ONE HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY IN THE CITY
Introduction
On the Presensing Institute website, known worldwide as "Theory U", the activities of the As One Network Suzuka Community were presented asONE HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY IN THE CITY
Contribution of Hiroko Katayama from As One Network Suzuka Community
August 9, 2018
What is the PRESENCING INSTITUTE?
The “Presencing Institute / Working for a Deep Social Renewal" was founded in 2006 by Professor Otto Scharmer of the MIT Sloan School of Management and colleagues with the goal of creating a platform for action research at the intersection between science, social and organizational change. Over the last two decades, they have developed U-Theory as a framework for change, they have led inter-sectoral initiatives for leadership, change and innovation around the world and have created an innovation platform called U.lab.Questions
1. What is the main vision behind your work?2. Describe the concrete details: who, what, where and how you operate
3. What is the great accomplishment of your work so far?
4. What personal practices have enabled you to break through existing paradigms?
5. What organizational practices have enabled your accomplishments to date?
6. What is currently keeping your project, initiative or organization from moving to the next level of impact?
7. To move toward a 4.0 way of operating, what enabling conditions would be needed?
8. What is the most important thing you have learned personally from your work?
9. What are the key questions or opportunities in your field that need to be explored in the next 5-10 years?
1 What is the main vision behind your work?
It is the main vision of AsOne Network to manifest "The World as one", in which there are no conflicts and no one left behind; in which anyone can live as authentic self in harmony with all---all existence, human and not human, including present and future generations. The name of AsOne is from John Lennon's master piece "Imagine"; "the world will be as one".Humans are a part of the whole world named the space, whose essential nature is inseparable and dynamic; "The flowing river never stops and yet the water never stays the same" (Hojoki, one of the most representative Japanese essays in 12c). A human is an appearance like a vehicle of life, limited in time and space, and so it is certain that humans can originally live as one flexibly and peacefully. Nevertheless, “Why cannot humans be in harmony with all? Is that the true nature of humans?
A. Einstein mentioned, "We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest---a kind of optical delusion of our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desire and to affection for a few persons nearest us".
We think such delusion has misled humans to create fictions against the others and to fix them as realities like“The Commodity Fiction”; money, exchanging and possession; that is the root issue of the dominant paradigm. Based on those fictional realities the Capitalism societies have been kept, in exchange of enormous destruction of environment, society, economy and humanity.
Humans need a new story based on objective realities, learning how to recognize fictions as fictions and what objective realities are. Almost of all individual’s world view and thoughts are formed by value system in the societies. Humans, societies and environment are inter-being. Therefore we have focus on building the experimental community since 2001, like an island without commodity fictions in the dominant value system, in which humans can be freed from fictions and enrich each heart, developing each diverse talent and ability, generating infinite well-beings and prosperity for all on the earth. Not by theories but by observation, when the root issues of human problems are solved and removed, and also when the essential nature and real states both of human and society are kept investigating and clarifying, the world as one will emerge as the evidence of human potentials, even if the scale is still small.
2 Describe the concrete details: who, what, where and how you operate
63 core members and 44 supportive ones of AsOne Network Suzuka Community are trying to manifest the true state of organization and ways of management by "the ScienZ"; (see the organizational practices) .
*Community Businesses for happiness;
Suzuka Farm Co.,Ltd., and the Hand-Made Lunch Box producing and delivering company become popular in Suzuka and neighbor cities.
*Inner Economy without exchanging money::
"the Community Space Joy" in which rice, vegetables, fruits come from the farms, cooked meals from the Lunch Box company. Daily goods and alcohol are purchased from outside. Joy's 93 members can take them freely. Books, cars, furniture as well as skills of hair-cutting, repairing etc. are shared. All members, including 70's, can use SNS to link information. Another trial, “One Household” economy of 63 core members and their family with no possession has made their livings free and develop.
3 What is the great accomplishment of your work so far?
The community has been running as an experimental site in the center of Suzuka city since 2001. The community's Lunch Box company sells more than 1000 lunch boxes per day as of 2018. Their way of management, a kind of holacracy, was introduced in public by some medias recently. And Inner Economy both of "Community space Joy" without exchanging money by 93 members and "One Household Economy" without possession by 63 core members and their family has been started in parallel.4 What personal practices have enabled you to break through existing paradigms?
A young member of Suzuka Farm Co.,Ltd expressed his true will, that he wanted to give the best vegetables to the core members who devoted to build the community. He thought, "Humans can never produce rice and vegetable. We need to sell them for profit, but in reality they are growing in Nature. He and some volunteers has created a space "Joy" in 2013.5 What organizational practices have enabled your accomplishments to date?
The farming company had started "Regular Study meeting" with ScienZ Institute since 2010, in which the young farmer found his true hope in his mind, frankly opened it and others joined to study. They clarified the aim, made a plan, and then they started the study meeting with "Community Hub" on how their plan could be suitable to the goal and realized in the community. "Hub" supported them, arranging the place, money and people that can meet the aim with their free will. Hub studied the financial issue for the running. Then all members who would work started studying how the space "Joy" can work in the community.**Background** When the community faced human problems in 2004, some members started investigation on true state of human and society.“ScienZ” method was then innovated: the abbreviation of Scientific Investigation of Essential Nature + Zero. ScienZ Institute was established in 2004 ScienZ School started in 2006, in which people cultivate each mind learning the ScienZ. We have experienced that the personal self-transformation and social one evolve in a parallel way.
6 What is currently keeping your project, initiative or organization from moving to the next level of impact?
We hope to study and learn, especially how to collaborate and express about us for having the strong impact on the existing paradigm. But it is certain that our efforts are limited. It is necessary for us to get objective suggestions on our present conditions, and also the opportunities to meet to diverse fellows for realizing the world-wide collaboration7 To move toward a 4.0 way of operating, what enabling conditions would be needed?
Comprehensive understanding and collaboration through investigation on our actual state is needed from the broad perspective, that is, the whole landscape of the world. We think it is the most profound issue against the new economy for all well-being that present education make humans believe and fix fictions as realities, like Commodity fictions. As the result, there is no way but humans are isolated and disconnected, even though huge destruction of environment, society, economy and humanity have seriously occurred around. Strong fear to the others misleads human to keep conflict.In Japan, Korea and Brazil, by the observation of participants at ScienZ School, we have seen the same problems. Finally we have innovated the ScienZ Method as a way of solutions, to find fictions as fictions, not as facts, by self-observation, based on 18 years experience. However, our effort is too small and weak to manifest the paradigm shift based on true humanity on the globe. It is certain that we need good fellows to have the strong impact around the world.
8 What is the most important thing you have learned personally from your work?
My most important learning is that I really love humans, and that society building is essential for humans' happiness. Learning the ScienZ together, I gradually found my strong fear to others in the bottom of my heart. I could find lots of "should do" way of thinking inside. They were the results from my fear to be judged in my memories, covered with dominant value system of the society. I started listening to me moment to moment; which are humans' fictions? What are objective states? What is the essential nature? I could find my true heart in free and reliable atmosphere of the community. Two years ago, I was elected as a CEO of Global Ecovillage Network Japan officially. I am happy to concentrate on such hard work with no doubt to humanity.9 What are the key questions or opportunities in your field that need to be explored in the next 5-10 years?
The opportunities; we sincerely hope the Presencing Institute will visit us to see our present actual state, and start collaboration.Our field is first to manifest the ideal circumstance like a community for happiness for all existences and then to transform Capitalism gradually in ordinarily city. If such social experiment works well, we will find the key to generalize to other places. We need such strong strategies.
* How can we generalize this small social experiment?
* How can we develop diverse educational ways, freed from fictional realities, and recognize fictions as fictions not realities?
