organization and transformation:

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To create organizations that behave differently, we need to apply a different understanding of transformation. This differs from the current understanding of organizational development in three important ways:

1. Every transformation unfolds on its own. We think we can initiate and shape change, but in reality transformation occurs by itself. Seeing ourselves as the great creators leads to more harm than good.

2. Every transformation possesses its own intelligence, which we can either support or suppress.

3. Every transformation is unique and needs to be treated that way. It carries its own manual for us to study. Assuming control through tried and tested methods undermines the uniqueness of the organization and its transformation. This contributes to a fundamental loss of social diversity.

II

If we view each transformation as unique and possessing inherent intelligence, we must recognize that its power can only be unleashed through agency. We will realize the transformation's full impact if we establish agency in at least three central aspects:

I Agency is the goal

Human nature can express itself fully only if one has the agency to do so. The more people are self-empowered and able to tap into their potential, the more aligned we are with nature and capable of restoring a healthy relationship with it. As such, organizational transformations must be oriented toward the agency of all affected by it.

II The transformation must be based on agency

The paradigms that govern a process define its results. If we want to create agency, our approach to transformation must be based on agency.

III Transformation must facilitate agency

If we do not go beyond participation and establish agency in our transformational work, we remain rooted in old paradigms. Agency is a source of creativity, power, and strength, and we need all of this for the times and changes ahead.

This is part of a series on organization and transformation:

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The crises we face are also a result of our organizations, how they operate, and how we understand and shape them.

We need to build organizations differently, focusing on at least three essential aspects:

I

Organizations are a space for humans to work together, profoundly shaping the life of everyone associated with them, from partners to clients, customers, and small producers at the end of the supply chain. Our organizations are usually based on outdated paradigms. They uphold the same destructive power structures we have to face in society. They are not empowering people, neither employees nor their clients. They are part of that social fabric that fundamentally holds us back from changing society.

Instead, organizations must be organized around agency. The space they create must be a space of empowerment, supporting everyone to realize their potential.

II

Organizations shape society on various levels, from family life to political governance. But by underestimating their own role in society, they contribute to dysfunction, isolation, and the destruction of our social fabric.

To create a social fabric that nourishes people and helps them thrive, we must reshape our organizations so that they understand the role they play and work collaboratively with all the communities they touch.

III

Organizations rely on resources to sustain their operations and produce products and services. By seeing resources as things we can extract, use, and discard, we fail to appreciate the inherent value of the natural world around us. This extractive mindset is at odds with nature, and it is one of the central causes of ecological harm.

We must reshape how our organizations interact with nature, shifting from exploitation to regeneration, and from commodification to respect. →

II How to build different organizations

The way we perceive and understand organizations defines how they evolve and how we harness them.

Before we rework our organizations, we must acknowledge how their current forms emerged. Destructive and inadequate thinking leads to destructive organizations. Instead of relying on blueprints and best practices, we must recognize that each organization is unique and needs to be treated accordingly. This is the starting point for a new approach to creating, leading, and transforming organizations.

This is part of a series on organization and transformation:

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We are in the local park. My six-year-old tries to climb up a tree. There’s a branch right above him. His arms are too short to reach. It’s only a few centimeters, but too far for him to succeed.

Life is direct. It shows us where we are and where we are not. "Reality is what it is. If it were different, it would be different," my Zen master used to say. From the very beginning of our existence, we are confronted by our limitations and gifted with the ability to overcome them. A child tries until it stands on its feet for the first time, as my son will try and try until one day he catches that branch. Until then, he doesn’t see this as a failure, although he can be frustrated. It’s the challenge of life and he can go with it.

This post is part of transformative’25: a year dedicated to your transformative power. Join in. And share.

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Some of our limitations are given, the rhythm of the seasons, our physical shape, and death. But most of the limitations we are confronted with are made, and predominantly self-made. Those limitations are precious. They show us how to gain agency and power. We only need to unlock them, and doing so is a simple process:

• We need to understand limitations in general.

• We need to understand our specific limitations in a given situation.

• We need to use and work with those limitations to unlock their wisdom and the power they carry.

Let’s get deeper into it.

1

You can do everything you can dream of, and you have everything you need in order to do this. The universe doesn’t err. Your true dreams are always linked to your talents and abilities, and to what you have to unfold in this life.

2

Our limitations are learned. They aren’t real. Rather, they create our reality. We adopt these limitations by internalizing beliefs, language, culture, and even movements from our parents, attempting to cope with challenging situations, and repeating the same stories. It made sense back then; sometimes, learning a limitation was necessary to protect our inner selves, allowing an ability or quality to emerge, but not yet. Over time, those habits and patterns become dysfunctional. And when the time comes, life confronts us with that specific limitation.

3

It’s not easy to be confronted and realize that we are limited. A whole range of unpleasant emotions and thoughts show up. It takes courage, calmness, and equanimity to stay upright and give oneself the space to process all those emotions and thoughts until they diminish and finally vanish. It takes time to be aware of what goes on inside of us, to feel ourselves, and to listen to our inner voice. These qualities are learnable and they increase over the time of their use. And finally, when the storm is over and the inner sight is clear, we can see and understand what we are doing to create those limitations. That’s when we can change them.

A few years ago, I had a conflict with a landlord. I wasn’t able to solve the situation as I wished, finding myself confronted with fear and locked in a crisis. Looking back at that situation closely, I realized that I used to create those crises by myself. They helped me get out of unwanted situations, as I didn't allow my self to walk away calmly. This was unpleasant. I had to realize how much energy this pattern was costing me and how I damaged important relationships only because I wasn’t able to stand up for myself.

4

I learned how to create a crisis in my family of origin. It was a way of getting attention. Sometimes it helped to shift attention away from something my parents disliked. But most of all, it helped me become an outsider. This was the most important lesson to be learned from the story of the landlord. I wasn’t an outsider, but I created a situation where I was. Once I realized that, it was easy for me to heal what needed to be healed and to dissolve the pattern. Our limitations always tell us where they come from.

After I turned away from that crisis pattern, I was not only able to solve the situation with my landlord. Surprisingly, I started to enjoy all sorts of encounters. I did not need to be an outsider anymore. I realized that I had the gift to reach out to others. And that was part of uncovering my dream of creating a space for community-based learning. Our limitations are all about our dreams, our power and our abilities. Once those limitations are solved, we are vitalized and have access to more energy (I don’t need crises anymore, so they don’t eat up my energy). But most of all, we gain access to our true self and the dreams we carry.

5

There are as many limitations as there are ways to overcome them. We can use language and imagery to uncover beliefs and paradigms. We can work with our bodies by releasing blockages, relearning proper movements, or talking and singing. Additionally, we can utilize space to explore what we need to examine. The limitation itself knows best how it should be handled, so simply ask and be patient while waiting for the answer.

6

Being patient is important for dealing with limitations. We need persistence and inner stability, which come over time. They arise by simply working. When we fall or lose track, we only need to remember and pick up the thread. So, what do you have to look at right now?

These are challenging and overwhelming times for many of us. Democracy seems to be on the brink, with the U.S. sliding into a constitutional crisis. The ecological crisis is escalating, bringing dramatic climate changes and human disasters such as fires and floods. Add to this rising social tensions and violence against minorities and ___ (fill the blank with a crisis of your choice). These moments confront us with our helplessness. What can we do? Can we even do anything at all?

This helplessness does not reflect our true capability. Our power and our potential outstrips our beliefs and experiences. Our ability to act profoundly is just a few steps away:

1. You must understand that your helplessness is just a story, not reality.

2. You must discover what you want to change and create.

3. You need to take the single first step towards realizing this.

That’s all. Gaining agency and acting in challenging moments like this is very simple. It’s life-changing. It’s the most important thing to do right now. We all need all of our power and strength, and that means we all deserve to encounter the unique gift of you.

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What is agency and why is it so important?

Agency is the power to act and the potential to influence the world around you, in order to achieve what you want to achieve. It goes beyond having a say, being visible or being part of a community. Having agency and living this agency is tremendously transformative: it frees us from the societal bonds we create for ourselves. It gives us and everyone around us the power to create the society and the world we want to live in. It allows us to change the current dynamics and thrive into a new humanity in accordance with nature.

How is your helplessness just a story?

The reality we experience is not reality at all. It’s an image we make ourselves, shaped by experiences and the world models we carry with us. All those feelings that show up are not a reaction to reality, but to our image of reality. So if you feel helpless or overwhelmed, it’s simply something you learned and chose to do—a story you are telling yourself. Your helplessness is self-created. It’s part of the social story we carry with us. It might not be easy to see such feelings as self-created, but it’s powerful once you understand that everything you create you can change. So your helplessness is simply a perspective and you can see the world differently.

Why is it important to discover what you want to create?

When we dislike something, we resist it and try to overcome it. This is working against rather than towards something: we are directing our energy toward what we dislike, not toward what we want to realize.

If we understand what we want to realize in our lives and what we want to create, we tap into another power source. This power far exceeds our resistance and anger, helping us overcome our inner limitations and rise to our true power. So whenever you get angry or overwhelmed, use those emotions to ask yourself what’s really at stake: What do you want to create? And if you want to free your mind, you can ask yourself: if I know I won’t fail, what is the one thing I want to realize in my life?

Take these questions with you. Allow them to unfold and take effect. Your dream may be shy and take time to show up.

And what is this first step all about?

Our dreams are vast and demanding, and they seem impossible the first time we recognize them. My dream is to build a global movement that rebuilds society so that humanity lives in accordance with nature. If you have such a dream, where do you start?

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," as the Tao Te Ching says. Our only obligation is to find the first step. This first step will lead to all the other necessary steps. And know that there’s always something you can do right now.

Surely, the realization of deep societal transformations demands, above all, profound inner changes. But you already have all that you need. You have had it since you were born. And it will show up in the very moment that you need it.

Agency is an ability that grows as you develop and use it. You won’t fail, whatever you try. Failing is just another social story we tell ourselves. It is just an opportunity to learn and to thrive. So step into your power.

I The Magic

It's still a wonder how life unfolds. A flower starting to blossom, the first breath of a child, a bird picking his way through the shell of his egg—there's a magic in all of this that no scientific explanation can capture.

It's a magic. But not among us humans.

All the dynamics, activities, and patterns that bring life forth happen in an astonishing perfection, shaped and approved by nature for billions of years. But we humans need to control, define, and reshape every single step, forcing it into our technological structures, where one thing surely doesn't have its place: magic. We lose something fundamental by this, something we only become aware of through small hints, as we do not have something to compare with, a kind of natural state without human inventions. We can't recognize it. But the loss is there.

II Living from the Inside

If left alone, a child undergoes tremendous development in the first years of life, from commanding gravitation by evolving into an upright gait to developing astonishing communication skills and using one of the most complex social inventions: language. His learning covers all aspects of life, the private and personal as well as the social ones. And he does this all by himself, guided by an inward stimulus, like all living beings on earth.

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But as a society, we don't trust. Instead of supporting the inward drive, we think the baby should and ought to do better, to do it differently. That's why we invented institutions like kindergartens and schools.

But it's a loss for everyone: the child, the family, and the society at large. The child not only loses his intrinsic motivation, he loses access to himself, to the potential that wants to be realized in his life. The family loses power. A family based on self leadership and the agency of everyone is something totally different compared to a family where everyone gains motivation and self-worth from outside. Society loses creativity, willpower, agency: all those things we need to adapt to new realities.

III The four pillars of learning and growing.

The inward drive is only an essential part of growing. For it to fully realize, four different qualities must be present so that learning can happen at its best for a child as well as for an adult: play, technique, culture, and bonding.

Play

Although we adults often forget it, play is an essential part of our lives, a dimension of its own rights where we allow ourselves to be alive, present, and act and react joyfully to everything around us. It is crucial for inner development. It enables us to experiment and move freely. It offers the opportunity to embody and integrate various experiences and exists solely for the simple pleasure of being ourselves. By its very nature, play has no direction or goal; it is not a means to an end.

Technique

In contrast to play, technique is a place to learn structures, methods, and tools, a place to form a practice, whether it be a craft, a sport, or an instrument. It is as essential as play as it offers everything a person needs to maintain his life, stand on his own, and find meaning and self-worth. And it only works in close connection with play.

Culture

It is the social dimension of learning, from a group culture to society at large: the richness of reels and cultural expressions, the world of language, art, music, and everything we create among ourselves with the techniques we develop. We are social creatures, and how we conduct our lives together tremendously affects the quality of our lives.

Bonding

It seems like a paradox: A child realizes its autonomy and self-sufficiency only when it is properly bonded, when it experiences being held, loved, and cared about, and has a place to come back to, to relax, and to regenerate. If a person experiences this through his childhood, it will be able, as an adult, is able to bond with himself and later with the universe as the one infinite intelligence we are all embedded in.

All these aspects (play, technique, society, bonding) provide different relationships and supports and cover different aspects of life. They need different structures, especially different qualities of space: a workshop needs to be built differently than a place where we can all play together or where we can celebrate our belonging and our different cultures.

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IV The concept of community-embedded learning

Play, technique, culture, bonding: every kind of learning must provide these elements. To realize our full human potential and create a society where we can live in accordance with nature, we have to put those elements in a totally different relationship to each other and inside society than we currently do in our current systems. That's what the concept of community-embedded learning aims for.

Community-embedded learning gives everyone the space to follow their own path and simultaneously provides everything needed by fully utilizing a community's richness.

It is based on four central elements:

1. Self-directed learning from the beginning. Every individual follows their own learning path, defined by their inner self and not interfered with by others. This applies equally to children and adults.

2. Spaces that provide certain opportunities to learn, play, and experiment at a high quality (more about this in a few sentences).

3. A network of skilled adults who share their craft with everyone who wants to learn it.

4. A new role for adults, whether they are parents or not: Raising children is always a co-learning and co-growing experience. The inner freedom, stability, and agency a child can achieve are defined by the inner freedom and clarity of the adults surrounding that child.

V Building a new form of community

Community-embedded learning aims to establish a new form of community that is resilient, self-sufficient, and connected. It can blossom fully only when the ecological and economic perspectives are fully integrated.

Let us explore what community-embedded learning looks like. Different circles need to be in place for this:

1. The learning network consists of two different elements: a) places dedicated to playing and learning together and b) a network of skilled individuals who are willing and able to share their experiences with children and adolescents. These places include rooms for movement, creation, art, workshops, and studios for various crafts, as well as libraries and study rooms. The skilled individuals can be anyone from a mother who regularly cooks for the community at the communal center to architects, musicians, and woodworkers. They are there to share their experiences and crafts with those who want to delve deeper into a specific area technique.

2. The economic circle brings together different businesses and local enterprises into a local circle that supports each other and is linked to others outside the community to enrich and foster each other. This circle creates its own businesses to support and integrate not only children but also people who, in our current system, don't find a place to work and care for themselves.

3. The ecological circle has different dimensions: a) the regeneration of nature by rebuilding the city and neighborhood, b) a network of urban gardens, private gardens, and local farms so that the community can grow its own food and children have access to this dimension of life.

4. The housing circle that offers housing for everyone, including the so-called social housing.

5. The cultural circle offers places and times for all participants and community members to follow and celebrate their own culture, allowing the community to experience the richness of human life.

VI The ultimate goal: the agency of everyone.

Community-embedded learning creates a community within an existing society, neighborhood, and community. It is neither built on exclusion nor does it foster it by creating an exclusive community. It is rooted in a sense of belonging that invites the entire society, confronting the difficult aspects of our current reality and using them as a means to thrive and grow together. That is the true transformation of power that community-embedded learning offers: it enables everyone to gain their agency and power to transform society. It creates humans that stay on their own feet and are guided by themselves.

We need all our power and our ability to step back from the current system that we created to build a new one based on different paradigms, one that overcomes the millennia-old separation of man and nature.

Learning is the gateway to establishing this new society, helping us adapt to the unknown, preparing us for the upheavals we already face, and preparing us for the societal transitions we will have to endure.