HODGEPODGE
Evolutionary Catalyst working groups in organizations
Most organizations expand by building their membership. But the purpose of the League of Evolutionary Catalysts is not primarily building our membership (although we do that), but championing a new social change role: Evolutionary Catalyst.
Why limit the idea to one group? We envision a number of organizations each having their own Evolutionary Catalyst Working Group. These groups will champion the overarching goal of evolving a compassionate ecologically sustainable world, and inspire their members to use the Evolutionary Catalyst communication tools. This can be done under their own branding.
Recruiting savvy folks from the general public
There are many people who are quite aware and concerned, but not part of any organized group. We would do well to recruit them through newspaper advertising, posters, and flyers.
Workshops on the fly
Workshops on the fly are short modules that introduce people to new skills or modes of perception that are relevant to evolving a compassionate ecologically sustainable world. They can be done informally, perhaps while having coffee and conversation.
While Escalating Disasters and Kitchen Table Conversations are our core workshops on the fly, we have more specialized ones about war, cooling the Earth, creative thinking skills, and techniques for resolving emotional triggers. Many more are possible.
Here are examples-
- Introducing the Witness or Observer Self
- How do we respond when our ideas are challenged?
- Questioning to enable attitudes to shift - an example
The Corporate Paradox
There are many folks in large consulting firms and financial institutions who are aware and care. Some people regard them as the ‘bad guys’, because they serve capitalism.
But it would make little difference if they dropped out. What they can do, like everybody else, is communicate within their networks about the need to slow the economy to preserve our ecological life support systems.
The paradox, of course, is the idea of contributing to economic growth while simultaneously aiming to pare back economic growth.
Enabling influencers
to grasp the reality of climate change
Many political, social and spiritual influencers seem to be relatively unaware of the magnitude of looming ecological disasters. They focus primarily – even exclusively – on the social and psychological aspects of our current situation.
The paradox, of course, is the idea of contributing to economic growth while simultaneously aiming to pare back economic growth.
Personal development platforms could inspire their members to be Evolutionary Catalysts
Platforms such as The Shift Network and MindValley could make a great contribution by inspiring their members to be evolutionary communicators. These platforms have hundreds of faculty – a network of leaders each with their own followers. And their followers have their own networks as well.
Community college courses
Evolutionary Catalysts can run Evolutionary Catalysts courses through community colleges and online.
Therapists offering low cost EFT workshops
If our goal is to evolve a compassionate ecologically sustainable world, then helping people cultivating emotional well-being is a wonderful contribution. Psychotherapists and counselors can contribute to this by offering low cost or free workshops in techniques people can use to resolve their own emotional trauma. Andrew Gaines’ Inner Work is a manual.
Beyond being a font of knowledge: Inspiring your audience to be leaders and communicators in their own right
Many thought leaders typically position themselves as ‘fonts of knowledge’ – experts who educate their audience. And indeed, they are fonts of knowledge. They offer profound insights.
However, the role of the expert speaking from the podium, and listeners taking it in, replicates the communication structure most of us experienced in our schooling the teacher-pupil relationship. The audience leaves edified, and possibly informed, but passive.
In the context of mobilizing thoughtful public will to transform our destructive system, a new definition of leadership might be helpful. A leader is someone who inspires people to do good things they might not otherwise have thought of.
It would be brilliant if influencers such as Nate Hagans, Marianne Williamson and Richard Heinberg encouraged their followers to become leaders and influencers within their own sphere of influence, and referred them to our Evolutionary Catalyst communication tools.
Kilroy's Comments
During World War II there was a fad where people scrawled a whimsical cartoon labeled Kilroy Was Here. Nobody knows for sure who Kilroy was. There is a story that Joseph Stalin came out of the men’s room during the conference at Yalta and asked, “Who is this Kilroy character?” We can adapt this idea to making catchy thought stimulators. Below are two examples.
More are here.
Cultivate Creative thinking skills
There are techniques that enable regular people to get more in touch with their innate capacity for creativity and innovation. Creativity Games is a manual of games and exercises that develop creative thinking skills and intuition.
Some of the games can be adapted as workshops on the fly.
Allies beyond the usual suspects
There are many folks who potentially have a stake in transforming our destructive system who we might not ordinarily think of as potential allies For example, if we ask Who has a stake in protecting the oceans? we might think of NGOs like the Australian Marine Conservation Society, But what about surf life-saving clubs, upmarket seafood restaurants and dive shops? They could champion the need to protect the oceans by enforcing rigorous environmental protection laws to phase out industrial toxins. This leads naturally to the idea of reducing industrial production.
- Upmarket Seafood Restaurants
- Surf Life Saving Clubs
- Fish and chip shops
- Dive shops
- Seaside resorts
- Reef tour operators
Other groups that might be willing to quietly communicate about
evolving a life-affirming culture include:
evolving a life-affirming culture include:
- Health Maintenance Organizations
- Outdoor clothing and camping gear
- Progressive commentators who currently mostly ignore the environment
- Salvation Army.
- Op Shops
- YHAs
- Rotary
- The RSA
Graphics
These graphics are interesting. They can be downloaded here.
