Preface to Renewal

Preface to Renewal

Are we products of creation or creators? To what extent are we free to create and to what extent are our beings and our lives determined? How much does intention matter?

These are not new thoughts or realities, but they may be timely ones. At this time, more than any other in recorded history, questions about the role of freedom and determinism in creating and discovering reality carry enormous implications. Never before, to the best of our knowledge, have the various elements and entities of the earth been so clearly connected.

That connection has always existed of course. The universal constant in that connection is energy and movement (by its nature, energy moves–both emanating and attracting). This is an immutable constant, yet both energy and movement are mutable. The paradox is complete, creation does not appear to be. So what energy signature, what kind of connection, can and shall humans intend?

In any human to human relationship there are at least three entities that need energy and attention: the individual (the I), the other individual (the you), and the combination of the two (the we). The art of relationship is to “appropriately” attend to all three entities. It works a bit like music; playing a note in time and in sync with other notes, creates a melody and a harmony.

In making decisions about the nature of being in sync and in harmony in our relationships, there are four components to consider (a kind of Quadrinary System): the individual (again), the culture(s) or the collective (the we, again), the biology involved (our individual and collective “vehicles”), and the environment(s) in which all of these interactions occur (the geographical locale, the earth, the moon, the sun, the space around us–in short, anything that influences the rhythms and cycles of our biological, psychological, and sociological selves). These components have an energetic basis in common, so energy is not a fifth component, but rather a basic “spirit” of the system.

If we can consider at least the four components of the Quadrinary System when we make judgments and decisions (the first three entities, the I, the you, and the we, can be considered as embedded within those four components), we might have attended to the appropriate variables. Then, if we can get our compass heading straight (so enters ethics), we might begin to become stewards for real.

Thus enters consciousness and intention. Whether consciousness has always been part of this “spirit” or whether it developed at some point, it appears to be here now. And it appears to be somewhat influential. If we look at the current state of human affairs and human relationships, that influence seems to have created some negative overtones, despite the mostly good intentions of the vast majority of people.

This work is about the journey towards volitional evolution, towards intentional creation. It is about letting go of attachments, yet dancing with wonder. It is about embracing our responsibility and our stewardship, in whatever relationship we find ourselves. This journey can seem like an arduous one, and it often is. While we can certainly work hard at what we think our stewardship involves, it does not mean we have worked smart.

It is my hope that this work will become at least one small part of the effort to work, play, and define our journey with intelligence, connectedness, and a sense of renewal.