The purpose of meaning and the meaning of purpose: a container for our atomized yet globalised world
We set out in this paper to explore what happens when we inquire into the question of task, aim, mission and vision from the outside, beginning from a new place beyond our conventional frames of reference. Our hypothesis is that, by beginning from this different starting place, growing from lived experience and repositioning ourselves in our hearts and minds, we find ourselves opening up new questions about the meaning of 'work' in our globalised context. Our own journey in understanding Connectedness with Source has called for higher levels of consciousness in us. We have been forced to confront our reluctance to encounter other silos of knowledge and to face the pain of the implications of knowledge from new discourses on our favourite assumptions and interpretations of the founding principles of our tradition, discovering new levels and layers of meaningful connectedness, new readings and associations to tradition and new ways of engaging with members/clients, meeting them where they are. Some of the key areas that have informed us have been new 'adult development theories' (Cooke-Greuter, Rooke and Torbert et al) , 'spiral dynamics', and the integral theory of Ken Wilbur, in addition to new discoveries in quantum physics and particle theory. which can be placed alongside new thinking in behavioural economics. Attention to the adult developmental perspective in organisational learning has enriched our recent working experiences. The bringing into view of action logics thinking has begun to frame ways of addressing the real challenges that humankind faces in terms of the consequences of our exploitation of the planet, whilst also giving us a purchase on the process of individualisation and its consequences for life together. This approach has been extensively researched and tested so that it provides a way of taking our understanding of human experience and behaviour to a new depth.