Natural principles are a core part of regenerative practices. They are seen in permaculture, biomimicry, biophilic design, systems-thinking, regenerative leadership, regenerative economics, ancient and indigenous wisdom.
Living in alignment with the way that life operates is the only way that has been proven to be resilient on planet Earth and is the opposite of the currently dominant extractive and machine-minded ways that we must urgently move beyond.
Sarah Spencer shares about Learning from Living Systems
Groups that adopt regenerative, living-systems approaches are better able to work towards their vision, with less conflict, burnout and overwhelm.
This approach also ensures that all activities are regenerative (beyond sustainable) and create the conditions for life and health at a local and global scale. At an individual level, nature-connection and learning from nature support us to be happier, healthier and more purposeful.
Some ideas to practise Learning from Living Systems
Everyone can participate, at any age, anywhere.
Ideally head outside, but the same activity can be done indoors, using your imagination – on your own or in a group.
1. Head outdoors to your nearby nature. Ideally a woodland or other diverse ecosystem.
2. Practice using all of your senses to observe what is around you. Then sense into what is happening inside of you too.
3. Look for the characteristics of a healthy ecosystem (examples are: growth, cycling of energy, resilience, co-operative relationships etc)
4. Ask yourself – what can I/we learn from those characteristics in my own life/ my group?
5. Repeat regularly and ensure all your decisions are in alignment with the principles by which Life operates.
Remember that you and your group are living ecosystems – so nature’s principles of success apply to you too.
A group of people experimenting with Living Systems practices guided by Sarah Spencer
Join the webinar
Learning from Living Systems · August 22nd
Join this webinar with Sarah Spencer to explore practices to better learn from Nature and Living Systems. August 22nd, 2024 at 4:00 pm UTC
Diving deeper
Master the art of Learning from Living Systems
You can use the below resources to become more skilled at this. Explore them at your own leisure:
- Think Like a Tree website
- Natural principles journal
- Book and Card Deck: Think Like a Tree: the natural principles guide to life
- A Living Systems regenerative approach to human conflicts
Stay engaged
Opportunities to keep connected and learn more
The Transition Movement Virtual Platform can provide opportunities to keep in touch and keep exploring this topic together.
