An Introduction to AWM: How Stuff Happens - Part 1
Why a new model of how the universe works?
Well, if we want to be more successful we may need a new way of looking at things, a way that corrects our misunderstandings and give us a stronger basis from which to choose—and choosing every moment is everything. The Arising World Model (AWM) also gives us a firm foundation for understanding our creative practices—what will work for us and what will never work.
The reality is that the world is just what it is regardless of whether we understand it or whether we have a good working model for our engagement. But if we can improve our understanding, we also change what we are doing which is the key step in evolving our own creative potential.
So, What Don’t We Know That We Need To Know?
There are several key reasons why a new way of thinking may be useful to correct misunderstandings that are pervasive in our current worldview.
More Than Action Matters
First, most of us barely have a clear model of how the physical world works. So we do not have a complete or practical model that includes how our thoughts, intentions, and beliefs affect the world and each other. And it turns out, whether you believe you thoughts do or do not affect the world, you will be more effective if you work within a model that guides your choices of what you do and what you think and believe. We will be more successful if we believe that our thoughts are effectively actions and that we can and need to choose them explicitly. It is not logical to separate the body and its ability to act from the mind and its ability to think, for they are both simply facets of you and your potential coming into being in every moment.
In fact, the universe is one whole and we are all, bodies and minds, arising together (no matter how convincingly it seems as if we are a lot of separate bodies and minds). So a model that helps us work within these seeming dichotomies in a practical way allows us to engage more effectively.
It turns out that when we consider the results, what happens next, we need to think of the world as a vast continuous whole. But when we consider our choices and our actions, we need to remember that we hold some individual responsibility for what happens next in that whole.
We Are Not In Control, But Are Critical to What Happens Next
Second, most of us need a new model because we think that the world is just happening to us, that we are victims of everything and everyone else. In thinking this, we also believe that what we do or think doesn’t matter much in the big scheme of things. What this model helps us to visualize is that nothing just happens to us and that we are responsible for everything we do, everything we think, and everything we believe. And that our actions make a difference in what we experience in our lives and what everyone else experiences in their life.
We need to get over the belief that we can be ambiguous, half-hearted, or incongruous about our actions, thoughts, and beliefs. We need to become whole-hearted about everything we do if we want to leverage the true power of our creative ability. And this power will come from two aspects of the human experience: the state of our awareness and the nature of our actions.
Skillful Means – With Awareness of the Implications, Do the Right Thing
This explanation of the world is focused on the nature of actions and, by expanding the definition of right action, the state of awareness of the actor. To develop skillful means is to evolve our ability to know what the right choice is and to execute the optimal action. AWM is ultimately practical in that it shows us how to make the best choices and to execute effective maneuvers. But optimally, it requires that we have a comprehensive worldview from which to make the choices, so that we understand the true implications.
