Making choices and decisions is a path we all follow. Our body constantly makes decisions we are not consciously aware of to maintain the ability to live healthy. One could say that our health and wellbeing is the result of the choices and decisions we make. Thru past experiences we can see the results and the consequences of our choices and we can choose to correct our errors and/or, continue with ones that have brought favorable results. Our choices, consciously or unconsciously, manifest the reality in which we live in.

At birth, almost all the choices and decisions are made for us. The need to nourish to sustain our life, knowing no one can eat for us, propels the infant to cry out to be fed. More and more the infant becomes aware of his or her primal needs and that becomes the motivating factor on how they interact with others. The young child’s choices are directed by satisfying their needs. Very rarely does a young child consider the needs of others or the environment in which they are living. It is by the guiding direction of those with more wisdom, experience and responsibility that the child learns that not only they need to satisfy their needs but also need to be conscious on how these needs interact with others and the world around them.

In nature or within our bodies, life thrives when there is cooperation, synergy and harmony between all the elements involved in sustaining life. More and more, people that study the different fields of science, sociology, education, art, business, technology etc. express how in each one of us, there is a guiding wisdom, that if combined with an analytical discipline, produces amazing results. The most successful people have offered their different paths to achievement and at a certain point, within them, a knowledge sprang forth, one they did not even know existed.

This wisdom, combined with a developing responsibility that our choices must not only profit our self-interest but also include the wellbeing of our environment, all the different facets of life and our fellow human beings, is the foundation for consensus. Our bodies, very simply, show us how this works. Our hearts do not beat just for themselves; they circulate the blood to nourish the whole body. Our lungs breathe the air for all the cells. Constantly, all the different functions within the body are working together. An illness brings forth a response from the body to reestablish health.

Consensus then, is a model of collective decision making that reflects a natural state of health and wellbeing by converging the different tendencies, thoughts, emotions, opinions, perspectives etc.; in this way, the decision becomes a unified field of consciousness. Unlike other forms of decision making, consensus reflects the natural world by thriving in diversity. Through the synergy of life forces, the choice will reflect the full 360-degree viewpoints. This is a consequence when the following three principles are integrated.

  • Opposition is an opportunity to find the best solution: there is no enemy or adversary.
  • Change is a part of life processes: everything expands then contracts.
  • The goal to achieve is a unified field of consciousness where everyone’s needs are met.

As these 3 principles guide the process, complexity becomes identifiable patterns in which the relationship between cause and effect becomes clear. Seeing the inevitable consequences of actions, while accepting the possibilities of change, the simplicity of agreement overrides the tendencies of disagreement. Diversity of opinion presents the opportunity of discovery and resistances to other perspectives transform into openings of solidarity where individual and group freedom merge into a harmonious whole.

Of course, these concepts seem very easy to understand. Their application, on the other hand, represents a journey as big as climbing mount Everest.

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