Tag: GOVERNANCE

  • How did it happen?

    How did it happen?

    People have asked. The world of Waking Up is well and good. But how did humanity actually get there?

    The shift that changed everything.

    People still ask:

    How did the world actually change?

    How did we move from a system of money, ownership, debt, competition, war and scarcity…

    to a world of cooperation, sharing, abundance, and peace?

    The answer isn’t simple.

    But it’s not mysterious either.

    It happened the only way it could:

    peacefully. Voluntarily. Gradually—then suddenly.

    It is important to emphasize that the transition to the new world happened completely voluntary on all levels.

    🌱 The Seeds Were Always There

    Even in the darkest days of exploitation and inequality, people cared.

    Some gave their time. Some gave their voices. A few gave their fortunes.

    Philanthropy wasn’t new.

    For centuries, wealthy individuals had donated to causes—sometimes out of genuine compassion, sometimes for legacy, reputation, or tax benefits. But starting in the early 21st century, a quiet revolution of heart and mind began to stir.

    It didn’t look like a revolution at first.

    There were no tanks in the streets.

    Only a shift in consciousness.

    More and more people began to wake up.

    To see the insanity of endlessly pursuing profit while the planet burned.

    To feel the dissonance of having more than enough while billions struggled to survive.

    To ask: Is this really the best we can do?

    🧠 A Global Awakening

    What followed was more than politics or economics—it was spiritual.

    People everywhere began questioning the foundational assumptions of the system.

    Not with anger. Not with violence. But with clarity.

    Billionaires, too, began to change.

    Not all at once. But the ripple became a wave.

    Figures like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and George Soros—already known for their philanthropy—began to do something different:

    They stopped trying to fix the system.

    They started planting seeds for a new one.

    They funded open-source education. Renewable cities. Regenerative agriculture.

    They began conversations, supported experiments, and—perhaps most importantly—stepped aside when others brought better ideas.

    They didn’t build the new world.

    But they helped fund its birth.

    Even those who weren’t ready to divest during their lifetime began to shift perspective.

    People like Elon Musk, known for pushing the boundaries of technology and ambition, also pledged to give away the majority of their wealth—after their passing.

    At first, it seemed like a safety valve, a way to give without letting go.

    But even that was a step. A public recognition that the accumulation of vast wealth could—and should—serve something larger than the self.

    Many of these posthumous pledges became part of the COL seed funds, as their estates were redirected—not to private heirs or trusts—but to humanity’s shared inheritance.

    Paradoxically enough the new moneyless world was created with money. 

    🌍 Enter the Cities of Light

    The real turning point came when those ideas were brought together.

    Not just scattered projects and good intentions—but an integrated vision.

    The first Cities of Light were born as living prototypes—places where people could experience a life beyond money.

    They weren’t cults or communes.

    They were open-source civilizations.

    Testbeds for what could be.

    And yes, they were funded—at first—by people who had once benefited from the old world.

    People like Amo Michaels(Benjamin Michaels’ daughter)—once a billionaire, now a legend.

    She didn’t just donate.

    She divested. Buy She not only released her assets into the commons. She also actively helped plan and build the first cities. 

    She helped design the first COL as a gift to humanity, not a monument to herself.

    She wasn’t alone.

    💫 The Power of Voluntary Transition

    That’s the key to it all.

    There was no war. No forced redistribution. No bloody revolution.

    It was a voluntary transition.

    One led by the willing, not the coerced.

    Because as the COLs proved what was possible—self-sustaining systems, meaningful work, joyful community—people stopped clinging to the old way.

    Even those who had power in the old world realized they were trapped by it too.

    They weren’t losing control.

    They were finally letting go.

    And what came instead…

    was something no one had expected:

    freedom.

    📖 So… How Did It Happen?

    Like this:

    • People woke up.

    • Some of them had influence.

    • They used it differently.

    • Others followed.

    • A new path became visible.

    • And when people saw it, they chose it.

    That’s how it happened.

    Not overnight. But inevitably.

    Not with conquest. But with compassion.

    Not with force. But with faith.

    Not because someone made it happen.

    But because enough people said:

    “Let’s do this differently.”

    And they did.

    Would you like to read the story of a man who wakes up in this future and goes through trials and tribulations? If so, you can order the book HERE.

  • Who Decides? Exploring Governance in a Post-Capitalist Future

    Who Decides? Exploring Governance in a Post-Capitalist Future

    From monarchs to ministers, tyrants to technocrats — every system humanity has tried has eventually run aground. Why? Because they were all built on the same foundation: the human ego.

    No matter how noble the structure, egoic consciousness — rooted in fear, separation, and the hunger for control — has repeatedly turned governance into domination. Democracies become corporate. Revolutions become regimes. Even well-meaning leaders fall into power struggles, corruption, or burnout.

    As long as the ego remains the operating system, the structure is secondary. The real revolution must be internal.

    That’s why in Waking Up, the transformation of society begins not with policy — but with a global awakening from the ego. Only when the majority of people have remembered their shared essence, their interconnection, and the joy of giving and sharing rather than grasping, can new models of coordination and care truly take root.

    So the question becomes:

    After the awakening… what kind of decision-making and collaboration arises?

    In a post-capitalist, post-egoic world, governance is no longer about control. It becomes about coordination, stewardship, and transparent collaboration. Let us explore six evolving models and frameworks that point the way.

    💜 1. Collaborative Councils: Miki Kashtan’s Nested Model

    Miki Kashtan, co-founder of BayNVC and author of Reweaving Our Human Fabric, proposes a deeply human form of governance rooted in Nonviolent Communication. Her model centers around Convergent Facilitation and a nested structure of local-to-global councils:

    • Local communities make context-based decisions.
    • Representatives, accountable to their communities, participate in broader coordination.
    • Power is exercised with care, through inclusion, feedback, and shared purpose.

    This model avoids both top-down authority and the paralysis of consensus by using skilled facilitation to uncover shared needs and create agreements that work for all.

    Key Insight: Empathy and clarity can replace coercion and confusion.

    🧪 2. AI-Assisted and Sortition-Based Systems

    Emerging digital democracies experiment with a blend of:

    • AI decision support: analyzing complex data and modeling outcomes
    • Sortition: random selection of citizens to serve in rotating assemblies
    • Liquid democracy: delegating voting power flexibly to trusted participants

    These systems aim to reduce bias, increase representation, and create fluid, adaptive decision-making models that can scale globally while remaining locally rooted.

    Key Insight: Technology can serve human values when it amplifies fairness, not control.

    ♻️ 3. Consensus-Based Governance

    Consensus is a timeless model used in indigenous communities, intentional groups, and spiritual traditions. It emphasizes shared understanding and alignment over majority rule:

    • Everyone’s voice matters
    • Proposals evolve through discussion
    • Outcomes seek full consent or at least deep acceptance

    While sometimes slow, consensus fosters trust, accountability, and a culture of listening. When combined with facilitation (as in Miki Kashtan’s model), it becomes more effective and scalable.

    Key Insight: Collective wisdom often emerges through dialogue, not votes.

    🌍 4. The Venus Project: Decisions by Design

    Jacque Fresco’s Venus Project envisions a world where governance is replaced by systems-based planning:

    • Decisions about infrastructure and resource use are made through scientific reasoning, not politics. Decisions are arrived at based on what is the most logical and rational solution
    • Cities are designed circularly for maximum efficiency and sustainability
    • Technology handles logistics; humans pursue learning, art, and connection

    While sometimes critiqued as technocratic, this model removes ego and profit motives from decision-making entirely.

    Key Insight: Science, when applied ethically, can guide resource stewardship more wisely than ideology.

    🌿 5. The Natural Exchange System (NES): A System — and a Mindset

    The Natural Exchange System (NES), from Waking Up, isn’t governance in the usual sense. It’s not about administering rules. It’s a shift in consciousness:

    “As long as the resources exist, are used sustainably, and no one is exploited, why shouldn’t everyone have what they want and need?” — Aweena

    NES removes the need for trade, ownership, or barter. People contribute because they want to, not because they must. Needs are visible, and flows of goods happen organically. With this system and mindset, governance and management is barely necessary because fear, hoarding, and inequality have vanished.

    Key Insight: When we release the need to exchange, we free ourselves from the need to control.

    🔄 6. After the Awakening: What Remains?

    When the ego no longer drives our behavior, governance dissolves into guidance. Power hierarchies are replaced by transparent coordination, local empowerment, and global empathy.

    In this world:

    • Councils convene as needed, not forever
    • AI serves human values, not market logic
    • Consensus reflects our interdependence
    • Science supports life, not profit
    • NES becomes the soil from which all collaboration can grow

    We stop asking who should rule — and start asking how we can serve.

    Conclusion: From Rulers to Stewards

    Humanity’s past was built on fear, defended by ego, and maintained through systems of control. But our future can be different. If we awaken to our shared being, then governance is no longer about who gets to decide.

    It becomes about how we live together.

    The best governance may not be a system at all. It may be the result of shared values, open hearts, and a collective remembrance of what it means to be human.

    If this vision speaks to you, discover more in the book that started it all.

    👉 Get your copy of Waking Up: A Journey Towards a New Dawn for Humanity  HERE.