Living Agreements:

I am, and have been, contemplating how we, or any group of humans for that matter, can thrive with (or without) agreements.  And this begins with understanding what we mean by agreement(s).  I would like to improve this understanding and bring clarity before saying yes any more to any agreement in any form.

Do we define agreements this way?:

Verb:  a negotiated and typically legally binding arrangement between parties as to a course of action. (Oxford Languages)

Noun:  harmony or accordance in opinion or feeling; a position or result of agreeing. (Oxford Languages)

These definitions descend from Latin, which (as I see it) is problematic given the words root.  How is language limiting?  Can we expand beyond this belief and its patriarchal inheritance?  Words hold power (or force) so using them potently matters.

Then there are the legal implications to consider (Cornell Law School, 2023):

“An agreement is a manifestation of mutual assent by two or more persons to one another.  It is a meeting of the minds in a common intention, and is made through offer and acceptance. An agreement can be shown from words, conduct, and in some cases, even silence.

Agreements are often associated with contracts; however, "agreement" generally has a wider meaning than "contract," "bargain," or "promise. " A contract is a form of an agreement that requires additional elements, such as consideration.

Jurisdictions differ on their use of "agreement" in denoting a legally enforceable contract."

When taking a deeper dive I am also invited to consider alternatives from our ancestors and living relatives.

How might nature, over billions of years define agreements?  As we gather to co-design a new story, how might the way of nature (including humans) inform our treatise/agreements?  Are their sacred contracts/agreements that have lived for billions of years that can inform us?

From my lived experience I am only familiar with two sets of “agreements” that have thrived and resemble a deeper understanding of living principles, Wisdom Keepers Sacred Circle and Biomimicry Life's Principles(LPs).

WISDOM KEEPERS:  The first is the Sacred Circle, or Hoop.  Colonists coined the term “Medicine Wheel”, so I am intentionally avoiding this label.

Our indigenous ancestors, and living relatives, gather in circle around fire, or any light (understanding that all flames share the same source).  Breaking this circle has consequences that vary.  This circle “agreement” is quite purposeful as a way of orienting inward, acknowledging intra and inter connectedness, cultivating collective reverence and resonance while healing, learning or celebrating (and more…).  Quantum potential in this context has space to expand, express and emerge, often exponentially.

The fire is also used to bring forth what is needed and to burn off what is serving less than well.  All resonances (human and nonhuman sound/light signatures) are participating, contributing, adding to the circle without harming.  The agreements are symbolic and embody deep meaning related to cardinal directions, elements, natural guides (archetype of that direction), seasonality, cycles and intra & inter connectedness across space/time (past + present + future) and more…

When these sacred circle agreements are missing from intellectual gatherings, I often witness a sense of “lack” or “limited amount” of capacity and wholeness.  In these instances it is easy to feel drained or heavy and the discussions can be dense and hyper mind focused.

Even circles that are heart centered can ignore the burning off or transmutation practice and it shows.  When this happens there can be a subtle or greater sense of feeling unsafe or unhealthy the more I understand how resonance, particularly sound travels.

In essence, energy must be transmuted or composted with positive intent and reverence or it keeps blocking emergent flows.  The field of cymatics, and others like bio field science, are revealing these ideas/challenges in practice, illuminating the practice of our indigenous ancestors, and what I am basing my reflections here upon.

Related sources & links for those interested:

Evan Grant:  Making Sound Visible Through Cymatics

Shamini Jain (Biofield Scientist):  Health and Interconnection (I will add that I have also learned from Cymatics scientist John Stuart Reid, that in all actuality the word “wave” is an inaccurate term to describe what sound is given that sound expression is actually a bubble, continuously flowing.

LIFE’S PRINCIPLES:  The second set of agreements I am familiar with is known as LIfe’s Principles (LPs).  This set of principles is based on deep design patterns all organisms “agree to” and have done so for billions of years.  These LPs are what sustains life in all ecosystems everywhere.  So imagine the possibilities when making decisions informed by these living patterns. 

In the practice of biomimicry, when we deviate from “how nature does things”  we are considered to be “doing business as usual”.  The built environment is an example of how deviating from these principles causes harm.

Here is a lens of these LPs that includes operating conditions (outermost ring), primary LPs (middle ring) and sub principles (inner ring) : LIfe’s Principles

As a practitioner of deep biomimicry I would also add that it is easy to revert to what is often called “human cleverness”.  We are culturally predisposed to jumping into R&D (research and development) mode as if we need to reinvent something.  

Can our personal and professional agreements represent all life?  Can these agreements be potent enough to sustain an optimal resonance among us?  Are these agreements capable of being an optimal model for all stakeholders?  Is it possible to create agreements that have longterm living benefits?

Contemplatively,

Jas