| Common Indigenous Worldview Manifestations | Common Dominant Worldview Manifestations | | --- | --- | | 1. Non-hierarchical | 1. Rigid hierarchy | | 2. Courage and fearless trust in the universe | 2. Fear-based thoughts and behaviors | | 3. Socially purposeful life | 3. Living without strong social purpose | | 4. Emphasis on community welfare | 4. Focus on self and personal gain | | 5. Respect for various gender roles and fluidity | 5. Rigid and discriminatory gender stereotypes | | 6. Non-materialistic | 6. Materialistic | | 7. Earth and all systems as living and loving | 7. Earth as an an unloving “it” | | 8. Inseparability of head and heart | 8. More head than heart | | 9. Competition to develop positive potential | 9. Competition to feel superior | | 10. Empathetic | 10. Lacking empathy | | 11. Animistic and biocentric | 11. Anthropocentric | | 12. Words as sacred, truthfulness as essential | 12. Words used to deceive self or others | | 13. Truth seen as multifaceted, accepting mysterious | 13. Truth claims as absolute | | 14. Flexible boundaries and interconnected systems | 14. Rigid boundaries and fragmented systems | | 15. Regular use of alternative consciousness | 15. Unfamiliarity with alternative consciousness | | 16. Recognition of spiritual energies | 16. Disbelief in spiritual energies | | 17. Emphasis on holistic interconnectedness | 17. Disregard for holistic interconnectedness | | 18. High interpersonal engagement,touching | 18. Minimal contact with others | | 19. Inseparability of knowledge and action | 19. Emphasis on theory and rhetoric | | 20. Resistance to authoritarianism | 20. Acceptance of authoritarianism | | 21. Time as cyclical | 21. Time as linear | | 22. Complementary duality | 22. Dualistic thinking | | 23. Intolerance of injustice | 23. Acceptance of injustice | | 24. Emphasis on responsibility | 24. Emphasis on rights | | 25. Generosity as highest expression of courage | 25. Fighting as highest expression of courage | | 26. Ceremony as life-sustaining | 26. Ceremony as rote formality | | 27. Learning as experiential and collaborative | 27. Learning as didactic | | 28. Trance-based learning as natural and essential | 28. Trance as dangerous or stemming from evil | | 29. Human nature as good but malleable | 29. Human nature as corrupt or evil | | 30. Humor as essential tool for coping | 30. Humor as entertainment | | 31. Conflict resolution as return to community | 31. Conflict mitigated via revenge, punishment | | 32. Learning is holistic and place based | 32. Learning is fragmented and theoretical | | 33. Personal vitality is essential | 33. Personal vitality minimalized | | 34. Laws of Nature are primary | 34. Social laws of society are primary | | 35. Holistic Self-knowledge is most important | 35. Self-knowledge not prioritized | | 36. Autonomy for group and future generations | 36. Autonomy for self | | 37. Nature as benevolent | 37. Nature as dangerous | | 38. All lifeforms are sentient | 38. Other-than-human beings are not sentient | | 39. High respect for women | 39. Low respect for women | | 40. Non-linear thinking | 40. Linear thinking |
Source: https://kindredmedia.org/glossary/indigenous-worldview/
| Partnership | Domination |
|---|---|
| Everyone matters | In groups and out groups |
| Hierarchies of actualization | Hierarchies of domination |
| Increase in liberty and expression | Power maintained by force and fear |
| Equality: gender, race, etc | Inequality |
| Care is valued economically | Ignores economic value of caring |
| Human flourishing and creativity | Violence and abuse |
| Gentle Action Approach | Domination Approach |
|---|---|
| **Change ourselves | |
| ****Gandhi said, "Be the change. . . ." This means that we can only bring change to a system of which we are (or we become) an integral part. | **Change others |
| ****We try to bring about change from the outside. In doing so, we focus on trying to change others. | |
| Act from a comprehensive picture | |
| **To more fully understand all aspects of a system, we must listen to a variety of perspectives, then work with others to build a comprehensive picture. | **Act from a limited perspective |
| ****We tend to see things from our own perspective, then try to get others to move our own agendas. | |
| **Focus on what's right | |
| ****By immersing ourselves deeply in the workings of a system, we can see what's working well and think of ways to redirect energy, refine processes, and readjust relationships to achieve change with minimal disruption. | **Focus on what's wrong |
| ****We tend to focus more on what's wrong with a system and how we're going to fix it than on understanding how the system actually works. | |
| **Embrace uncertainty | |
| ****As we try to build a thorough understanding of how the system works, we need to become more comfortable with the fact that complete knowledge is unattainable. We can't afford to allow uncertainty to prevent us from acting. | **Wait until we're certain |
| ****We may not proceed because we can never have complete information about a complex system or how it will respond to change. | |
| Use grassroots actions | |
| Complex systems typically change as the result of small, frequent influences over time. When we recognize this, we realize that even widespread or obstinate problems are within our collective reach. | Use central power |
| We equate power and control with change, so we try to bring lots of power to address big issues. | |
| Choose many small actions | |
| But a complex system depends on many small parts, functioning intricately together. By working in many complementary ways, we can influence multiple aspects or levels of the system at the same time. | Go for one solution |
| We go for a single solution―one big hammer or magic bullet that will make radical change. | |
| Respond flexibly | |
| But complex systems are inherently unpredictable― we can't know how they'll respond to our actions. So as we proceed we have to watch carefully to see how our actions are affecting the system, making continual adjustments to our plans as we go along. | Stick to definitive plans |
| We make detailed, definitive plans and think we have to stick to them at all costs. | |
| Watch patiently for little signs of change | |
| Complex systems can be highly resilient and resistant to change. Often, a system stays in equilibrium until a "tipping point" is reached. Once critical momentum is achieved, deep-seated changes take root and begin to spread. | Expect a dramatic response |
| When we don't see the system changing, we get discouraged and give up prematurely. |
| Gentle Action Approach | Typical Approach |
|---|---|
| Within every system within and around me, I have the ability to effect change. | I only attempt to change things I have the power to control. |
| I recognize that many individuals making small changes add up to creative transformation. We’re all in this together. | I see change as a struggle. |
| I recognize that I am part of the system and part of what needs to be changed. | I regard what I want to change as "other." |
| I don't wait for those in power to make changes for me. But I also know that, as change works its way up from the grassroots level, people in influential positions become willing to listen and help. | I try to influence those who have the power to make the change I want. |
| An essential part of my research is the conversation that takes place amongst others who are also part of the system I'm working with. | I research the topic. |
| I realize that any plan will require continual refinement and revision during the course of its implementation. | I make a plan and follow it. |
| I try those approaches that offer the most leverage and that tap into the energy, processes, and relationships within the system. And I continually assess to see what effects they are bringing about. | I just try something and see if it works. |
| I realize that systems may change slowly and that efforts to influence real change will usually need to persist over time. | I give up fairly quickly if my solution isn't working. |
| Generative (Cooperative) Ownership | Extractive (Institutional) Ownership |
|---|---|
| Living Purpose: | |
| Creating the conditions for life over long term | Financial Purpose |
| Maximizing profits in the short term | |
| Rooted Membership: | |
| Ownership in human hands | Absentee Membership: |
| Ownership disconnected from life of enterprise | |
| Living Purpose: | |
| Creating the conditions for life over long term | Governance by Markets: |
| Control by capital markets on autopilot | |
| Community Finance: Capital as friend | Institutional Finance: |
| Capital as master | |
| Ethical Networks: | |
| Collective support for ecologial and social norms | Commodity Networks: |
| Trading focused solely on price and profits |
| Cooperative-As-Partner Ownership | Finance-As-Partner Ownership |
|---|---|
| Purpose Partners: | |
| Partners based on who shares purpose | Financial Partners: |
| Partners based on who has money | |
| Shared Risk: | |
| Revenue responsibility shared by community | Personal Risk: |
| Revenue responsibility held solely by partners | |
| Extended Support: | |
| Assistance extended to cooperative community | Limited Support: |
| Assistance limited to financial partner network | |
| Resilient Ownership: | |
| Shared accountability in maintaining core mission | Fragile Ownership: |
| Partner’s project interest can change overnight | |
| Robust Equity Growth: | |
| Accelerated by increase in community value | Limited Equity Growth: |
| Limited by growth capacity of financial partners |
Adapted from Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution, by Marjorie Kelly
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
| New Learning Reality | Domination Fallacy | |
|---|---|---|
| Inequality | Inequalities can be, and have been, reduced quickly through appropriate policy measures. | Inequalities are inevitable, and have always been there. |
| Identity | The emerging heroes can, and are, stopping the cycle of hatred and violence. | I am dishonorable and a coward if I do not fight or kill for the “honor” of my family and social identity. |
| Economy | Demystifying complex issues leads to change in policies through citizens’ perspectives and demand. | Citizens cannot work on complex issues—we cannot understand all the complexities related to finance and our economies, and we have no power. |
| Agency | The thought of shifting systems and creating new patterns and norms is complicated—I am, and we are, overwhelmed. | Everyone can create new patterns and shift systems and cultural norms when they choose to do so. |
| Emergence | When I give myself permission to source my universal values and oneness for action and results, I will manifest my greatness and contribute in unpredictable ways, and I am the unfolding new reality and emergence in this world. | Emergence is a conceptual phenomenon that scientists and thinkers study and talk about, often chaotic and nothing to do with me or my everyday reality. |
| Action | Personal transformation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for social or planetary transformation. When I simultaneously ache to see tangible results and act to manifest my greatness, I will generate social and planetary transformation. | If I embark on a journey of personal transformation, I will automatically generate social and planetary transformation. |
| Capacity | All human beings have the innate capacity to be empathic and compassionate. Nurturing environments in childhood stimulate this potential. Adults who have had difficult childhoods can choose to access our humanity with appropriate support and can also act to support others. | A few extraordinary, saintly people can care for others and humanity. |
| Humanity | Human beings inherently care about others; compassion is an integral component of our social intelligence that has enabled us to survive for thousands of years. | Human beings are driven primarily by self-interest. |
| Learning | We now know that decisions are informed by our learned perspectives and ideological biases, not primarily by knowledge and information presented to us. We have a choice to “see” what is invisible in different ways based on universal values—dignity, equity, compassion. | To understand the complex challenges we face, I must equip myself with structured ideological perspectives, current research, and knowledge. Only then will I see what is going on and decide what to do. |
| Awareness | The space of oneness and inner potential exists in all human beings and can be accessed by anyone who chooses to do so, even if their actions are inhuman and unacceptable. And by accessing this inner capacity, we transform our actions and reality. | Some of us are good people who have positive inner capacities, and there are bad people who are born with negative inner capacities. |
| Time | Knowing who I am and sourcing my inner capacities is a time-saver and energizer at work, in my community engagements, and in my family interactions. I can do more, and I am more aligned and attuned within myself and resonant with others. | During my work, in community engagements and in my family, I do not have the time or energy to focus on my inner self. |
| Children | Children and youth from every culture connect powerfully to their inner capacities and their dreams, irrespective of where they are born or where they live. | Children and youth cannot engage in “complex” themes such as discovering what they stand for or connect their values to action they will take—especially children from families facing disadvantageous situations. |
| Fear | All of us have fears as a consequence of our socialization process. Becoming aware of them allows us to have more options to make decisions and choices. | Fear is a sign of weakness, and those who are weak have fears. If I am brave, I have no fears. |
| Courage | Courage is our will rising through our wide-open heart and being in compassionate action. Courage is not about being forced into action through coercion. Courage is not about bravado or macho behaviors or performing dangerous actions. | There is nothing I can do about my fears, and I should not expect myself to be courageous. In fact, it may be harmful and/or distressful if I expect myself or others to be courageous and act. |
| Commitment | As human beings, we have an innate ability to commit to action when we get out of our own way. Committing to action is what makes ordinary people do extraordinary things. | Committing to action is not for everyone—extraordinary people and certain personality types are more likely to do so. I am just an ordinary person. Circumstances largely determine what happens. |
| Wisdom | My inner capacity or wisdom leads me to compassionate action in the world, giving me inner guidance, insight, and light that clarifies universal, life-giving principles. My wisdom and inner capacity resolve and release fear, anger, separation, and anxiety. I know what I care for deeply, and I am anchored in my universal values in a way that sets me free. I engage in compassionate action in the world. | There are many problems in the world—I have to concentrate on finding the solutions. I do not have the time to focus on my inner capacities and wisdom. |
| Identity | Where I am born is a matter of chance, not choice, determining the language I speak, the religion I follow, the name of the country on my passport. As I embrace my social profile—nationality, race, religion, gender, class, tribe, language—I do so transcending all divisive perspectives and actions, embracing diversity, authentically accepting others in an inclusive way. Our most powerful identity for a paradigm shift lies in our unique inner capacities, our essential oneness. | I am who I am because of my family, my religion, my nationality, my race, my tribe, my caste—this is what defines me, this is my identity. |
| Profession | The way we express our professional talents and abilities, as well as the skills we have for managing, creating, and manifesting professionally, contribute to success, prosperity, and service in the world as we transcend our social biases and source our inner capacities and wisdom for action. | What I can solve in the world is based on my profession and expertise. That is all that matters to produce changes needed in my workplace and the world. |
| Personality | All personality types are adequate—none is better than any other. My personality is my style of expression. I contribute in a unique way based on my personality type when I source my inner capacities and wisdom for action, accept diversity and embrace others, and use my professional abilities skillfully. | There are some personality types that are very good, and if I had that personality type, I would be more successful. |
| Heart | My courageous, wide-open heart is a space of endless possibilities. It is nondual space where I am spacious awareness, in unison with my mind, emotions, and body; I am moved to compassionate action in the dual worl | Human beings often react to other people’s suffering because they have “bleeding hearts” and are not being rational; they are being emotional! |
| Stillness | Listening from our deepest source allows creativity to unfold, informs our thinking, and opens up numerous possibilities for measurable transformation.” | This touchy-feely way of listening with a still mind and compassionate heart is not practical, denies what is rational, and does not produce change. |
| Groups | When we are able to stand in our oneness and are willing to alter our ideological thinking, we can transcend differences and create a new synthesis resulting in a paradigm shift. | Every group puts together frameworks to understand how things work and which ideological perspective is the best. This leads to disagreements and polarization—unfortunately, nothing can be done! |
| Change | For paradigm shifts and creating a new future, we need to engage to accomplish goals in a manner that changes the norms and systems that gave rise to the problems we are trying to solve; this is simultaneously based on our oneness, our humanity, and our universal values. | We need to show results—we need to achieve our stated goals at any cost. |
| Ethics | Human rights and ethics are primarily about embodying the values underpinning these instruments by all, leading to the highest quality of life for humanity, where we all live with dignity, thrive without discrimination, and are whole with integrity. | These human rights instruments and conversations on ethics are about pointing fingers and making others wrong. Let’s focus on getting the job done! |
| Velocity | It is not about slowing down. It is learning to be still in the moment, BEING still; and in that stillness, there is profuse and profound energy. | Working hard and fast is bad for health. It is obsessive! We must slow down to be effective. |
Source: Radical Transformational Leadership by Monica Sharma