Presencing and U2


The Presence book, Theory U, the future Buddha, and U2

Also on the flights back and forth from Halifax to Berlin for Educa 2004 I read the Presence book, subtitled Human Purpose and the Field of the Future. (Cf also presence.net and the Introduction (PDF). ) The authors (Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers) address the change process for organizations and society in the emerging light of global scenarios they are enacting in terms of Theory U. The U is a symbol, starting at top left with Sensing (downloading, observing) through Presencing at the bottom (suspending, allowing inner knowing), on to Realizing at top right (acting, becoming a force of nature). This process applies to individual creativity as well as to group intention.

I think this book took a lot of courage - the authors go out on a limb, from some points of view, exposing themselves - but to a need they vividly experience as coming from the field of the earth, leaving them no choice.

One comment I have is that suspending the normal flow of reaction (ie, everything you know as you), realizing presence, and letting come the field of the future, needs a major, perhaps life altering, experience, at least initially. For Scharmer this was his family home burning down in front of his eyes, along with the up-till-then fabric of his existence - which allowed a field of potential to open up. Jaworski embarked on a controlled, week-long vision quest. I suspect that such shattering of ego into a more open view should be a required stepping stone to leadership and to, in fact, any action that may have large effects on others. Following that, of course, practice - incarnating this in everyday life and action - is necessary.

The authors join an emerging shift to seeing spirituality and a spiritual practice as necessary to not only individuals but also groups. The Tibetan Buddhist and Shambhala teacher Chogyam Trungpa gave a talk in London in 1968 at which he said that Maitreya Buddha, the buddha of the future, would be not an individual but society.

So here's a contribution to this: seeing the U in others with others is U2 (with a smile to Bono, who I'm sure is already there and understands). U2 is calling us: U first.

From yesterday's blog entry :

This is why the Good has come into your midst.
It acts together with the elements of your nature
so as to reunite it with its roots.



Posted: Fri - December 10, 2004 at 11:52 AM          

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