May 20, 2019
From survival to symbiosis: breaking the standard narrative and mindset
A (living) short course on interdependent practices
Interdependence is a practice where we expose seemingly independent things as interdependent relationships through deeper investigation and analysis.
Stories and narratives shape our lives. There is one particular narrative that has been particularly confusing and damaging to me personally — the idea of competition embedded within the larger narrative of survival of the fittest. I am not against the idea that the fittest survive, but how should we approach being and becoming the fittest: competition or cooperation?
I never resonated with or thrived in competitive environments, although I have had a very strong ‘Jaya first’ attitude from time to time. Over the last decade I have tried to practice interdependence more and more through my choices and decisions. This involved letting go of creating things as a head as in the case of The Story Of, and making space for the individual and the collective to both get in sync. For this, I had to up my facilitation skills, and look at other organization models like Sociocracy for governance and decision making. At a personal level, I learnt some new communication tools like non-violent communication to thrive in my relationship with my partner who is very different from me.
Going from understanding to experiencing to practicing interdependence can lead to far-reaching behavior change. It gives us mindful insight into the impact we have on others and our environment, and acts as a guide to our future decisions. It involves a change in mindset and practice from
Competition → cooperation
Ego mind → Ecomind
Survival → symbiosis
About this Short Course
I was first exposed to the idea of interdependence through Buddhist philosophy/psychology and immediately attached to it. I have graduated in astrophysics, so I could make connections with the explanations provided by science on how we exist (through interactions) with the Buddhist idea (of interdependence). It was enough for me to change my attitude because of the overlap of two universes.
It is in interactions that we draw the world.
Carlo Rovelli, Theoretical Physicist
The more I look, the more I see that I can approach understanding the idea from many perspectives and starting points — ecology, systems biology, systems change, politics, and so forth. In this short-course-article, I share some resources that ‘changed / shaped my mind and beliefs’ as entry points for you, a reader who has been troubled by the idea of how we exist and want to be able to observe and practice interdependence in your daily life.
This is a non-linear journey, so don’t feel compelled to follow an order. You can mix it up depending on your mood and inclinations. Through the journey, I encourage you to stay active and continuously analyse your intentions, thoughts, words, and actions. Take your time — about a year to get through it all. Breathe it in.
Chapter 1: From Eastern Philosophy
A must read, Thich Nhat Hanh, opens our hearts with subtle metaphors and understandings of humans as interbeings that inter-are.
Alan Watts’s voice in ‘Out of your mind’ — twelve essential lectures from his audio archive — just draws you in. It may be worth your while to read a bit about Alan’s life before starting this relationship, sans all the background music added on popular YouTube channels.
My first Buddhist retreat was with Glen Svensson at Tushita Meditation Center in McLeod Ganj, India. Glen’s teaching style emphasizes clarity and the integration of philosophical view, meditation and daily life conduct. This meditation on emptiness of person encourages us to ask, what are we made of?
http://www.glensvensson.org/uploads/7/5/6/1/7561348/ib_6.5_emptiness_of_person.mp3
If you have the time, I would recommend you go for some kind of Introduction to Buddhism retreat or a Vipasanna retreat to get a deep dive.
All the three resources in this section describe Buddhist philosophy. Buddhist philosophy is closely related to Hindu philosophy, and many similarities with Jain philosophies. They all belong in the club of Eastern philosophy. I am born into this club and am biased to it by virtue of immersion. I recently learned about interdependence as a philosophy in the Jewish system as well but am yet to find a good resource to delve deeper. Buddhist literature, in particular, is popular with xennenials like me because it propagates reason. And my education propagates reason. So there is a match. Again, overlaps tend to push us in a particular direction.
Chapter 2: From Science
Entering from physics, this video by David Tong also asks the question, ‘What are we made of’ to reveal how we exist from our current understanding of physics. It is humbling how much we don’t know and still have to discover.
To go deeper into the concepts above, ‘Reality is not what it seems’ gives a historical expose on the journey to quantum gravity. It explains some core principles of quantum theory, like relationality and indeterminacy. When we can see the parts as interdependent, it is easier to see the whole as interdependent as well.
I have always loved watching the birds and the bees and am crazy fascinated by interrelationships between species. Humans are some kind of animal after all, so perhaps the stories in ‘Interdependence of species’ help open our eyes to our own interdependence with other species and work towards restoring balance.
The next book ‘Hidden Life of Trees’ is quite close to my heart as I started it while I was in the lowlands of the European Alps and finished it in the lowlands of the Japanese Alps – the book describes the flora of temperate trees like beech and pine and it was useful to be among them while I read about how they communicate with each other and support each other through a network that spans the forest.
For a more experiential understanding, I recommend a permaculture workshop, like the one by Simrit Malli of Roundstone Farms, or a trip to a spice farm with a good guide to learn about the system can also bring about a similar effect of experiencing interdependence.
Chapter 3: From Systems Change
Ever met someone trying to do good but really making things worse? ‘Systems Thinking for Social Change’ is written for that person. It exposes the interdependencies in solving problems, which are usually wicked and complex.
Apart from the catchy title, ‘Toward Global (Environ)Mental Change’, Sasha Kagan promotes the idea of cultural transformation — ways of knowing, learning, valuing, and acting together. She reveals complex interdependencies in dealing with sustainability and teaches us not to be afraid as fear cripples us from action.
For a more experiential understanding, I recommend trying out some models suggested in ‘Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change’ as emergence is a way to practice interdependence.
Up next
I am also curious to explore interdependence to expand my understanding of the world from the perspectives of Finance, Economics and Politics — stay tuned.
