Summary of The Butterfly Project:
- Our goal is to create a new human society. The Butterfly Project will create alternative civic, economic and consciousness/spiritual activities, leading to self-sustaining and self-replicating communities. These economic, social, cultural and spiritual incubators are intended to catalyze the global emergence of a mature human civilization, one that is sustainable, harmonious and in line with our most profound values, aspirations and in harmony with all living beings.
- Our goal is to reconnect human beings with Universal Consciousness. The Butterfly Project will catalyze the re-emergence of a collective/group consciousness, which will balance our present overly individualized viewpoint. In this way we will reconnect with Universal Consciousness.
- The Butterfly Project will have three phases.
- Phase 1: The Imaginal Cafes: Dialogs and Engagement to Envision and Catalyze Our Future (2019-2022) The Imaginal Cafe is a dialog and community-building initiative, designed to envision the future we intend for ourselves and those to come.
- Phase 2: The Imaginal Commons: Economics and Governance for the Common Good. (2022-2025) The Imaginal Commons will create revenue-generating activities in Imaginal Cafe locations. Revenue will be used to further transformative projects and to practice new and alternative/emergent forms of governance and economics.
- Phase 3: The Imaginal Villages: Modelling the Future (2025-2035). The Imaginal Village will model and sustain human-scale “villages of the future”.
The Questions That Drive Us:
- Can common people, gathering together in informal settings, catalyze a profound transformation in human consciousness?
- Can regular people transcend the barriers that may separate them (including ethnicity, nationality, class, religion, gender…), creating a positive future for all?
- As our current systems are broken or breaking, can we model new ones?
- Can we model a future economy by trading with each other?
- Can informal gatherings unleash our collective Spirits?
We intend to find out.
The Need for the Butterfly Project:
| The End of the Caterpillar: Transforming a World of SHADOWS: | The Dream of the Butterfly: Transformation to the LIGHT: |
| The Shadow of War/Violence | The Light of Peace & Security |
| The Shadow of Poverty, Greed & Hoarding | The Light of Abundant Enoughness |
| The Shadow of Separation/ Alienation/ ”Other” | The Light of Inclusive Community |
| The Shadow of Despair/Suicide | The Light of Deep Fulfillment |
Creating a World That Works for ALL
- The World as ONE
- A World That WORKS
- A World for ALL PEOPLE
- A World for ALL BEINGS
Commonway’s Five Foundational Values:
1. Inclusivity
❧ Concept: Inclusivity is the recognition that we are inextricably linked to all beings. Greater than the notion of “inclusion” (i.e. connecting with certain politically acceptable groups), inclusivity is the basis of all wisdom teachings.
❧ Commitment: While many see “inclusivity” as a “good idea”, we take that one step further, committing to the practice of inclusivity – in our personal and professional lives — and to the establishment of inclusivity as a global value.
Practice: Encouraging all humans to practice inclusivity, we provide the tools, techniques, methodology and the inspiration to actually do so.
2. Collective Responsibility and Empowerment
❧ Responsibility: Humans create the problems we experience. While it is easy to blame multi-national corporations, power-mad politicians, racial/ethnic elites, gender politics and other factors (and, indeed, these actors do bear significant responsibility for the shape things are in right now), the bottom line is that “WE”, ordinary people, create this world by:
❧❧Our actions
❧❧Our inactions
❧❧Our acquiescence to the bad leadership of others.
❧ Empowerment: Every day, consciously or through default, we shape a society that is in line with our values. Therefore, paradoxically, recognizing and accepting our collective responsibility gives us the collective empowerment to make substantive changes in ourselves and our society.
3: Consciousness – Theory and Practice
❧ Consciousness means action: Our consciousness creates and shapes our world. To create a better world, we must generate higher, clearer modes of thinking – and to practice that consciousness in our human governance institutions.
❧ Consciousness means spirituality: Spirituality is not about following a certain religious teaching or practice; it means compassion, forgiveness, love, harmony, sacrifice… those transpersonal attributes that make us uniquely human, ones that are greater than our individual egos.
4: Authenticity
❧ Authentic Values: Authenticity means that our words and actions are in alignment with our values. Individually, this means that I clearly know my values, and am consciously aware of my actions (and their consequences).
❧ Values in Action: It’s one thing to think about values. It’s another to make our values an integral part of our life.
5: Vision-Driven Action
❧ While recognizing that there are problems and challenges – in our personal lives, our organizations and in general society — we are not driven by the problems, but by the vision of a world that works for all.
❧ Nor are we driven by anger – people who experience overwhelming anger do not experience the power to transform. What we focus on, expands; therefore, dwelling on problems creates more problem while focusing on a better vision creates the positive energy to fundamentally transform our world.