Awareness versus consciousness
During our interactions with people often the confusion appears among these two terms. Awareness and consciousness. For many they are the same but they are not.
- Awareness according wikipedia “Awareness is the state of being conscious of something”
- Consciousness according wikipedia is “the awareness of internal or external existence”
This may still be confusing even though an interesting differentiator is introduced: “existence”
A tree may be aware of autumn to drop its leaves, but is it conscious of this reaction to autumn? Is it for the tree an automated or voluntary issue? Does the tree “think” about it? Could it for instance decide NOT to drop the leaves this year?
This could provide insight in the difference to be aware through sensing (see, hear, smell, taste, touch and more) and acting accordingly. And to be conscious of ones senses and actions through interpretation, rationalization, comparison of those senses and the actions one takes, in order to make self aware choices.
The question then arises about the human being. We are obviously aware. But to what degree are we conscious? Are there levels of consciousness? For instance, can an executive banker be totally blind to the effects of his or her decisions? In believe they can. Their particular tunnel vision does not make them sensitive to a bigger picture. They are aware, not conscious, at least not conscious enough to question their activities and think of something else.
A typical example we can find in the so called “credit crisis” of 2008. When the crisis exploded the European ministers instantly joined overnight in Brussels to discuss the consequences. Why didn’t they react before? Why were they surprised by the circumstances? Why did they decide to do financial injections into the financial markets rather than into different value systems? Did they learn a lesson? Or are they fixated within the mindset of the establishment? Does this provide them with a biased consciousness? Maybe a lack of a broader awareness?
How about ourselves?
School of Talents and Wellness session 17.11.20 for action
Our global School of Talents and Wellness attracts all kinds of people from around the world. All are invited by Jean-Paul Close to use their own expertise within the vision of Sustainocracy (core natural human values and democracy) to come up with global or local programs. During previous sessions, including the ones organized by Dr. Mahendra Shah under the title of Earth Odyssey, we got to four propositions:
- Sustainability or Health Valleys near urban areas. In analogy of the old establishment of Silicon Valley like industrial zones near cities we could organize Sustainability Valleys. The SDGs and Sustainocratic core human values could be developed in such areas with the engagement of the local community of citizen’s and institutions.
- Zero tolerance. It is gradually unacceptable that institutions operate in a “negative values” environment (abuse of human beings, society and planet) out of pure financial benefit. The alternative is defined using instruments like UNITED and the 4 x Profit/Value principles for genuin participation in core values creation. In 2020 we speak out the Zero Tolerance to be fully applied in society against anyone (business or politics) as from 2030, providing a voluntary 10 year transition period. During those 10 years severe cases will be prosecuted already to create precedents and warning signals to those who are reluctant. As from 2030 the abuse is seen as a crime against humity and our living planet.
- LYPS – Let Your Passion Shine: Showing the positive, passion driven initiatives, large and small, of people in the field of values creation, creativity and expressionist art. We use video platforms, social media, etc to inspire, build awareness and visualize back practice measured against the core values, UNITED, 4 x Profit, etc.
- Engaging our youngest generations and schools into the School of Talents and Wellness. Young people are trapped into a old scholing system that pays no attention the essentials of living a progressive life. There future is not based anymore of the old thinking of a job for life and obedience within a system. Their empathy towards the planet, our fellow human beings and the challenges we face, require the development of the creative innovative potential, addressing phenomena and root causes rather that sustaining the unsustainable.
The discussion went into a specific direction, an open reflection. Feel free to listen to the dialogue as it builds up. Relevant information can be found here:
- Shinrin Yuko Forest Bathing immunity Therapy (Bali Zen Resort)
- Computational thinking (Barry Kort)
- Cognition, Affect and Learning (Barry Kort)
- Redefining Human Complexities (Jean-Paul Close)
Present during todays dialogue about these issues and bringing them into our practical reality are:
- Jean-Paul Close (Netherlands)- invitation to participate, moderator and initiator of Sustainocracy
- Dr. Mahendra Shah (India/Bali)- old United Nations executive, currently owner of a Zen Resort on Bali and initiator of Earth Odyssey
- Zvi Weinstein (Israel)- Israel Smart City institute
- Heiner Benking (Germany)-
- Eugen Oetringer (Germany/Netherlands) – Agile coach
- Barry Kort (USA) – the theory of emotions and learning
- Ukpeme Okon (Nigeria/USA)- lawyer, ambassador of peace
- Stavey Druss (USA) –
- Terry van de Vossenberg (Netherlands) – Sustainocratic initiative developer
Zero tolerance
Within the industrial based societal hierarchy there is a perceived official tolerance for polluting and destructive activities due to its economic relevance. Supportive politics to these industries due to corruption, misleading information or dependence on the taxable labour offered by these enterprises, become complice to the damages caused on local and global humankind and our planet. Have a look at this video of the crimes of cement industries that use subsidised waste to fuel their processes.
Such industries, often within the domain of large western multinationals, have the coward, historical tendency to do these practices in areas where the politic environment is still favorable for their crimes. They are called crimes because the negative health and environmental impacts are known to the executives. This is why they diverted to these places, away from their home country where rules are much stricter. The aspect of willingly and knowingly polluting and poisening a local population somewhere in the world is a crime against humanity.
Such industries tend to justify their action because of the global “need” for their products, the wish to recover their investments or the profit pressure demanded by their stakeholders against all moral validation, often with a long term collatoral of the local government. This means that the local network is as responsible for the crime against their own population as the multinational itself.
Locals that defend their basic right for health (without unnatural, human inflicted pollution) get prosecuted for trespassing, blocking economic processes or other “system crimes” that have no natural basis. This shows the old irrational focus of justice on defending a manipulated interpretation of justice out of economic bias. This is wrong in basic, unwritten natural laws of public health and safety. Favoring the sustaining of a corrupt “money determines all” type of phylosophy makes even those parts of justice complice of the crime.
When there is a choice there is no excuse. With the growth of core natural values driven alternative community (society) governance (SDG’s based, donut economy, Sustainocracy, etc) to the money driven hegamony the zero tolerance of crime against nature and humanity is growing equaly. Politicians, business executives and justice have now a choice. This is still voluntary in view of the relative novelty of the definition of the core values and alternative governance model. Soon it will become compulsary by law of nature. Within the voluntary arena of choice they will have to face increasing the public disapproval and uprise. It is not the institutions that choose, it is the people that run and support them.
The newly demanded zero tolerance justice is hence not concentrated anymore on blaming the enterprises with their battery of system lawyers. It is going to prosecute the executives, politicians, civil servants and even judges themselves who get blamed for their choices. Self protective immunity could be a mask within the dominance of a single system but with the breakthrough of alternatives the immunity is not effective anymore. There is no hiding possible. The only way forward is through protecting, defending and supporting sustainable human progress and our core natural values. If not, one is facing to be banned from the community as even jail, at the expense of the community, is too much for such criminals.
Zero tolerance….
Sustainocracy, the new democracy 