Book Review: Leading from the Emerging Future

In Leading from the Emerging Future, Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer take us on a journey from our current age of disruption to finding individual and collective ways to lead from the future as it emerges. The journey flows along the curve of the “U”—the process of Theory U—a transformational process of observing, reflecting and acting. In this logical and deep…

Collective Presencing: Embracing a New Paradigm

In the first two articles in this series, we introduced collective presencing as a new human capacity emerging at this time. The first article described a journey of individual and collective deepening and widening through a set of practices that can, over time, allow us first to achieve collective wisdom and later to become generative of more life. The second article took a more detailed look at…

Freeing the Human-Animal Relationship

“The Commons refers to a wealth of valuable assets that belong to everyone. These range from clean air to wildlife preserves; from the judicial system to the Internet . . . . It’s an inheritance shared by all humans, which increases in value as people draw upon its riches . . . . As the market economy becomes the yardstick for measuring the worth of everything, more people are grabbing portions…

Yellowstone Park: The Power of Common Ownership

"In a day and age when new forms of enclosure and privatization continuously stalk the globe, endangering indigenous wildlife and indigenous populations, Yellowstone remains a wonderful example of the power of common ownership and common purpose working for the common good of not merely humanity, but of all the species of the family of nature of which we are a part.” Yellowstone was…

New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Life in the 21st Century

As we look out at the world today, we take inspiration from what is happening around the globe, from young people participating in movements like the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street; to the new monastic movement among evangelical Christians dedicated to prayer and radical service to the poor; to the conversation among Protestants of an ‘Emerging Church’ (“. . . not a new…

Globalization: Reconciling Economics and Spirituality

The general public embraces two extreme notions of globalization. One, that right now it is an inevitable phenomenon — an uncontrolled process that no one can influence, the other that we indeed can change the direction of globalization. There are many possibilities in between. There is no doubt that economics and finance are at the root of the globalization process and, as a result, we spend…

Kosmos Ex-Post Ambassador: A Testimony

Most of my professional career was spent on assignments outside of Europe. I have worked mostly in the development field, mainly for the European Union of which I have been a civil servant for the last three decades. Besides diplomatic functions associated with the job, I also remember a life made of packing and unpacking from house to house in ten countries and four continents. Traditional…

Why I am a Kosmos Global Ambassador

I learned about Kosmos and the spirit of Creating the New Civilization for the Common Good from another Kosmos Ambassador. I am deeply interested in the common good of humanity and all living entities on our earth. My global volunteerism has afforded me the life lesson that we can create a better world, even as I witness injustice and inequity. I became intrigued by the mission and goals of…

Alain Ruche

Now a retired EU official, Alain Ruche spent most of his career assigned in four continents. In recent years, he focused on complex adaptive systems and policymaking, including on the role of artists for social change. Alain is a fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar, of the UK Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Club of Rome (EU Chapter), and a Global Ambassador of Kosmos Journal. He is also…