I had the honor of spending this last weekend with some great thinkers at the forefront of what is often referred to as  “the new story”.  During the meeting, we concluded that our conversation on this topic is one of many that are currently going on. Authors, artists, scientists, teachers and activists from many walks of life are re-thinking how we think about ourselves as humans.

We also came to wonder if perhaps “new story” is not the best collective term to use, for several reasons. It could be that we actually need multiple new stories. It could also be that the term “story” connotes something static while we’re actually looking to mend some of the individual and societal harm that our current story – with its focus on (static) things rather than processes – has on us. In this gathering we were co-creating a way to talk about a worldview and a “human view” that is more in alignment with nature — with natural laws and how humans actually function — than the current story that is running so much of the corporate machine and political decision making.  It seems we’re calling forth and making visible  “a new narrative for humanity”.

In Integral Coaching, the power of insight lies in identifying and articulating to the client the personal “current narrative” underlying the challenge or difficulty that s/he is seeking support around. Then we offer a new narrative, one that invites the client into possibility and resourcefulness in relation to that very topic. And then we bring the new narrative into reality through practices that will strengthen it, make it part of the person’s natural way of being. Just like flexing muscles in exercise makes lifting easier and easier, the practices develop into “new habits” and over time becomes part of who this person is, how they show up in their life. This is hugely different from “working with affirmations,” or from “accountability coaching,” which both perpetuate the “old personal narrative”.  Narrative is the lens through which our lives are lived, the story that we identify with and that we get validated from those around us. Because we identify with it, it’s also for the most part invisible to us, until it gets pointed out…

Using this well tested method of creating desired change in individual people’s lives, I’m toying here with the idea of scaling this to look at western, modern society… USA style corporate culture is infusing itself all over; the stuff, habits and messages about “what a person is” are spreading and becoming new norms. The big problem of course is that this spread is not promoting a way of life that can sustain itself. Just like, for example, someone’s individual “perfectionism” – that keeps them up all night to get things done just right – is not sustainable in the long run. Humans need sleep, and society needs… well, practices for living well together on this earth.

Many will agree that what is driving the current corporate culture is greed. But under the greed is a worldview or  “human view” – or current narrative – that says something along the lines of “humans are separate, material entities”. That we are consumers first, humans second. That money is what sustains us, rather than the food, clothing and shelter that money can buy. That success and failure is all up to us. One problem is that the consumers are as steeped in this societal narrative as ever the producers and sellers of goods. Some see the greed, the wasteful stuff, the cynicism of much corporate culture, and do what they can to limit the damage, try to change the systems… and often feel powerless as a result.

But what if an easier solution lies in changing our minds about who we are, what we are? Start at the root cause, at our mistaken understanding of what it means to be human, to live in this world? What world would we bring fourth — effortlessly — if we see ourselves as part of an indivisible whole? That just like we’re literally breathing the same air, we’re also part of the same aliveness that makes seeds sprout to become flowers or vegetables or trees. That there is no essential difference between what I need and what you need for basic survival. That much meaning is innate to just being present in activity or interaction. And that happiness comes from within.

A story comes to mind, about a life being lived in alignment with such a narrative:  Some years ago a dear friend of mine went to the Amazon with a group from Pachamama Alliance. She came back with many stories, this one stuck in my mind: My friend had been helping out with cooking during a visit to a tribal community. At one point they needed a “lid” for one of the cooking vessels. The native woman simply walked a few steps into the surrounding jungle, cut a big flat leaf of a tree, and came back to use it for the duration of the meal preparations. After using it, the leaf went into compost and thus back to nature to support its growth of more leaves.

Of course most of us live in very different kinds of jungles, but we still have the power to make lifestyle changes that would strengthen “a new narrative for humanity”. If you were to see yourself, your family and community as “a process” instead of “things“, what would it look like? If you are relating, learning, co-creating, embodying, participating, emerging beings – How would your lives be different?