The
Janus Project
Where
Social Change Meets Personal Development
Summary
This is a
project to integrate the best of social change with the best of personal
development. By doing this, people and organisations and societies are
more likely to be able to
- Solve
current problems
- Avoid
future problems
- Create
a better future
Background
One of the
most significant developments in the last 25 years is the huge growth
of the "problem solving industry". It is as if the world now
consists of two disconnected halves. One half is constantly creating problems
and the other half is constantly trying to solve them or prevent them.
This is as true for organisations and countries as it is for individuals.
Just think how many people are involved these days in "problem-solving"
jobs. These include the obvious ones, such as doctors, nurses, police,
social workers, therapists, life coaches, counsellors, and lawyers, but
also the less obvious ones, such as politicians, authors of self-help
books, people in NGOs and policy institutes, as well as civil servants
at all levels of government. The more we think about it, the more people
appear on the list. A very large number of people in the world today rely
for their income and job security on a huge and predictable supply of
problems for the foreseeable future. It begs the question of what they
would do in a problem-free world. In any event, the fact that so many
people are engaged in trying to solve problems suggests several things:
that there are more problems than ever in the world; that we may be more
aware than ever of the nature and extent of the problems; and that more
people than ever are attracted to problem solving. These are important
issues, but much more important are the two central questions lying behind
them. Are we creating problems faster than we are solving them? And what
do we really mean by "solving problems"?
Are we creating
problems faster than we are solving them? The answer is almost certainly
yes. The litany is all too familiar - war, crime, social and family breakdown,
corruption, oppression, injustice, poverty and inequality, endemic mental
and emotional illness, and climate change and the destruction of nature.
The list itself is alarming enough. But what is really alarming is that,
despite all the time, money, energy and resources we put into solving
these "major league" problems, they just keep on getting worse.
As the 21st Century gets under way, wars are raging on three continents,
inequalities within and between nations are greater than they have been
for many decades, dishonesty has become endemic, people are under ever-increasing
pressures to work harder and spend harder, and the planet can no longer
tolerate the damage we are doing to it. One thing should be obvious to
all of us - we are not very good at solving problems. It is clear we need
a fundamental rethink about what we mean by "solving problems".
Deeper Causes,
Deeper Solutions
It should
be a truism that the most effective way to solve any problem is to identify
and address its "deeper causes". However, what tends to happen
in practice is that a great deal of "problem solving" is little
more than removing or repressing the symptoms. Treating the symptoms may
make things seem better for a while. It may even give the impression that
the problem has been cured. But if the causes are not addressed, the problem
will return, often worse. Until we decide to identify and address the
deeper causes of our problems, we shall forever be in crisis mode, struggling
to solve problems that seem increasingly intractable. To give some examples,
we deal with illness, poverty, crime and pollution as if they were the
problems themselves, when in fact they are almost certainly symptoms of
things going wrong at a deeper level. We may not fully understand, or
even acknowledge, the deeper level, but if we want to solve these things
once and for all, we will eventually have to come to terms with it. Crime,
for example, is typically "solved" by recruiting more police,
building more prisons and imposing tougher sentences, all because criminal
behaviour is seen as the problem rather than as a symptom of something
deeper. The same is true of health policy. Nearly all the money, time
and resources are devoted to the medical treatment of symptoms after people
have fallen ill. That is a costly and inefficient way of doing things.
It would save a lot of time, money and suffering if our main focus was
on promoting good health and preventing people from falling ill in the
first place. And if people did slip through a better health promotion
net, it still makes much more sense to identify and treat the underlying
causes of illness.
What is true
for crime and illness is equally true for all other problems, be they
personal, organisational or societal. Prevention is better than cure,
but if you have to cure, make sure you address the root causes. Having
said this, the symptomatic approach is undoubtedly appropriate when the
symptoms have become life threatening or otherwise intolerable. But we
should remind ourselves that it is we who have allowed them to reach that
point.
Some Examples
of the "Deeper Causes" Approach
Illness
Some of the root causes of ill health are unhealthy living, a dysfunctional
upbringing, unhealthy places, unhealthy work, and absence of meaning and
purpose in life. Addressing these root causes would involve bringing in
systems, institutions, policies and values that promote healthy living,
a healthy upbringing, healthy places, healthy work, and deeper meaning
and purpose.
Poverty
and inequality
A major root cause of inequality and poverty is a socio-economic system
that values money and property highly, regards people (labour) as a cost,
and sees nature and the planet as exploitable. Under that system, the
rich get even richer, the poor fall further behind, and nature and the
planet deteriorate. Addressing the deeper causes of poverty and inequality
would involve, among other things, bringing in systems, institutions and
policies that value human beings and nature higher than money and property.
Crime
Our current socio-economic system unwittingly encourages crime, because
it puts pressures on people to acquire as much money as possible and to
spend as much as possible. It favours the rich and penalises the poor.
It encourages selfishness. It causes stress and anger because of its aggressive
competitive and exploitative nature. And it sends out the strong message
that "success" is having a lot of money. We will not cure crime
unless we first remove this particular root cause, our value-system. Our
"symptomatic" policies (police, courts and prisons) may remove
the symptoms for a while, but crime will persist until we address its
root causes. We need to bring in systems, institutions, policies and values
that do not encourage people to keep on spending or to get into debt,
that do not reward the rich and penalise the poor, that do not seek to
pit one person, one business, one nation against another, and that have
a very different understanding of "success" and "progress".
Benefits
of the Deeper Causes Approach
When compared
to the "symptoms" approach, the deeper causes approach to solving
problems wins on every count. For example:
It is more
effective, because it gets to the underlying causes.
It is less
expensive in terms of money, time, effort and other resources, because
it is based on simple common sense and thoughtfulness, and may not need
so much of the technology and legislation and management usually associated
with the symptoms approach
It is empowering
and healthy, because it encourages people to be self-reliant and knowledgeable
and to take responsibility for their own lives.
It is sustainable
in the long term, because the symptoms no longer keep on recurring.
It puts you
at the centre of the equation, because it forces you to examine the consequences
of your own behaviour and that of your organisation.
Chains of
Causation, Chains of Implication
When we decide
to identify the deeper causes of any problem, what we do, in effect, is
to go as far as possible back along the "chain of causation",
in order to discover what is really at the root of the problem. The further
back we go along the chain, the more likely we are to be able to truly
solve the problem once and for all. This can be a very uncomfortable process
because it usually involves questioning some cherished beliefs, values
and behaviours. Giving up what we have long believed to be correct and
true may be the hardest part of solving any problem at a deep level. Meanwhile,
it is important to note that the deeper causes approach works in the opposite
direction too.
Just as it
is possible, and highly desirable, to go back as far as possible along
chains of causation to find the deeper causes of our current problems,
it is equally possible, and desirable, to go as far forward as possible
along "chains of implication", in order to anticipate and avoid
future problems. To express this another way, if we want to know what
our future problems are going to be, all we have to do is look at our
current behaviour and then work out the implications of continuing to
behave this way. Experience suggests that the better we are at going far
back along chains of causation to discover the real causes of our problems,
the better we become at going far forward along chains of implication
to understand where our current behaviours, strategies and policies are
likely to lead in the future.
However,
seeing the deeper causes and the deeper implications, and being willing
and able to act on what one sees, does not come easily to people. These
are skills and attitudes that have to be learned. We shall return to this
point in a moment.
Creating
a Better Future
There are
three things that we have to be good at if we want to create a better
future:
Solving and
avoiding problems - we have discussed this already, and we have noted
that it involves learning new skills and attitudes
Visioning
and articulating the future we want to create - we need to state very
clearly what we mean by a "better world"
The willingness
and ability to create this future - this, too, involves many skills and
attitudes, some of which are probably new to many people, and therefore
have to be learned
Visioning
and Articulating
We already
have much to draw on. There are already some very good ideas and initiatives
that are making the world a better place. These are to be found in all
walks of life, and they can be categorised as follows:
The new economics:
at the heart of the new economics is the central idea that all our activities
should enhance and enrich people and the planet, rather than diminish
and exploit them, which is what tends to happen today. This implies new
kinds of relationships, new kinds of businesses, and new kinds of institutions,
as well as new values and new goals.
The new healthcare:
at the heart of the new healthcare are the central ideas of healthy living
and self-reliance, rather than overdependence on experts and technology.
It is also about whole-person health, rather than focusing mainly on treating
physical symptoms. In the new healthcare, medical treatment will be the
exception rather than the rule, because the emphasis will be on staying
healthy.
The new education:
at the heart of the new education is the central idea of bringing out
the best and uniqueness in each individual, rather than schooling them
to believe certain things and to behave in certain ways, which is what
often happens today in our schools, colleges and universities. At the
heart of the new education will be the development of wisdom, consciousness,
and intelligence.
The new society:
at the heart of the new society is a new central purpose - to enhance
people and the planet. In the new society, people will rely much more
on themselves for the basics of living, rather than be overdependent on
business and government. The new society will be sustainable, health-producing
and happiness-producing, precisely because its central purpose will be
to enhance people and planet.
The new science:
at the heart of the new science is the central idea of using the whole
human being in the search for knowledge and understanding, rather than
just the physical and intellectual parts, which is overwhelmingly the
case today. Physical and intellectual knowledge will continue to give
us much that is useful. However, in the new science, knowledge of the
physical will be complemented by direct knowledge of the spiritual, and
that will make a big difference.
The new politics:
at the heart of the new politics are the central ideas that most power
stays at the local level, rather than having power concentrated in the
hands of politicians and the very wealthy, and that everyone has something
useful to say and contribute to the enhancement of their community and
the world.
The new spirituality:
at the heart of the new spirituality are the central ideas of learning
how to have direct experience of the spiritual world (by developing the
capacity to do so) and of applying this experience in the world.
Clearly,
we are under no obligation to adopt any of the above. That said, the many
good ideas and initiatives that are already happening make an excellent
starting point for any discussion about creating a much better world.
New Skills
and New Attitudes
We have already
noted that adopting the "deeper causes, deeper implications"
approach to solving and avoiding problems brings with it quite a number
of personal (and organisational) challenges - such as the challenge of
accepting that our current beliefs, values and behaviours are part of
the problem, when they should be part of the solution. Changing beliefs,
values and behaviours is not easy, and may be quite painful, yet if we
want to stop creating problems and if we want to create a much better
world, we have to start with ourselves. Here are just a few of the skills
and attitudes that we need to develop if we want to be able to solve problems
once and for all, anticipate and avoid future problems, and vision and
create a better world:
- The ability
to see what is happening at a deeper level and to look further back
along chains of causation, so that we know what is really causing our
problems - and the willingness and ability to act decisively on what
we see
- The ability
to look further forward along chains of implication, so that we know
what is likely to happen in the future if we do not change certain of
our behaviours and attitudes - and the willingness and ability to act
promptly and decisively on what we see
- The willingness
and ability to change some of our beliefs, behaviours, values, strategies
and policies, no matter how attached we are to themThe ability to vision
very clearly and in detail exactly the world you would like to create
- Developing
all aspects of yourself, not only because this is an inherently good
thing to do, but also because the more you develop internally, the better
the world will be that you are helping to vision and create externally
The Work
of the Institute
It should
now be clear what the work of the Institute is. It is as follows:
- To develop
and promote the "deeper causes" approach to solving current
problems, and to work with people and organisations on this
- To develop
and promote the "deeper implications" approach to avoiding
future problems, and to work with people and organisations on this
- To identify
the skills and attitudes needed to be competent at the deeper causes
and deeper implications approaches, and to run course and other training
in these
- To identify
the best ideas and initiatives that are creating a better world, and
to work with people and organisations on developing and promoting these
- To develop
and promote "whole person" training, because the world we
create on the outside is very much a reflection of how we are developing
on the inside. The more well-rounded and healthy we are on the inside,
the more well-rounded and healthy will be the world we create
Note: All
the above will involve research, publications, seminars and conferences
on the several important themes that lie at the heart of this project
Who will
Benefit?
Individuals,
organisations, governments and others looking for better, more effective
solutions to their problems
Individuals,
organisations, governments and others who want to avoid future problems
Individuals,
organisations, governments and others who want to create a much better
world
Requirements
We need a
small core group of individuals who understand the need for a deeper approach
to problems and the future, and who also understand the central role of
personal development in all this.
We need the
basic infrastructure (office, computers, telecommunications etc.)
We are looking
for at least one sponsor/client to help us get established
If you would
like to know more or want to get involved, please contact Chris Thomson
at
chris@school-of-consciousness.com
+34-606805986
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