The metaphor and reality of crutches
As i transition from using crutches, I am curious about the metaphor of crutches in my life and which ones are useful or not.
Cultural Emergence opportunities post Brexit
When I was writing People and Permaculture I had a mindmap, which had ‘any topic’ in the middle and all the tools of permaculture thinking branching off. When starting to write about a subject I would write it in the middle and see what connected with the permaculture thinking. I have now added other tools Read More
Reframing deadlines into lifelines
At this time of year there seems to be a rush to finish projects, tie up loose ends and finalise plans. It can all seem pretty stressful. One of the ways I try and reduce my stress is by reframing these ‘deadlines’ into lifelines. What many people don’t realise is that the term ‘deadlines’ reputedly Read More
Success to the successful – a design opportunity?
In one of Donella Meadows lectures she introduced the trap of systems where there is ‘success to the successful’. Otherwise known as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This happens when there is a reinforcing feedback loop and so the more success you have, the more you can have. My daughter was Read More
Allowing wellness to take root
Around this time of year, and through the winter, there are generally many colds and bugs doing the rounds. Over the last few months I have had chronic RSI (repetitive strain injury) in my right arm. I have been managing symptoms, and dealing with causes, and it is improving – but slowly. The other day Read More
Creatively use and respond to change
So I missed Thursday for my weekly blog post. What happened? I’m not sure to be honest, maybe I was creatively using and responding to changed too much. It’s so easy when lacking inspiration to find excuses, to think “the energy isn’t there right now – I’ll come back another time.” And this morning the Read More
Obtain a yield principle
While thinking about the principle of obtain a yield I stumbled across one of the challenges of people based designs. They are sometimes known as ‘invisible’ designs, because the problem and solution and not necessarily visible or tangible. When we start designing something like our emotional health or our relationships we can’t necessarily forecast the Read More
Observations about the Apply self-regulation and accept feedback principle
After the excesses of Christmas I had been cutting right back on my sugar intake. This has involved me self-regulating, and being aware of my eating patterns and associations. I’ve noticed that my craving for sugar is much greater when I’m tired, and so instead of just reaching for a sugary snack I have been Read More
Designing from patterns to detail principle
The last week with the principle designing from patterns to details has been interesting on many levels. When I start to look around me I see so many patterns; patterns of thinking, behaving, eating, sleeping – and so many of these patterns interact with each other. I have also become aware of how important it Read More
Creating new patterns for the new year
Traditional for this time of year is the New Year resolutions, a time when we set ourselves new goals and try and create new patterns in our lives. Almost as traditional is the breaking of these new resolutions. There is more to it then just having the desire, obviously. Voicing our commitment out loud to Read More