The Systems We Live In

Questions

Aniqa - What is a system?

Majeed - Since it is my first time, oul you give us a little introduction of how this [Conscious Conversations] system works?

Brian - How do you empower yourself within the systems we’re in?

Abi - How do we know when a system will best be improved through incremental reform, vs. when we need a complete overhaul in favor of something new?

Romy - What are the systems we best drive in and are bright, right for a conscious life?

First Question: What is a system?

Brian - societal system -social, poitical, etc. that affect us all. interpersonal - family, environment the ones we live in. microsystems are affected by societal.

Aniqa - repeating patterns = systems. automation. self-sufficientcy, continuous, loops. automation could mean tech but not always. water cycles is another example of a system.

Majeed - A system is often a combination of more than one thing ( ideas or believe or physical entities) working in a coordinated Way.

Romy - how are these systems defined? definition of system - A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is expressed in its functioning.

Romy - We are all interconnected. Different perceptions of these systems. Life is driven by systems. Some are not good for the planet/against life. Find out what systems that support my being/living a conscious life. Lots of systems are crushing down. Might be overwhelming/problematic. The systems we design have to align with our human-ness

Aniqa - natural vs human systems. Systems so large - living in human systems that were created centuries ago. As individuals, these systems have not kept up bc evolution is not built the same as natural systems

Majeed - The evolution of individualism, destroyed the system system. I mean everyone has it's own system and the collective systems( cultural, religious, Political etc) are deteriorating.

Brian - lots of environmental systems. To Romy's point - facing climate change issues. natural systems in place and have been for a long time vs. the societal systems created by humans. This impact is something we are just seeing now. Humans miss the level of importance of natural systems.

Aniqa - we as humans are natural systems but sometimes we identify more with a robot than a monkey. lost connection with nature. "productive" beings - machines are productive. As a natural system is interesting

Romy - people have to adjust to the rhythm of the system. Human built systems were designed to help humans. We are slowly figuring out how natural systems - cells, molecules - we are not the bright light. We are ignorant of these natural systems sometimes.

Majeed - The system created by humans for human while the natural system completely ignored, total artificiality of man.

Question Two: How do you empower yourself within the systems we’re in?

Brian - societal system, especially USA, we feel the impact of society in a large way. Our own identities in these systems are our own. We cannot rely on societal systems that are vast. We can only depend on ourselves and our family. How can we build up these systems we do have control (family, relationships, friendships)? Take account for microsystems

Aniqa - when is it a perception of a system and when is it the system itself? Often a mindset, separate from the reality of the system. Brings empowerment back to us. See it differently, shift perception for ourselves. A layer to connect the two

Gemma - nature and other systems can be fundamental to the interlockings of other systems. Be aware of patterns and recognize it to develop an interconnected system. When we become aware of things, we can start to learn and impact our influence - a ripple effect

Aniqa - layers of systems - individual -> relationships -> workplace -> society/government - these are all embedded, then embedded into the natural world. Static to the individual. Interest in political - workplaces are still structural like the military as a default. closest, effective communities as empowered, co-creation. to have workplaces not like that and government expecting that, it does not get actualized. individuals feel that they do not have individual power

Romy - bringing mindfulness and connection to business - no domination - people are slowly changing this way. money is the center of the universe. life and love - center of universe and everything else evolves around it

Romy - when we understand how to interact/connect with nature, we can see it in another way. It makes an impact to go with the natural systems and how to feel how natural they are. Fulfilling to hear the sounds of nature, enjoy the flowers, the sun. Just beautiful

Majeed - If I was able to develop a scientific device that would be a device a capable to catch the fragrance, all other still there.

Aniqa - looking inwards. we are externally focused (money). this is a way to empower ourselves when we recognize that the matrix is literal - sources of energy was the humans. we are the source of power; it originates from within us. how can we experience and mentor each other to see the light?

Romy - every culture has done so much to expose us to these ideas. it will help us understand how we need to treat our bodies and nurture ourselves in different ways. create a society that is inclusive. everybody is a part of the puzzle. by doing and creating with one another - that's how we will do it

Aniqa - information vs knowledge. lots of rich knowledge in pockets of the world. we have lost the knowledge of people who live close to the land and who could help us create a systems that are closer to the natural systems. lost in translation

Romy - information -> knowledge -> wisdom. when we reconnect with our true selves and nature, then we can trust our intuition and adapt. get more in touch with nature

Brian - Majeed's points. systems have become less as we have become more individualized. lots of strength in the religious in the eastern world. individualism more in the western world. goes to show the importance of this conversation - idea of systems in place and how they interject with our lives.

Majeed - Thanks for the kind words.

Aniqa - social pressures snuff out the individualism. fitting in makes it harder to stand out as an individual. future possibility as individuals truly self-actualize and find their consciously chosen collectives/communities vs. what they were born into (older collectivism). Maybe too much individualism at this time

Romy - looking within to find passions and the fire that makes us tick, our happiness - somewhere we might go to assist the planet. live our lives as the best version of ourselves. it is a lifelong journey.

Majeed - We are under the control of an idea, that inspire war and conflict not Peace and mutual interconnectivity. The survival of the fittest

Quotes

“You cannot be independent if you are not interdependent.” - Dr. Enric Bernal

“We don’t rise to the level of your goals but fall to the level of our systems.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits

Note: This discussion on The Systems we Live In was done a bit differently. Discussion participants were asked to pose their own individual question to the group. The list of questions were thought of by each participant in the group. We started with the first mentioned question and followed down the list as far as we could get.

Discussion was copied as best as possible word-for-word from the participants. Capturing what each person had to contribute to the group was tough but it definitely helped capture the essence of what was being said by the group. Read to follow along with the dialog.