The only place we have consistently ignored, we have not looked at, and researched for solutions of today’s situation of the world and the human collective – is inside.
VERA SCHALLER Co-Founder NEOGEO Foundation
How on earth do you build THE NEW PARADIGM in the midst of the old? Wouldn’t it be much better to just start somewhere in the mountains far away from civilization? Well – we tried. Not only once. We have seen, worked with and lived in many intentional communities around the globe. Some of them struggling with money and resources every day, others with all the money in the world available. It does not make any difference! None of them succeeded. Why?
There was one common denominator that made it impossible for them to truly thrive: Human Dynamics.
We, with our own behavioral patterns and limiting belief systems based on fear and separation are in the way. It always starts great, it is such a romantic thought after all to live in harmony with each other in nature. But soon after – it becomes a lot of work. Conflicts start happening. Differences in expectations show up. People start comparing who does how much every day. The basic democratic approach slows everything down, and always leaves some people disappointed and frustrated. Motivation dies off because it becomes too complicated. And in parallel to that your back hurts because you need to take care of the basics for survival. Working the land, building houses, taking care of the kids etc. There is no room for beauty and for enjoyment. Without even consciously realizing, the system of the community becomes the same survival system that the inhabitants had tried to get away from: A codependent model that requires elected leaders, linear hierarchies, rules, fences, conflict management… you name it.
With these many past experiences, we learned all the ways of how to NOT do it.
That leaves us with the HOW to do it!
First of all, you cannot make people change, neither convince them. People will always meet you at their level of consciousness. And someone who has never truly faced their fears and, with it, has moved beyond victim mode, will not be ready to perceive the beauty and opportunity that lies in their perceived misery. An extrinsically motivated (by fear) person, cannot understand the intrinsic force of love.
All we can do is rely on the law of synchronicity. We lead by example. We are walking our talk and live our life in a different, unconditional way. We have walked through many cycles of personal transformation. We know what we are offering works, because it is not a theory. It is a lived experience.
Instead of trying to get away from society, we infect it by inspiration with a new way. We plant seeds every day in the consciousness of people we naturally interact with. Which of them will sprout, and if so, when – we don’t know. With all of our creations and services, we inspire the unlearning of current fear based individual and collective belief systems and the social programming of lack, separation and survival.
We love to create cognitive dissonances. The moment your experience does not match your current set of beliefs and patterns, there is a tiny window for a possible transformation. Combined with inspiring, emotionally impacting beauty, such a “WTF” becomes a “WOW”, and later, after a phase of integration is followed by an “AHA”: A startling insight that shifts the perspective and with it the pattern.
It is of most importance to us to support people in remembering and fostering their uniqueness and finding their place in this brand new society, as well as their contribution in a process of permanent co-creation with mutual respect and appreciation. The human organism thrives on diversity, not on comparison and competition. This new approach needs new platforms and tools: The “Syntropist” of our partner website The Paradigm Shifters connects and organizes people and resources that are sharing the same vision, purpose and set of values in a completely new way.