Absencing vs Presencing

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Discussion

Otto Scharmer:

"With the beginning of this millennium we have entered a phase of increased tension between two principal forces. On the one hand, we see a dramatic acceleration of the forces of fundamentalism, manipulation, and absencing or destruction. On the other hand, we witness the deepening of a profound opening process around the world in which groups of people are beginning to become aware of and connect with the deeper meaning of their life journeys. Day by day, week by week, both of these forces seem to amplify at the same time. The difference between them is that the first one—the forces of fundamentalism, manipulation, and absencing—works by decreasing the degrees of freedoms for the people involved. We see this happening, for instance, when bombs are dropped with the intention of blowing people into a future that looks more like a caricature of the past.

By contrast, the other set of forces at work increase the degrees of freedom by giving people additional ways to attend and respond to their own situations and circumstances. The difference, simply put, is that the first one looks at a human being as an object that is determined by its environment and conditioned by its past. As a consequence, it can be influenced, manipulated, and controlled through exterior mechanisms such as algorithms that keep us firmly in the grip of our habitual bubble. The second view sees human beings as evolving selves—carriers of a dormant capacity to connect with a deeper source of creativity and knowing. Through this capacity, people can link with and realize a future that depends on each of us to bring it into being. The essence of this view of the human being is to create by connecting to one’s highest future possibility, one’s authentic Self." (https://www.ottoscharmer.com/sites/default/files/TU2_epilogue.pdf)


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