Dear Andy,

Great to hear that you're finding my keynote draft of interest! I enjoyed
your artist's statement too, and have kept a copy.

You might have noticed the title 'sustainability of the fitting', which
might have contrasted a little with your sense, mentioned in an earlier
message, that 'sustainability' had the sound of 'self-preservation'.

In fact, in an inclusional sense, evolutionary and ecological 'sustainable
development' involves 'co-creative attunement with context' and so is a
dynamic process that also happens to incorporate 'individual self death as
vital to life'. This contrasts with 'survival', which entails 'going into
one's shell' - and hence might be referred to as 'survival of the sleepiest'
(not the paradoxical 'survival of the most profligate' as per Darwinism).
All this becomes obvious when we view ourselves and our world through
Nature's lens instead of our own objective lenses (cf attached description
of an educational outreach project I am hoping to initiate soon - comments
welcome from anyone) - when we learn FROM biology, not just ABOUT biology.
Unfortunately, most of those who talk politically about 'sustainable
development' have, IMHO, no idea of what this means from a natural
perspective.

Like you, I do not work from a position of unshakeable religious faith or
missionary zeal, and live and work with great uncertainty and self-doubt.
However, based on 'natural inclusionality' and 'transfigurality', I find no
difficulty with thinking in terms of a 'three-in-one-in-everywhere'
qua-ternary dynamics and co-creative divinity of Nature'. I do not feel
obliged to isolate science or reason from a sense of the sacred. Moreover,
it makes my heart bleed to witness all the psychological, social and
evironmental distress, conflict and damage that arises from the intransigent
inability to see imaginatively through the energetic surface of local
appearances to the continuity of the limitless pool of space everywhere. And
it drives me close to despair when such intransigence is continually being
celebrated and taught as good objective 'Reason', divorced from subjective
'Feeling'. Such Reason is 'Abstract', not 'Natural', and it doesn't blow
anyone any good in the long run.

What a great educational influence it would be to help people slip the leash
of intransigent reason!

Warmest

Alan





----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Henon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 3:31 PM
Subject: Re: Educational influences


Dear Joan W

Great to hear the responses you are receiving about the proposed Centre
developments in Liverpool. I think it is very heartening that you have the
support and very exciting.

I am reading Alan Rayners ALARA key note draft from the actionresearch.net
site and find a few things of great interest. Alan identifies very clearly a
number of different ways of thinking and world views/experiences, primarily
but
not exclusively in the field of scientific inquiry and articulates very well
the
shortfalls and issues related to them. Alan identifies what has brought us
to
where we are very well indeed and the developments of 'Inclusionality' I
think
are very important.

I think that beliefs and faiths provide a rich source of core values however
I
have not yet found a religious belief that I can wholeheartedly sign up to,
even when a set seems to be just right there seems always to be a hidden
agenda or hypocrisy.

I have possibly created my own set of values taking the best from each
faith/belief and merging them into an eclectic group suitable for my own
receptive and responsive relationship to them and I realise that the ‘living
contradiction’ can still creep up on me unawares, living educational theory
may
not be without hypocrisy but at least it becomes clearly and quickly visible
and
revealed in the process. I do have some sympathies with a lot of the
religious
beleif systems but "I do not know"?

I have not alluded to any religious belief systems or control mechanisms "I
do
not know?" is my bottom line and I live with this uncertainty. I am neither
fully
agnostic nor atheist nor am I perhaps completely humanist. As I live with
the
unknown and the uncertain. As I write, reflect on, adjust and review my
'core
values and principles' by which I live my life. In the post, post modern
sense I
look at the unique, specific and individual relating these to the general,
common and shared in a ‘dynamic relational flow’ (Rayner) but
'Inclusionality' is
not my religion neither is 'Socially Engaged Arts'

In your PowerPoint you clearly set out a number of core values and
principles
by which the research and centre can develop and grow.

You can then accommodate all different beliefs within the growing group and
centre provided that people agree, confirm and affirm to the core values and
principles you state and develop with others. One of these core values is
that
each individual also account for the living of their own core values and
principles.

One of the key things about living educational theory for me is it is not
founded on the change of others as a driving motivation, although many
practitioners are engaged with enabling processes of change for others. It
is
founded on self change, awareness, learning, education and development.
When this form of enquiry has grown to the capacity where ministers are also
engaged in the same process, the step and sea change will have occurred.

It may however be the case that when this form of inquiry grows to so many
self empowered, highly aware, receptive and responsive people making up
society we may not need the adversarial system on which ministries operate
and mass decisions are taken. Society will have been transformed beyond
recognition with each individual accounting for and being held to account
and
responsible for the life lived in so far as it is possible to do so.

For now I am happy to be immensely challenged on issues of my own
ministerial responsibilities in the ministry of Andrew Henon’s Socially
Engaged
Participation in the world and thinking about what is of real value to me
and
what is the real value I have to offer in the world.

Your words Joan: “I obviously filled out somewhat on what is included in the
pp - but basically I was giving a strong rationale as to why we should
prioritise
research that 'improves the world, does not just explain and interpret it' -
and
gave a rationale as to why we should (which included points which resonate
with aspects of what you write in your 'context', Andy).”

I think my work as an artist is definitely not about just explaining and
interpreting the world but is about how we can improve it. I think at some
point I will have to write a kind of biographical account that shows how my
thinking has moved through different ideas and from where the inspirational
sources derive. So much of what I have done over the years has developed to
the intuitive levels, informed by action, doing, reflection, adjustment,
action,
doing, reflection……….and on. It may be when people see the history they
could relate to the different influences and changes along the way.

Really good to read about and be included in your developments at Liverpool,
looking forward to much more.

Love Andy