Please see this guest post on an exciting new initiative that captures what we at Integral North have come to believe!
The Holomovement The Flow Between Source and Self that Enhances the Whole
There is a grand movement taking place around the world, based on the emerging principles of what has been called the new paradigm, the new age, the human potential movement, the upshift movement, the great transition, and many more possible names. It encompasses hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of activists, nonprofits, small community groups and organizations all in motion working to change the fundamental nature of society. Despite these tireless efforts, our vision for creating a world that works for everyone has been painfully slow to take root. There are numerous reasons for this stalled realization. One of them being that in this spirit of inclusivity, there are many that believe these endeavors should be nameless, leaderless, and perhaps even formless. This is an idealistic vision, but history has shown us the consequences of a prolonged void in appointed leadership or strategic coordination. As a species, we look to people and groups to guide, connect and inspire us in realizing sustainable, transformative impact. And, similar to our need to be in community, being able to identify a North Star is critical in navigating this long and often disorienting collective journey toward unity and social transformation. Now poised at the bifurcation point of our species’ breakdown or breakthrough, our global family must find consensus in shifting our cultural values from “me,” to “we,” to “all.” To achieve this requires a movement guided by a unifying worldview and outlined by defining principles giving us hope, meaning and evolutionary direction. A transformative movement of this magnitude needs a name to rally around, one we propose calling the Holomovement. Finding a Sense of Hope within the Holomovement The term “Holomovement” comes from the inspiration of American physicist David Bohm’s use of the word as describing “a holistic understanding of our universe as a manifestation of the consciousness of our universe.” Bohm believed that at the core of our universe there is an implicate order– the field of consciousness and multidimensional reality of oneness that creates our world. The manifestation of the material universe is the explicate order. The holomovement is what weaves the two together.
Bohm was also intrigued with how the collective consciousness of humankind was developing into its own movement of unbroken wholeness and increasing self-awareness. His scientific contributions have inspired further expansion of his interpretation to include sociology and the systemic movement from the old paradigm of competition to a new paradigm of cooperation and wholeness. In today’s context the Holomovement can be seen as both a spiritual calling and a sociological branding for the so-called “movement of movements” to resolve our planetary crisis. In recognition of Bohm’s vision and the subsequent realization of the synergistic energy arising, the term “holomovement” perfectly describes the sociological phenomenon underlying the worldwide movement towards unity. Aligned under the holistic vision of the Holomovement, we reawaken to our true spiritual nature serving the coherence of new paradigm thought. A Holotropic Attractor Guiding Us Toward Unity More than a catchy name that describes a movement towards wholeness, the Holomovement, as applied to our current times, represents radical collaboration in action, founded in love, with a collective mission to support a global shift in consciousness while honoring the autonomy of each of our diverse purpose-driven efforts. Guided by science and spirituality and propelled by a sense of purpose, we envision the Holomovement as a rallying cry for this grand movement to take root, grow and blossom into the new structure of our collective consciousness. Global transformation requires a cooperative network stretching out beyond our current silos of interest groups and individual efforts. We need a new narrative for humanity that bridges religions, race, nationality, and cultural values. As such, there must be a natural draw pulling us towards this unifying concept. This is known as a holotropic attractor, which brings people together and simultaneously creates a regenerative outward ripple effect of new energy that will increase the force of the attractor. To help clarify the nature of the attractor, we have outlined 8 core principles to propose a coherent and inclusive vision within the philosophy of the Holomovement. Alongside these foundational tenets, we also call upon the wisdom traditions to guide us in their long-held understanding of wholeness in our interconnected web of life. By embodying these principles, we can begin to explore the nature of this Holomovement as it draws us toward unity and accelerates the evolution of both our individual and collective consciousness. Holomovement 8 Core Principles:
- Interconnected Wholeness. Although dazzlingly complex and multidimensional, the cosmos is a single, living process, profoundly interconnected and sacred in its Oneness. All knowledge systems, including science and spirituality, exist to discover and express the reality of this interconnected wholeness and arise from our innate curiosity to explain the implicate order and are, at their essence, potentially in harmony with each other.
- A Conscious Living Universe. Dynamic and alive, the universe arises from a source of consciousness, offering meaning to every component of our interconnected wholeness. The “difference” between spirit and matter is a question of frequency, density and the degree of bonding, but they come from the same Source.
- Purposeful Evolution. Oneness is evolutionary in its conscious awareness of existence, engaging in a purposeful evolution of its own nature. Over time, the cosmos, the Earth and all living things develop increasing levels of complexity, interconnectedness, consciousness and cooperation.
- Wholesomeness as Our Natural State of Being. All of reality, including individual beings and social and cultural systems, tend to be attracted to health, wholeness and the mutual flourishing of life and consciousness. Seemingly “evil” motives and behaviors are not fundamental to human nature, but rather arise from an unbalanced state when materialism and a sense of separation dominate human consciousness.
- A Self-Healing Cosmos. Our existential civilizational Meta-Crisis (of climate, culture, society, economics, and more) is naturally coinciding with a widespread awakening of virtuous social projects, analogous to an immune response. These contrasting forces, or levels of consciousness, although challenging, offer the necessary impulse to propel our ongoing evolution.
- Embodying the Holomovement. Bohm’s term “holomovement” describes how undivided wholeness is expressed in every seemingly separate entity, event and action. “The Holomovement” is an apt name representing the diverse sociocultural movement toward a just, fulfilling and sustainable human presence on Earth in accordance with the cosmological parameters of the physical universe.
- Unity in Action. The Holomovement is an inherent expression of the endemic nature of reality and amplifies the pull of collaborative coherence that simultaneously awakens individual purpose to discovering how it can also best serve the good of the whole. Especially needed now in all interpersonal relationships at all levels of society are social justice principles that support and the collective well-being, such as equality between men and women, balance between wealth and poverty, freedom from all forms of prejudice, and justice that is unitive, not punitive.
- Self-sustaining Development of Unity Consciousness. The Holomovement, like the universe itself, emanates from a spiritual Source that defines the action of the undivided cosmos working to reassert health and wholeness in the face of what appears to be fragmentation. As individual human beings become increasingly conscious of their connection to Source and discover a deeper sense of their own purpose in connection to it, they are naturally motivated to improve their psychological outlook and build communities with like-minded people drawn to the shared values of truth, beauty and goodness of the holotropic attractor. Thus, a positive feedback loop naturally arises in the development of individual consciousness as it gains an intuitive understanding of a self-reinforced unity consciousness, where individual purpose flourishes as it discovers ever better ways to contribute to the collective well-being of humanity.
Radical Collaboration in Action At the heart of this unifying worldview is the belief that we live in a purposeful and conscious universe. Though the ideal of a thriving and vibrant community is shared with a large portion of the human population, there is clearly a growing tendency to assert individual “wants” at the expense of the good of the collective and the planet. Disillusioned by a sense of separation, we’ve lost our way. Materialism has seeped into our relationships creating a subtle, transactional expectation prompting the unconscious question of “what’s in it for me?” So ingrained is this materialistic mindset, most of us have difficulty avoiding this way of operating. We see ourselves as separate beings, struggling for limited resources in a infinite world, rather than a part of a web of consciousness that permeates the whole of the universe. Even the most conscious, well-meaning organizations can fall into this mindset. It is this same thinking that hinders potential collaboration, fundraising efforts and clarity of direction for so many individuals and nonpro its engaged in social endeavors. A worldview based upon an outdated way of thinking is what has stalled so many transformative movements before us. Our social systems and theories of evolution are also shaped by this perception of separation. For a century and three quarters, “Social Darwinism” interpreted evolution as based on a competitive “survival of the fittest” in a random world of chance. This separatist, individualist worldview fueled social conflict, aggression, and even wars. Yet Darwin himself recognized social evolution as built upon ever-expanding circles of cooperation, supporting the unity and wholeness-in-motion of all sub-systems. This holistic view is now inspiring altruistic collaboration that is driving the Holomovement itself.
Delivery on this message isn’t about working against the system, or even within the system. It’s time to reach beyond the current system and find a new source of energy to transform the patterns of behavior to serve humanity. Each one of us has the potential to make positive change when we embody a feeling of hope for a positive future. The Holomovement strives to nurture the belief and understanding that each one of us has a calling in co-creating this new chapter of our human experience. By reaching toward a higher source, we can ignite our purpose and create a wave of positive action. In the same way Bohm described the implicate and explicate order moving in an unbroken whole, each of us are entwined as co-creators within our evolutionary flow. We are moving beyond the transactional nature of relationships and embodying the transformative power of deep spiritual connection. Cosmologically, psycho-spiritually and sociologically, the Holomovement is quite literally a movement of the whole towards truth, beauty and goodness. It is the miracle set in motion from our cosmic beginnings, always keeping us connected even when it appears that we are separate. It is the flow between Source and self that fuels our spirits and enhances the whole. Thus, no matter how small or insignificant any individual may feel, we all contain an image of the whole, because we are the whole and it is us. Likewise, we contain the information stored in the whole. The whole flowing movement is holographic. A hologram is formed when a reference beam (the Source of consciousness) is split in two (the formation of individual consciousness) and eventually relected back towards itself (like looking at ourselves in a mirror) and the interference pattern of the reference beam reconnecting with itself forms a hologram. If we cut a holographic image into tiny parts, each section still retains a picture of the original whole, obviously fainter and with less pixels, but nevertheless the same. As with any holographic image, we see a new dimension that we never thought could exist. Likewise, when we “witness” ourselves from a state of higher consciousness – in meditation for example – we create a holographic view of who we truly are. We are neither the ego battling for recognition, nor our highest self that represents the ultimate destination of our soul’s evolution. We are the multidimensional interference pattern formed when the physical sense of ego-identity reconnects with the soul’s Source. We are the vibrational harmony heard when our base ego sings in tune with the higher frequency of our cosmic self. The Holomovement is the process of Source experiencing itself, appreciating who it is and how to evolve into ever higher frequencies of consciousness. Our work within the Holomovement gives us the opportunity to live in this ever-expanding, self-witnessing consciousness of our universe.
Fortunately, we don’t have to be a quantum physicist to contribute to the evolution of this philosophy and participate in it. As author Michael Talbot says: “We do not learn to ride a bicycle by painstakingly memorizing every feature to the process. We learn by grasping the whole flowing movement.” Similar to the way that a pack of cyclists moves as one, finding it easier and less resistant to pedal forward as part of the group, or the way that flocks of birds, schools of fish or swarms of bees act as one, flowing movement, so too does the Holomovement induce us to act as a collective and make it easier for our individual progress to reach the group destination. It is not our intention to claim that we have anything close to a final understanding of the Holomovement, and it is with humility that we acknowledge that our words are only the beginning of a new exploration into the meaning of human existence. As we set out on this evolutionary adventure, guided by both science and spirituality and propelled by a sense of purpose, let the Holomovement serve as an attractor in creating the coherence needed to work unselfishly together and unify our transformative efforts for the good of the whole and the evolution of humankind. Inspired by David Bohm Edited by Emanuel Kuntzelman and Jill Robinson, with input from: Bob Atkinson, Ben Bowler, Jude Currivan, Duane Elgin, Masen Ewald, Kurt Johnson, Terry Patten, and Laura Rose