By Faye Cox
My life hit a turning point when I met Willis Harman in 1995 at a conference called The Re-birth of Business. From Willis, I learned about leading-edge science meeting our world’s wisdom traditions in providing the accuracy of the belief that everything exists in relationship. Clearly, that is where the pursuit of quantum physics has led us to this scientific “North Star:” Nothing is separate.
Willis introduced me to Rinaldo and the World Business Academy, where I learned from its many illustrious Fellows how redesigning our human and business systems begins with this mindset of interconnection, and that lasting change requires a widespread awakening to the profound shifts it implies as we emerge from this massive paradigm shift. With its reflective consciousness, Homo Sapiens is a species that knows that we know, and what we now know is that we are one. Many of us in this newly evolved species, Homo Universalis, have also come to realize that what we know is that we are one.
That’s the purpose of Hourbooks – to greatly expand understanding of this new story and how we must manifest it in the structures that shape our world. Our future depends on it. It is a welcome full circle to that meeting with Willis and this opportunity to share about the first Hourbook created in partnership with the Academy’s new Fellow, John Fullerton.
Now considered the architect of Regenerative Economics, John walked away from a successful 20-year career on Wall Street with no plans but many questions—questions that led to the creation of The Capital Institute in 2010. One question was how to address the double bind we find ourselves in where undifferentiated economic growth is killing us, but we are addicted to that growth.
As John writes in the Foreword: There is good news and a reason to remain hopeful… The regenerative process that explains how life works and the unknowable potential it manifests is nothing less than awe-inspiring. The same evolutionary process that is responsible for all life on this planet—and for what is increasingly understood as a “living” universe—can be, and must be, applied to our economic system. That’s exciting! And we all have an essential role to play. It’s the Great Work of our day.
Our current economic thinking is rooted in the mechanistic science of the 17th and 18th centuries. Running our economy like a machine is driving us toward a future we don’t want, yet we keep doubling down on the same outdated theories and practices, expecting different results. (Yes, that’s the definition of crazy!).
John describes three premises of regenerative economics based on what current physics tells us about reality as a dynamic and complex web of relationships:
Premise One: The human economy is a living system (currently an unhealthy one).
Premise Two: There are universal patterns and principles that describe how living systems work.
Premise Three: If our human economy is to be healthy, its system design must align with the patterns and principles of living systems.
Based on those timeless and universal patterns, John has distilled eight principles of regenerative vitality that can help us release abundant, untapped potential and generate widespread prosperity on a healthy planet. We can learn to unlock hidden potential and transform our economy. That’s what regenerative systems do!
To discover those eight principles, please visit Hourbooks.com, where you can read a complimentary PDF of the whole book. You can also request a sponsored copy of the book in print and learn about the novel “Pay It Forward” distribution methodology that embodies our goals at Hourbooks. And, if you understand how important this message is and wish to join our “river of giving,” you can choose to sponsor 10 books or more to share with your family and friends, your book club, hiking group, your church, synagogue, mosque, your city council or chamber of commerce. It is through our networks and connections that we shift the world.
Faye Cox is a long-time affiliate of the World Business Academy and the Founder of Hourbooks, a publishing house of timely and transformational books that take an hour to read.
