“A human being is part of the whole – called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature” […] Albert Einstein (1950)

Einstein understood the limitations we impose on ourselves by our way of thinking, which determines what we focus on and how we see the world. He asked us to question who we are and our relationships with all of life and the universe as a whole. Einstein invited us to explore a more systemic perspective, holistic thinking and an integrative consciousness that acknowledges our participatory intimacy with the universe, as a fundamentally interconnected and continuously transforming whole manifesting as patterns of energy, matter and consciousness. In this view, matter and consciousness, matter and life, matter and mind, matter and spirit are not separate but intertwined.

- Designing Regenerative Cultures - Daniel Christian Wahl -

Project Questions?

See alternative layout below?

A few of the questions I explored to determine the purpose and function of my project.

So how then do we explore a more systemic perspective? 

How do we begin thinking holistically? 

How do we expand our consciousness to perceive the fundamentally interconnected and continuously transforming whole? 

Could our existence on earth be a classroom for the development and understanding of self?

Could our perceptions of the outside world, the natural world, provide the mentorship and guidance needed to transform our inner world?

And would the transformation of the individual's inner world then not translate to external transformation? 

Can the (re)connection and ethos seeds of Biomimicry move us towards living the questions more deeply, towards the understanding of self, towards new ways of being?

So how then do we explore a more systemic perspective?

How do we begin thinking holistically?

How do we expand our consciousness to perceive the fundamentally interconnected and continually transforming whole?

Could our existence on earth be a classroom for the development and understanding of self?

Could our perceptions of the outside world, the natural world, provide the mentorship and guidance needed to transform our inner world?

And would the transformation of the individual's inner world then not translate to external transformation?

Can the [re]connection and ethos seeds of Biomimicry move us towards living the questions more deeply, towards the understanding of self, towards new ways of being?

The desired outcome for the learning experience is to spark a realisation that we are nature. That everything is connected. We are active co-creators and participants of a continuously transforming whole. That what we experience outside of ourselves is a reflection, a feedback loop designed to guide our own internal journey of self discovery, our evolutionary journey. That through the discovery and transformation of self, we transform collectively and systemically.

A successful outcome would be that the learner has connected (mentally, emotionally and practically) with nature's repeating (winning) strategies and how these can be used as model, mentor and measure, to live the questions more deeply, a set of tools that assist our exploration of what it means to create the conditions for thriving in our personal human experience as well as our shared experience, and the significance of being a co-creator and participant of a greater whole.

Honing in on the core purpose of this project was a challenge in itself. I wanted to create more access points to biomimicry, outside of design and engineering applications while at the same time going deeper and exploring how biomimicry as a practice can help to shift mindsets - working at the highest leverage point for systems level change.

- Jane Lourens -

As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…

- Hermes Trismegistus -

The work we need to do in our outside world (the ecosystem of nested systems within systems - environmental, social, economic) reflects back to us, the work we need to do in our internal world and vice versa. 

Discoveries and developments in Unified Physics are now confirming that our physical creations are born of the subtle realms, at the quantum level - beliefs, thoughts, imaginations. 

Could our existence on earth be a classroom for the development and understanding of self?

Could our perceptions of the outside world, the natural world, provide the mentorship and guidance needed to transform our inner world? And would the transformation of the individual's inner world then not translate to external transformation? 

In order to apply biomimicry at a systems level for truly transformative innovation, we need to transform hearts and minds on the individual level, the familial level, the community level, in order to then leverage nested systems. 

By asking the appropriate guiding questions repeatedly and entering into conversations about our collective future in all the communities we participate in, we may be able to find a set of patterns and guidelines that will help us to create a culture capable of learning and transformative innovation. Living the questions together is an effective way of preparing for an unpredictable future...

- D C Wahl in his book Designing Regenerative Cultures -

Can the reconnection and ethos seeds of Biomimicry move us towards living the questions more deeply, towards the understanding of self, towards new ways of being?

Can the reconnection and ethos seeds of Biomimicry move us towards living the questions more deeply, towards the understanding of self, towards new ways of being?

We need more access points to biomimicry, outside of design and engineering applications. 

I’ve had numerous conversations with individuals from all over the globe who travel through Wild Spirit (a lodge based in Natures Valley on the Garden Route) where I’m currently living as part of a community whose desire is to live more regeneratively. Through these storytelling encounters and the exchange of perspectives, ideas and philosophies, in combination with my experience working within BiomimicrySA, a theme has begun to emerge. I began to realise that most people resonate with the idea of biomimicry and perceive its potential to shift outdated systems, but most of those who don’t have design or engineering backgrounds find it more difficult to make the connection with how biomimicry or living systems thinking can be implemented into their own lives. How it could be relevant to them in the short term, how they could do biomimicry themselves. It becomes an abstract concept that is understood to be powerful but somewhat out of reach. 

With the Emulation seed being predominant in our practice of Biomimicry, is there an opportunity, through the Ethos and Re-Connection seeds, to deepen our understanding of our relationship to the ecosystems we exist within. Could these seeds perhaps hold the secret to broadening and diversifying the access points to biomimicry within our individual and collective everyday lives and move us closer toward regenerative being and therefore creating the world we desire to live in.

The desired outcome for the learning experience is to spark a realisation that we are nature. That everything is connected. We are active co-creators and participants of a continuously transforming whole. That what we experience outside of ourselves is a reflection, a feedback loop designed to guide our own internal journey of self discovery, our evolutionary journey. That through the discovery and transformation of self, we transform collectively and systemically.

A successful outcome would be that the learner has connected (mentally, emotionally and practically) with nature's repeating (winning) strategies and how these can be used as model, mentor and measure, to live the questions more deeply, a set of tools that assist our exploration of what it means to create the conditions for thriving in our personal human experience as well as our shared experience, and the significance of being a co-creator and participant of a greater whole.

Feel - connected to whole 

Think - about connection to water, sunlight, gravity, cyclical processes, fractal patterns, community, emotion, mind, spirit

Do - observation, reconnection, contemplation, being

Observe their own perceptions. Identify what nature is showing them about themselves, about their world view. Probe and question the perspective and the world view. Explore alternative interpretations.

If we take the time to get the questions right, to live the questions more deeply individually and collectively, we will not only be able to hear this new world breathing, we will realise that with each breath we take we are participants in the networks of relationships that are giving birth to this world...

- Daniel Christian Wahl -

With the Emulation seed being predominant in our practice of Biomimicry, is there an opportunity, through the Ethos and Re-Connection seeds, to deepen our understanding of our relationship to the ecosystems we exist within. Could these seeds perhaps hold the secret to broadening and diversifying the access points to biomimicry within our individual and collective everyday lives and move us closer toward regenerative being and therefore creating the world we desire to live in.

Where Are We Trying To Get To?

Learners experience BEING connected to the whole through deep nature reconnection and observing nature's unifying patterns in their highest expression. 

The learner, through an immersive regenerative living experience, is then able to observe these patterns in action and live them, in the social and economic contexts. 

A powerful shift takes place that can be recognised, experienced and integrated at all levels of being - mind, body and soul.

Where Are We Trying To Get To?

We are offering a world of more beauty, more joy, more connection, more love, more fulfilment, more exuberance, more leisure, more music, more dancing, and more celebration. The most inspiring glimpses you’ve ever had about what life can be – that is what we are offering. 

- Charles Eisenstein -

The desired outcome for the learning experience is to spark a realisation that we are nature. That everything is connected. We are active co-creators and participants of a continuously transforming whole. That what we experience outside of ourselves is a reflection, a feedback loop designed to guide our own internal journey of self discovery, our evolutionary journey. That through the discovery and transformation of self, we transform collectively and systemically.

A successful outcome would be that the learner has connected (mentally, emotionally and practically) with nature's repeating (winning) strategies and how these can be used as model, mentor and measure, to live the questions more deeply, a set of tools that assist our exploration of what it means to create the conditions for thriving in our personal human experience as well as our shared experience, and the significance of being a co-creator and participant of a greater whole.

Feel - connected to whole 

Think - about connection to water, sunlight, gravity, cyclical processes, fractal patterns, community, emotion, mind, spirit

Do - observation, reconnection, contemplation, being

Observe their own perceptions. Identify what nature is showing them about themselves, about their world view. Probe and question the perspective and the world view. Explore alternative interpretations.

Learners experience BEING connected to the whole through deep nature reconnection and observing nature's unifying patterns in their highest expression. 

The learner, through an immersive regenerative living experience, is then able to observe these patterns in action and live them, in the social and economic contexts. 

A powerful shift takes place that can be recognised, experienced and integrated at all levels of being - mind, body and soul.

The desired outcome for the learning experience is to spark a realisation that we are nature. That everything is connected. We are active co-creators and participants of a continuously transforming whole. That what we experience outside of ourselves is a reflection, a feedback loop designed to guide our own internal journey of self discovery, our evolutionary journey. That through the discovery and transformation of self, we transform collectively and systemically.

A successful outcome would be that the learner has connected (mentally, emotionally and practically) with nature's repeating (winning) strategies and how these can be used as model, mentor and measure, to live the questions more deeply, a set of tools that assist our exploration of what it means to create the conditions for thriving in our personal human experience as well as our shared experience, and the significance of being a co-creator and participant of a greater whole.

Feel - connected to whole 

Think - about connection to water, sunlight, gravity, cyclical processes, fractal patterns, community, emotion, mind, spirit

Do - observation, reconnection, contemplation, being

Observe their own perceptions. Identify what nature is showing them about themselves, about their world view. Probe and question the perspective and the world view. Explore alternative interpretations.

Learners experience BEING connected to the whole through deep nature reconnection and observing nature's unifying patterns in their highest expression. 

The learner, through an immersive regenerative living experience, is then able to observe these patterns in action and live them, in the social and economic contexts. 

A powerful shift takes place that can be recognised, experienced and integrated at all levels of being - mind, body and soul. 

By reconnecting with nature deeply and observing life's principles (the winning and repeated strategies that continue to create the conditions conducive to life) in surrounding natural ecosystems. Then experiencing these principles in action in the context of regenerative living - overlaying these natural strategies onto the social, environmental and economic aspects of the human experience.

Scoping - 

Explore, experience, observe (through different lens’), a diverse range of ecosystems (beach, lagoon, indigenous forests etc.)

Record the experiences and observations

 Discovering - 

Reflection, contemplation

Discover patterns within own observations (affinity mapping)

Abstract - 

Principles activated or prevalent in current paradigm

Principles not prevalent or activated in current paradigm

Identification of spiral level (deeply personal process, not shared with group)

Opportunities for serving ones unique talents

Opportunities for learning, growth, expansion

Create and Participate - 

(through song, music, poetry, journaling, writing, drawing, painting, dance, conversation, natural sculpture, play, adventure, )

Expression of principles that resonate most in personal context

Expression of principles that are least prevalent in current paradigm

Participate in social, environmental and economic activities that create the space for the learner to experience various principles in action. 

Participatory aspects are curated for the learner based on the principles that are least expressed in current paradigm to create opportunity for new perspectives, questions, conversations, experiences (receptive energy) as well as in areas that are more prevailing in their current paradigm, where the learner is provided the opportunity to contribute in their own unique way (giving energy) 

Evaluate - 

Watching the way that everyone in the workshop transformed as they explored the genius of nature and realised how powerful biomimicry was for shifting perspectives - both hearts and minds.

- Claire Janisch -

Mentoring draws people gently to the edge of their knowledge and experience and guides them into new territory. You have to watch carefully for what will capture their curiosity, engage their natural gifts, and challenge them in ways they can handle in their personal learning journey. Look for their edges: the edge of their comfort zone, the edge of their awareness, the edge of their knowledge, the edge of their experience. Then, you can stretch and pull them to a new edge, and then another, deeper and deeper into a sense of comfort and kinship with the wildness of the natural world.”

- Jon Young -

Biomimicry is a means to connect with our own history and nuture an appreciation for nature. It's a new way of looking at nature and gleaning some insights into how life works. By doing so it not only helps you understand life from a biological perspective, it also provides for a new way to connect with the natural world. It's this connection that makes Biomimicry much more simply a different way of looking at nature.

- Biomimicry Resource Handbook -

For most of human evolution, the separation of nature and humans did not exist culturally. Humans were nature; humans are nature...

- Unknown -

[Re] connect is very much about going outside and discovering the deep connections we have with the natural world. In this way, the practise of connecting and reconnecting reveals discoveries about self, community and life that you may never have imagined. Finding this fundamental connection creates an entry into biomimicry for those that might not be immediately captivated by the innovation found in emulate or be passionate about...

- Unknown -

[Re] connect is very much about going outside and discovering the deep connections we have with the natural world. In this way, the practise of connecting and reconnecting reveals discoveries about self, community and life that you may never have imagined. Finding this fundamental connection creates an entry into biomimicry for those that might not be immediately captivated by the innovation found in emulate or be passionate about...

- Charles Eisenstein -

We are offering a world of more beauty, more joy, more connection, more love, more fulfilment, more exuberance, more leisure, more music, more dancing, and more celebration. The most inspiring glimpses you’ve ever had about what life can be – that is what we are offering. 

- Charles Eisenstein -