“At the heart of Awareness-Based Systems Change lies a profound recognition of the complex and mostly invisible interconnectedness of our actions, thoughts, and the built and natural (eco-)systems we inhabit.” As the editors suggest in the current issue of the Journal, any fundamental change in social systems means a change in relationships: “It is through attending and connecting the quality of our inner-outer relationships that we are able to create the conditions—an open mind, open heart, and open will—for the relational changes that undergird systems change.” Otto Scharmer, founder of the Presencing Institute which publishes the Journal, has written of this approach to change: “You cannot understand a system unless you change it. You cannot change a system unless you transform consciousness. You cannot transform consciousness unless you can make a system see and sense itself.”
Rigorous research is encouraged by Journal editors. Peer-review research articles and articles by active workers in the field, describe and assess the effectiveness of transformative practices, and develop the theoretical base for this emerging discipline.
As part of a larger global intention, the journal aims to co-create a platform that unites researchers and practitioners, shaping the next decade as a period of profound advancement and amplification in the field of awareness-based systems change.
A core theme in the Journal’s work is to develop and deepen understanding of evolving ‘social fields’, and to contribute to their transformation. Social fields are defined as “the source conditions that give rise to patterns of thinking, conversing, and organizing in systems.” Hence, “the social field is the social system seen not only from the outside (the third-person view) but also from within (the first- and second-person views). A perspective from the social field delves into the less apparent dimensions of individual, social, and relational reality formation. This encompasses the dynamics, processes, and especially the levels of awareness that serve as the foundational influences shaping observable behavior.”
Highlighting its intention to serve the development of thought and practice in awareness-based systems change, Journal articles can be downloaded without charge. The current issue (Vol 3, No 2, 2023) offers 13 articles including: ‘Regenerative African Futures’, ‘Radical Collaboration to Transform Social Systems’, ‘Social Poetry’, ‘Ecosystem Activation in Latin America’, and ‘The Extended Citizens Assembly Model for Collaborative Guidance’.
