Enabling (Personal to Global) Meaningful Transformative Sustainable Change:

1. Enabling (Personal to Global) Meaningful Transformative Sustainable Change: A Deep Leadership – Social Ecology – Psychosocial Perspective Emeritus Professor Stuart B. Hill Western Sydney University s.hill@westernsydney.edu.au www.stuartbhill.com

2. In pairs, take turns (1 min each) to remember a place, experience, time (pre age 10) where/when life was ‘perfect’ – write this down for future reference

3. Presentation & workshop key topics • New approaches for effective visioning & goal setting • Getting to deeply know & challenge ourselves in new ways • Becoming better equipped to make responsible decisions that can yield benefits in all areas: personal, social (including economic), environmental & ‘spiritual’ • First, some preparatory foundational understandings

4. Mentored by my grandfather, parents, partners, children, grandchildren, teachers, friends & nature

5. Known & unknown/unseen What is unknown Engaged with through our experience, intuition & wisdom What is known The focus of our cleverness The challenge: how to engage clearly with the unknown & mystical André Voisin, 1959. Soil, Grass and Cancer. Longmans, London

7. Clever people know how to solve problems Wise people avoid them! Attributed to Albert Einstein

8. Parallel interrelated change processes What meaningful do-able initiatives can we take in each of these areas to support ‘progressive’ cultural change?

9. Planet, environment, ecological systems, nature, & all of life (have absolute requirements) A ‘life-enabling’ triple bottom line (not privileging economics, & including the personal) • Socio-cultural: institutional structures & processes in politics, economics, business, education, technology, religion… • People: communities, groups, families, individuals (you & me!)

10. Population activities (incl. relationships) Resource need & use Environmental impact Population numbers Population distribution Sustainable Unsustainable

11. outside – inside – out !

12. Person (genetics plus) Understandings, Values, Morals, & Ethics Actions Past Environments/Experiences Present Environment/Conditions Supportive Oppressive

13. Establishment of compensatory selves(maladapted & in denial) hurt, oppression (this has happened to ALL of us!) adaptation (maladaptation) core ‘healthy’ self/essence repeated & new hurts & oppressions Core ‘healthy’ • spontaneous • in present • aware • empowered • loving • informed action Maladaptive compensatory • patterned • in past/future • unaware • disempowered • fearful • acting-out/postponing multiple selves distorted potentially ‘healthy’ behaviour superimposed ‘unhealthy’ behaviour

14. Most of the time we behave as if we were hypnotised twice firstly into accepting pseudo-reality as reality, & secondly into believing we were not hypnotised RD Laing 1971 The Politics of the Family

15. The Illusion • Advanced:technologically also psychosocially?

16. We must recognise that we areevolving psychosocially …& must plan & design better futures rather than more efficient & controlled pasts

17. Hill’s ESR problem-solving/proofing model P Conventional P P Efficiency P P Substitution Redesign/design

18. Levels of consideration for effective action actions answers, plans ideas, imaginings, visions & creativity (ability to design/redesign) feelings & passions worldviews, values & beliefs Top 2 (or 3) overemphasised (start from the bottom 2) (modified from John Herron, 1992. Feeling and Personhood. Sage, London)

19. 5 overlapping stages in change (Hill 2005) • ignorance & denial (in any area: climate...) • awareness & acknowledgement • gainingsome understanding & competence • effective action & project-based initiatives • ongoing co-evolution of responsible life-affirming practices (how we now live)

20. 5 decisions to make re any change • what to stop doing • what to reduce/de-emphasise • what to do differently • what to increase/expand • what to start doing (new)

21. Decisions to make re change(cont.) • what will it take to do this? • what are the barriers & what will remove them? • what resources are needed & available (particularly locally)& how to get them?

22. Framework for envisioning & planning change Strategic questions (Fran Peavey/Ron Hayman): What would it take to…….? What gets in the way & what would remove these barriers?

24. One radical way to progress our thinking & action is paradoxically (in a workshop context)to boldly ‘LIE' about changes that you have already brought about (that you have actually not brought about!) Enables us to vision & act from our ‘core’ being(our benign potential); not from our maladapted/compensatory selves By daring to engage in such 'deep' reflection & implementation of meaningful doable initiatives, we can significantly contribute to changing our lives & the world for the better (rather than just tinkering with the status quo)

25. Establishment of compensatory selves(maladapted & in denial) hurt, oppression (this has happened to ALL of us!) adaptation (maladaptation) core ‘healthy’ self/essence Core ‘healthy’ • spontaneous • in present • aware • empowered • loving • informed action Maladaptive compensatory • patterned • in past/future • unaware • disempowered • fearful • acting-out/postponing multiple selves

26. LYING PRACTICE! – in pairs (1 min each), boldly ‘lie’ about – whichever one is the bigger lie! (using: words, facial expression, body stance) • the completely healthy breakfast I had this morning • the optimal physical exercises I did before breakfast!

27. Your ABSOLUTE ‘LIE’ (in pairs: 2 min each) Boldly LIE about one positive thing you have successfully done (that you have actually not done!) to implement a really significant ‘ecologically sustainable’ initiative – remember to go with your first thought – choose re which is the most challenging area! in your: work – home – region – or other (Remember: this is a complete LIE!)

28. 3 Effective Enabling Actions What were the 3 things that were most effective & important in enabling you to achieve your ‘lie’: They may be ‘internal’ (e.g., beliefs about yourself) &/or ‘external’ (e.g., helpful supports etc.) • 1 • 2 • 3

29. What’s one thing you have actually already done, or are currently doing, that in any way relates to your lie? What might be a possible next step or action that could help to make your lie become a reality?

30. Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis add strengthen Driving forces* Restraining forces (barriers)* *external & internal remove weaken

31. Limiting factors for change (the most commonly mentioned barriers) • information & access to it, misinformation, knowledge, skills, competencies… • resources: renewable, non-renewable, technologies, money, time… • institutional supports: policies, programs, structures, services, legislation, regulations…

32. Limiting factors for change (usually the more important barriers) • family & community support • empowerment/disempowerment (feelings of helplessness/hopelessness) • awareness • vision & imagination • values, worldviews, paradigms, beliefs • persistent denial, procrastination & distractive/compensatory activities

33. What would you need to have access to in order to be able to take this next step? (particular information, skills, resources, supports, etc.) How might/could you go about getting these things that you would need?

34. What might stop you? (barriers): external (eg, judgements by others, lack of support...)& internal (eg, fears, lack of confidence, postponement patterns…) How might/could you get around & overcome these external & internal barriers? (e.g., by reducing the initiative to make it more doable…)

35. What small meaningful, doable initiative(s) are you willing to absolutely commit to? Over what time frame? Who will you ask to be an ally to you & collaborate with you, in this project; & what specifically will you ask them to do?

36. How will you celebrate your progress & outcomes? – so that others may learn from your initiative & experience? (to make such progressive change become ‘contagious’) What have you learned from participating in this exercise?

38. 10 Effective Actions for Enabling Meaningful Change mostly ‘different’ from the usual ones, which tend to focus on actions that are: • single, ‘magic bullet’, temporary, local (vs. multiple, complex, long-term, permanent, global) • high-powered (authoritarian/physico-chemical), heroic, exclusionary/experts (vs. low-powered, subtle, bio-ecological/psycho-social, ‘anonymous’, participatory) • enemy-oriented, symptom-focus (vs. recognition of problems as indicators of system maldesign & mismanagement…, causes focus/preventative)

39. Publicly (& selectively) communicate successes to enable their spread & have a daily/weekly practice of doing this & promote such sharing (may require overcoming fears of being labelled a ‘tall poppy’!)

40. Reframe ‘problems’ as ‘indicators of maldesigned & mismanaged systems’ that require creative redesign rather than as ‘enemies’ to be eliminated by curative interventions & continue to develop & apply our ‘design skills’ (in every area)

41. Meet people where they are ask them ‘strategic questions’ & listen to their stories (rather than telling them what to do) &, with them, identify their doable next steps (however small) avoid dreaming up ‘Olympic-scale programs’ that are unlikely to ever be implemented & also programs to ‘measure problems’ (‘monitoring-our-extinction’ research!) measuring problems is the commonest institutional strategy for avoiding & postponing meaningful action

42. Model what you are advocating & acknowledge & ask for forgiveness for your ‘failures’ in doing this

43. Adopt a person with positional power & provide them with a second chance (opportunities to develop to their full potential)

44. Look for areas of success & see if the factors involved can be applied in other areas desperate for such success

45. Identify the most relevant, effective potential mentors contact them, learn from them, & offer to help them

46. Communicate with & thank those who have helped you throughout your life & map & record these experiences & their influences& share your stories with others (including your children, if you have any)

47. Recognise ‘opposition’ as possible indicators of psychological wounding & of subconscious cries for help not as ‘enemies’ to argue with or overcome so listen well to clearly identify their needs, & do what you can to enable them to get their needs met (& ‘heal’ their hurts)

48. Consider the complexity of the key interrelated influencing factors involved in any situation (avoid the deceptive simplicity of seeing any single factor as being the cause) & critically select the ‘keystone’, personally relevant & context-specific one(s) to work with first

49. 3 stages of perception • deceptive simplicity:decontextual, heavy-handed solutions (with unexpected disbenefits) • confusing (often paralysing) complexity: puzzlement, endless studies, committees… • profound simplicity:‘ahas’, elegant paradoxical contextually-relevant ‘solutions’ (+ unexpected benefits), e.g., using ‘love’ vs. ‘fear’ as the basis for ALL actions the most appropriate actions in time & place

50. 3 forms of political action (old & new) Supports (need to be ongoing) • education, demonstration & models • extension & other services • research & development • legislation & regulation Rewards (only available during transition period to prevent development of dependence) • tax incentives • subsidies • low interest loans Penalties (for those who act irresponsibly) • monitoring programs • legislation & its implementation