Syntony - being in tune with oneself, with others, with nature, with the flows of being and becoming

We have to come to a new stage  in the evolution of consciousness which is marked by conscious evolution.Today, we stand on the threshold of this stage. We have the choice consciously to participate in the co-creation of the future. It is all a matter of tuning our sense ability to perceive it, accepting our response ability to engage in it, and demonstrating the willpower to embody and enact it. With integrity of heart, mind and spirit, we can learn to create the conditions for the emergence of sustainable evolutionary futures.

 

Daniel Pinchbeck and others suggest that consciousness does not arise in the slow course of evolutionary development out of the seemingly lifeless and inanimate play of matter and energy (Cf. Pinchbeck, 2006, p. 287). In fact, it seems almost unreasonable to think that at a certain point in the process of diversification, integration and coordination of ever increasing complexity, animate matter becomes self-aware and, presto, consciousness emerges as a novel feature in the universe. What if, instead, consciousness were primary and
served as the substrate upon which the interplay of matter and energy were catalyzed? If our universe is composed of an underlying field of consciousness this would mean that dynamic structures of matter and energy arise out of this field rather than the other way around (Laszlo, E., 2004).

It is our challenge to learn to consciously tune into the general evolutionary forces that shape us as we shape them. As a system that incorporates purposeful change agents with conscious intent, society manifests the potential for self-directed conscious evolution.

Designing Evolutionary Systems involves a form of sustainability that changes the homo-centric and chrono-centric paradigms of Business As Usual (Laszlo, A., 2003). It goes beyond the search for “green tech” solutions in specific areas of market opportunity – an orientation that only shifts the paradigm marginally to
become Sustainability As Usual. Sustainability requires sense abilities and response abilities that are anything but usual in our contemporary world. True sustainability means evolutionary development and is, in essence, an inside job. The search for solutions to the challenges faced in common by all people will not be successful if limited to an outward quest for answers in the domains of science and technology alone – we also need to include the human factor as the essential ingredient in every consideration.

Syntony is a creative aligning and tuning with the evolutionary processes of which we are a part. It is the integration of evolutionary aesthetics (Wahrnehmung), ethics, consciousness and willpower.

Presence and practice of the following principles fosters the emergent processes of syntony:

• Passion — vibrant, intense, and compelling enthusiasm
• Integrity — dignity and congruency with your values; worthiness, honor and respect
• Balance — spin control and flow control in (not of) all situations
• Grace — simple elegance, presence, kindness and a composed way of being
• Flow — tuning actions and attitudes to harmonize with surroundings

Almost as a byproduct of this quality of being, the conditions that nurture sustainable communities are fostered. Once we begin to remember how to tune into our continually emerging world, we start to move from merely being peripherally aware of it to becoming fully conscious participants in its selfactualization.

The syntony of evolutionary development means to be so attuned to the dynamics of change that every thought and action contributes to the emergence of life affirming, future creating, opportunity increasing relationships – consciously, purposefully, and yet effortlessly, naturally. This is the promise of the next stage of our species – that of conscious evolution.

The fostering of an emergent evolutionary ethic can only be accomplished in relationship – with oneself, with others, with nature, and with the potential inherent in the bridge we represent between what has been in the past and what is yet to be in the future.

• At the first level – syntony with oneself; personal or internal syntony – the practices involve centering, quieting the monkey-mind, listening with every cell of our being. These practices cultivate intuition, compassion, insight that matches outsight, and a willingness to explore and follow our deepest calling. 
• At the second level – syntony with others; community or interpersonal syntony – the practice involves deep dialogue and collaboration. Coming together to learn with and from each other and to engage in collective action with empathy, considerateness, openness, and joy.
• At the third level – syntony with nature; ecosystemic or transpersonal syntony – the practices involve communing; listening to the messages of all beings (whether they be waterfalls, animals, mountains or galaxies) and acknowledging our interdependence and ultimate unity (oneness).
• At the fourth level – syntony with the flows of being and becoming; evolutionary or integral syntony – the practices involve learning to read the patterns of change of which we are a part; learning to hear the rhythms of life and becoming familiar with the improvisational jam session that nature has been playing since time immemorial. These practices cultivate our ability to play our own piece; to sing and dance our own path into existence in harmony with the grand patterns of cosmic creation.

Integral responses to the complexity of contemporary global and local challenges – personal, organizational, planetary – require an expanded perspective: a way of recognizing interconnections, of perceiving wholes and parts, of acknowledging processes and structures, of blending apparent opposites. But most important, they require collaboration. Individual solutions and breakthrough ideas are necessary but not sufficient. Real opportunity to affect change arises from the systemic synergies that we create together.

We are prepared for this moment in history because we have the cognitive and emotional capacity to embark on this quest for syntony. The real question is whether or not we have the will, the vision, and the conviction to do so.


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Inspiration and extracts taken from...

Alexander Laszlo and Kathia C. Laszlo:
SYNTONY AND FLOW: THE ARTSCIENCE OF EVOLUTIONARY AESTHETICS
http://www.syntonyquest.org/publications/syntony/