I take issue with myself!  Better a subtitle that honours key conditions that are enabling our shift such as:

Our multiplying and interconnected eco-social crises are met through awakening and love: bigger realities, ways of thinking, being and doing.

Despite trying to mostly frame the blog post from the perspective of what we are shifting into, I wrote a subtitle about difficulty. What then does it take for me, and for us as Action Researchers for Transformation—ARTists, to frame ourselves around flourishing futures? How to speak primarily from what we are creating rather than re-iterating the challenges? And beyond that to actively shift those past problems so we’re changing these old influences throughout our timelines?³

Privileging the positives we are creating is deeply connected with impact. At the very least, describing the shifts we are exploring and how they add to flourishing transformations puts us in the mindsets that enable change. We can go further too by illustrating what we are creating from 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th person perspectives.⁴

For example, writing an article for an Action Research Journal on Transformation shifts the author(s) as it supports the participants. However, more deeply than this, what is transformational impact of the paper, even while it is being reviewed and written, and read? What are the implications for scale? For a catalytic group? A paradigmatical meme?

Beyond that more conventional 1st, 2nd and 3rd person insight what else is true? Realities are unfolding from our holistic attention, co-operative co-creation and shared inner intentions (4th person). It is powerful to prioritise recognising and communicating these.

Our special issue highlights that “our times call for non-linear approaches”. A significant part of that is an integrated paradigm where we are spending more time describing what is new, and what we are being and becoming, as opposed to de-constructing the problems.

Consequently apologies, I missed an opportunity when I was writing the original blog post subtitle!

Here again the call for papers. It remains  open till July 31st and there can be a small time extension too if needed. Just ask.²

1. Simon Divecha for the Special issue editorial team which includes Haley Roth, Denny Kwok Leung Ho and Hilary Bradbury. ↩︎
2. A few authors have asked for an extension. If you would like one please ask and we can extend it to 31 August, 2024 as a hard deadline for submitting a paper. ↩︎
3. For an example and a practice see Entanglements, re-writing out pasts for good. ↩︎
4. See Otto Scharmer and Eva Pomeroy (2024) Fourth Person, The knowing of the field, Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 19-48, pdf, for an exploration of 4th person.