Introduction to the Practice (2 of N)
A Few Basics
These concepts are core to the practice of Updrafting.
Actions Create
We are all creating all the time with our every action and thought, though we do not often realize the effect we are having on the world. (When you have a grumpy day, it matters*.)
To cause the state of the world to change into something we desire, we must understand what is already happening, and we must act in accord with our desire. We must understand that all our action is generating potential which will, at some point, evolve into being as the world. What we do in any present moment is our investment in a change of state of things in our future, and it is this evolutionary process which we must learn to leverage through our actions. In this practice we considered everything an action: what you do, what you say, what you think, what you feel, and your ideas. Though they all don’t have the same power, they are all important to the end result.
It is an Visible Process or an Invisible Movement
The practice of updrafting manifests in different ways depending on the creative team (individual, groups) and their skill.
- It might be a momentary impulse, a seamless artistic expression (as in acting or dancing), or an organizational development lifecycle.
- It might be implicitly or explicitly practiced; that is, one might “flow” with the process without attention to the shifts in awareness, or one might have a structured step-by-step approach.
The Indirect Effect of Action and our Lack of Control
One thing we need to come to understand is simply this: while everything we think and do contributes to the possibilities and potentials of the future, it is also true that we are not in control the way we might have thought. The dance we do with life is a little more intriguing and indirect than a command-and-control scenario. It’s not necessarily less potent, but it is different; and when we live as if we have control, but don’t, we are not as effective as we could be. We also find ourselves frustrated because, in fact, we are then working in a world that we don’t understand and cannot predict. (And, of course, we cannot control it, because we never had control in the first place.)
So the world arises from the potential generated by all creative actions across time, and our part is to act to generate potential for the future. The potential, as part of the state of the universe, is the structure that holds the energetic information that will or can arise in the future becoming the actual world. This structure is as complex and deep as the universe itself. What happens in the future represents the potential from all of the creative acts that the universe has experienced.
The Ocean
The ocean is a beautiful example. Billions of actions happen within the solar system that cause waves to be generated: the earth quakes, the moon circles, wind blows, whales swim, clams open, sand shifts. All of these cause waves and ripples to flow into the moving structure we call the ocean. And each of these movements generates potential for a change in the state of the ocean having large or small effects. But the actuality emerging in any moment is the result of all of those movements as they arise together. Which wave hits the shore is a complex emergent behavior of the entire being of the ocean.
Our relationship to the future world is similar to sending a wave out into the ocean along with a few billion other waves.
* “It matters.” This turns out to be a very interesting phrase. It seems to mean: “It makes a difference to the results.” Another way to say it is that it results in the material world or it manifests as matter. In this practice we will assume that everything (including your thoughts and ideas) “matter”, that is, they affect the manifestation of your future.
