Explore many different perspectives and learn to build up a richer, more holistic worldview
We are truly living in a very unique time in the history of our civilization, facing several simultaneous challenges and converging crises: a deteriorating environment, a very unequal distribution of dwindling resources, widespread poverty, wars, climate change, oppression of many peoples, and dissatisfaction with life even in those countries with a surplus of material wealth. How did we get into this mess? What are we to make of all this? Do things have to be this way? Why is this happening to us? What can we do about it?
We need to learn to question our basic assumptions and learn to ask deeper questions that help us to transcend and include multiple perspectives, if we hope to steer humanity towards an uncertain future with wisdom, foresight and precaution. The Worldview dimension invites you to become more conscious of how your own worldview and value system affect your perceived needs and the way you might propose and design solutions in any given situation.
Throughout the Worldview online programme, you will learn more about a number of related issues, such as the nature of worldviews in general and in particular the shift in the culturally dominant worldview which is currently underway; the transformation of consciousness at the personal level of spiritual practices; the need to see humankind as an integral part of nature if we are to find long-term solutions to the above-mentioned problems; the connection between planetary and individual health; the daily practice of socially and ecologically engaged spirituality; the relation between science and religion; and the creative power of positive visions of our common future.
An understanding of all of these topics is vital to anyone who wishes to contribute actively to what may well be the greatest shift in worldviews in all of human history.
Course Content
Module 1: Holistic Worldviews
We start by exploring different ways of knowing and participating in the world that have shaped the evolution of Western culture, taking a closer look at the role of ‘organising ideas’ and different modes of consciousness in our experience of reality.
Module 1 explores the following questions:
- What is the dominant cultural narrative that has shaped the worldview that is informing the behaviour of modern globalised culture?
- What are key obstacles to holistic thinking and how has a holistic approach to science – Goethean Science, the new physics, and complexity theory – contributed to the gradual transformation of the reductionist and mechanistic worldview?
- How can we become active participants in a global transition towards a more compassionate and biophilic understanding of our interdependence with all Life expressed through design for whole systems health and wellbeing for all?
Module 2: Reconnecting with Nature
The healing of many of the ailments afflicting nature and culture in this time of converging crises requires us to first and foremost solve our ‘crisis of perception’ (Fritjof Capra) and recognise our interconnection with planetary life support systems. We need to reconnect with nature as an expression of our wider ecological self in order to find a deeper source of meaning, insight and strength.
Module 2 asks:
- In what way can Deep Ecology, Ecopsychology, Gaia Theory and reconnecting with the Universe Story of 14 billion years of cosmic evolution help us to become re-enchanted with the world again?
- What is the role of indigenous wisdom traditions and their technologies of the sacred, for example council, pilgrimage and vision fasts, in our reconnecting with nature?
- How can we learn to design for interbeing in ways that create a sense of place informed by integral ecology and a new kind of cosmopolitan bioregionalism?
Module 3: Transformation of Consciousness
Regenerative development at the scale of communities or regions will always need to go hand-in-hand with the personal development of the individuals and collectives involved in facilitating this change. Effectively communicating sustainability and facilitating the multi-stakeholder dialogues that are necessary for transformative innovation is greatly aided by a more integral understanding of the different worldviews and value systems we might encounter in our work.
Module 3 addresses to the following questions:
- How can frameworks like Spiral Dynamics, the Four Quadrants of Integral Theory and other developmental models of consciousness and value systems help us to facilitate constructive integration of multiple perspectives in diverse groups?
- What are the commonalities and differences between spirituality and religion, as well as, between different religions and spiritual paths? How can we respect and value these diverse ways of meaning-making as contributions from different traditions?
- How can each and every one of us integrate personal development of heart, mind, body and spirit into our daily life practice in ways that support our self, our communities and the world, on our paths as evolutionary activists?
Module 4: Personal and Planetary Health
The healing of self, community and world is a central focus of effective change agents around the world. Designing for sustainability and co-creating diverse regenerative cultures is fundamentally about salutogenic (health-generating) design for human and planetary health. We have to take care of our self and our community in order to effectively take care of healthy ecosystem functions and the biosphere, and vice versa.
In module 4 we offer tentative answers to the following questions:
- How do healthy lifestyles, greater equality, community cohesion and a sense of belonging and place contribute to a more holistic understanding of health?
- What is the scale-linking connection between human, ecosystem and planetary health, and what are the major constraints to this pattern that connects?
- How does understanding personal, community and bioregional resilience as interconnected aspects of systemic health inform our actions and designs?
Module 5: Engaged Spirituality
Our worldviews and value systems influence our behaviours and judgements, and these result in our designs and the systems and processes we set up. The world we have created around us then in turn influences how we see the world. Together we are bringing forth a world through our intentions, actions and inaction. This module explores how we can become effective cultural creatives, facilitating transformative change and leveraging the power of local and global networks of change through collaboration.
This module invites you to consider the following questions:
- How can Will Keepin’s guidelines for engaged spirituality inform a more effective practice for cultural creatives and facilitators of transformation and change?
- What processes exist to come together in community and envision the futures we want to co-create together? What are the steps in such visioning processes?
- Are there any common themes between existing visions of sustainable societies and regenerative cultures and how might they inform our individual and collective work in the transition into the re-localised planetary era?
Start and Registration
- The next Worldview dimension will start on 31 May 2021 and runs for 8 weeks.
- We suggest you dedicate a minimum of 10 hours a week to receive maximum benefit from this programme.
- The cost of this 8-week programme is £350 GBP. But you are able to register with an Early Bird discount if you register early enough (Discount codes are displayed in the ‘Investment’ tab below)
- For further information, please email: elearning@gaiaeducation.org
The Worldview dimension can be taken as a stand-alone programme or as the starting point for our 10-month online Design for Sustainability certificate course. The course, which includes an orientation period, lasts for a duration of eight weeks. We suggest you dedicate a minimum of 10 hours a week to the course, in order to receive maximum benefit from it.
After completing the Worldview dimension you will have the confidence and ability to start positioning yourself in the field of Worldviews in Designing for Sustainability.
Graduates of our programmes have gone on to contribute to sustainability projects, build communities, become social entrepreneurs, partake in permaculture projects and bio-dynamic farming, support transition movements and much more.
The Worldview dimension content
Edited by
Maddy Harland
William Keepin
Facilitated by
Gracelynn Lau, Sascha Jenke and Della Duncan
What you will receive
- a downloadable course book with the latest research and additional resources (also
available as an online e-book) - a student handbook with all the important information concerning the course
- a Student Guide: description of each dimension’s learning outcomes, objectives and timeline, plus a set of activities for each module of the learning journey
- access to the virtual campus, where you join our classrooms, forums, design teams, have direct communication with tutors, with access to sample and all learning materials and activities for certification, as well as social media related to the course
- orientation to the virtual campus, e-learning tools and the Moodle platform
- full technical and academic support to navigate the virtual course and achieve all the learning outcomes
- a Certificate of Completion from Gaia Education
- earn credits to continue to our flagship certificated programme in Sustainability and Design
- the ability and practical skills to take active steps in the strategic area of Design for Sustainability
- paving the way of joining the Gaia Education Learning Journey
Your Investment
- We suggest you dedicate a minimum of 10 hours a week to receive maximum benefit from this programme.
- The whole duration of this dimension is eight weeks, encompassing approximately 80 hours of study time.
- The cost of this unique and exciting course is £350 GBP. There are limited discounts available!
20% Discount code: WVGE20 (expires on 25 April 2021)
15% Discount code: WVGE15 (expires on 3 May 2021)
10% Discount code: WVGE10 (expires on 17 May 2021)
- For further information, please email elearning@gaiaeducation.org
Upon completion, you will be equipped with the understanding and skills to become a confident change maker in worldview issues of sustainability. It will also qualify you to go on to study in our fully certificated programme, Design for Sustainability, and join a Design Studio after completing the four dimensions of the course. It may be the best investment you ever make for yourself.
Testimonials
“Beyond anything I could have imagined, it’s made me rethink everything I do, it’s made me see things in a new way and professionally it’s given me lots of pointers to follow and guidance. I bought many books on the back of this course.
Every dimension has been extremely engaging and inspirational, and for me to connect with and relate to, I never thought I would find so much personal relevance. But I must admit the worldview dimension topped them all. Really enjoyed this.”
– Anne-Flore
“This course has indeed gone deep into several issues of ecology, nature, self and holistic thinking. Great course”
– Vidhya
“The programme has trigger(ed) a great amount of reflection on my personal and professional life, and has given me a deeper sense of being part of a broader whole/system. It has also provided (me) with a lot of useful resources in the forms of books, links, videos, groups, etc, to continue learning about the topics afterwards. It has also provided a great community that I expect to keep in touch with.”
– Hernan
“I felt comfortable with the definition of spirituality, being different to the common meaning of religious beliefs. I also liked the repeated emphasis on the inter-connectedness of the system and our part in it.”
– Nadia
“It has introduced me to so many concepts that I now want to dive deeper into. It has started a process that is changing my life.”
– Sarah
“Thank you so much for this beautiful journey. I am at the moment at the Gen Conference in La Bagnaia in Tuscany and I realise we have received a beautiful basis to work with in our course. And it is great to connect with other people from our GEDS community in live as well.”
– Martina
“When I first assigned this course my expectations was not so high. I thought this is an online course, can’t be an interactive area of knowledge. But when the course started I realised that the materials were given was very rich and I started to take notes and collected new research topics about this dimension. I am really fascinated by the curriculum and also this was a very collaborative and interactive course which I was surprised.”
– Kübra
“It changed my life at all levels, and allowed me to go deeper.”
– Adélaïde
Learn more about our full 10-month Design for Sustainability programme here.
