What is the New Paradigm?
So, what is the “New Paradigm”? Well, besides being the name of the book editing business I’ve been running for 26+ years, the New Paradigm is a new way of looking at things, and a new way of living and being. Perception gives rise to choice, so as you see things newly, so can you make new choices, take new actions. Life goes in a different direction!
This “new way” is distinct from and not necessarily “better than” (comparing is “old” paradigm, but we do go there …) what we’ll call the Old Paradigm, so labeled for the purpose of distinguishing (not comparing) the two.
So the Old Paradigm (OP) consists of perceptions that I’ll express as “principles.” Pardon the abstraction here—I will get into the more “practical living aspects,” but just so we’re all on the same page, OP is reductionist (look at the smallest part to understand the whole), dualistic (subject/object), causative (one thing causes another), exclusively rational, coincidental, etc. In short, the OP is what we got from living in the Newtonian understanding of the physical universe and just doesn’t fit with the newer science of quantum mechanics, so we need a view of life more fitting with what we are learning today about the physical universe. So, in brevity, New Paradigm (NP) principles distinguish the NP as holistic (see the whole to understand the parts), interdependent, co-arising, inclusive of emotion, synchronistic, etc.
Enough theory! You’ll really get it from learning how the NP shows up in living your regular, everyday life. At least that’s what I’m doing, so I invite you into my world in this new blog, a kind of Bulletins From Life on The New Paradigm Frontier.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing my personal experiences of discovering daily how to live in the NP. What does it look like, feel like, and how does one maneuver in the newly perceived territory? And I invite you to take what I say into your own world—does anything change? Is anything new?
Okay, so here’s the first “bulletin”:
In the past few days, I’ve been “watching” (observing) as things (instances) occur alongside each other, and how that occurrence affects me. Do I see one causing another? No. in the NP view, they are associated in a different kind of relationship, one of mutual dependence but not causative, one related to the other in what Jung called “synchronicity.” (Boy, was he ahead of his time!).
Yes, New Age references come to mind, but I don’t refer to that often misunderstood meaning of synchronicity, where wild and often convenient outcomes are assigned. Rather, I ponder the incidences that have occurred, and then ask: How can this coming together of things move me forward? What is the new possibility here? In other words, I’m at choice in my experience of these events—using them to further my particular world view rather than a perceived need or lack.
Here’s an example: Friend and I are saying goodbye outside of our café meet up. She sees her car’s parking meter is no longer working, but happily no ticket. I get a call from my bank saying a dispute has been resolved in my favor. Two seemingly related (money) occurrences, but not in any way causative or merely coincidental. As I notice this coming together of events, a “mantra” pops into my head: Money flows, enjoy the ride! I affirm this “message” fully, and off I go to a now smoother meeting at my bank about other matters, many that would be otherwise thorny/difficult.
So in the NP, “coincidences” can have meaning, but it’s not some kind of magical meaning that then you must follow (or wonder about). In the NP, occurrences that are related in time and then observed (awareness is key!), are more like signals that something is available, something that may have been overlooked. Something new that is possible. What that is can only be listened for, expected, never manufactured intentionally, or “made.”
Did my friend’s mention of her parking meter and the call I got from my bank happening close in time “mean” anything? Not really. Rather, I received something new from those occurrences. And I went forward from that new perspective (money flows), and well, money did flow. A disputed charge was removed, I was able to adjust and clarify several of my accounts, and I left feeling more on top of my finances with resolve to straighten out further kinks that had been in place for years.
So who “created” that occurrence of money flowing? Not “me.” Oh, and that’s another tenet of NP living: You are not the “doer.” How you can live from “being” more and less from “doing” is the subject of a future Bulletin!
Possible future topics for this blog:
1. Language and word use in the New Paradigm writing/speaking
2. Link to my interview with Alan and Sun’s Dr. Future podcast.
3. More on the expansion as distinct from a reductionistic view. How books write themselves!
