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Resources – Research in the field

The System Within: addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability and systems change

Bristow, J. Bell, R. Wamsler, C. Björkman, T. Tickell, P. Kim, J. Scharmer, O.

Abstract
Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity, a Report to The Club of Rome, offers system change pathways to avoid ecological and societal collapse through ‘extraordinary turnarounds’ in key policy areas. While ambitious policy levers are much needed, sustainable change hinges on integrating material interventions with consideration of the human inner dimension: reckoning with the deep collective structures of thought foundational to failing systems, and nurturing the inner capacities necessary to overcome barriers to collective action and structural transformation. This Deep-Dive paper aims to complement Earth for All by highlighting the overlooked inner
dimension of system change, and supplying systems thinkers with the language to advocate for psychological, social and spiritual factors crucial to sustainable solutions.
It discusses worldviews, mindsets, values and identity as root drivers of cultural behaviour, their interaction with psychological and behavioural tendencies, and the transformative inner capacities that can be cultivated to intervene at deep leverage points; and introduces existing initiatives leading the way in integrating inner and outer dimensions of system change.

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