Chaos, Post-tragic Consciousness and New Narratives

"We're in a major world-historical moment of transformation, in which the old world is passing away, and the new world hasn't emerged yet." — Zak Stein

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I found myself grappling with an unprecedented level of chaos. The erosion of normalcy was abrupt, and the clash between what my intuition whispered and the narratives from various sources created a disconcerting cognitive dissonance.

In the midst of this turmoil, I became obsessed with Systems Thinking.

The need to understand the interconnectedness of various elements, the systemic nature of the challenges we faced, became increasingly important for my inner integrity, for I felt the need for language to express myself about the conflicting realities that I was navigating.

Systems Thinking offered a framework that transcended the limitations of linear thinking, inviting me to explore the relationships and interdependencies that shaped the unfolding global situation and offered a level of transcendence that allowed me to drop my inadequate lens to one more expansive and comprehensive.

Now, as that chapter came to an end, the teachings remained and I ventured deeper and deeper into the realms of complexity, both in my intellectual understanding and my experience in complex situations of every day life.

Once immersed in the webs of complexity, one cannot revert to a simpler mindset—it becomes impossible to unsee the nuanced perspectives that complexity offers. 

I extended the application of my systemic understanding to my design practice, quickly realizing the challenge of imparting this perspective to those entrenched in alternative thinking models(which are also very valuable and needed).

The fact that there are different ways of thinking comes as a surprise to some people. Our Western society and educational systems have conditioned us to adhere to specific modes of thinking, primarily logical and reductionist.

PRE-TRAGIC, TRAGIC, AND POST-TRAGIC CONSCIOUSNESS

Now, as you venture deeper into complexity, doors to multiple realms of interconnectedness start to open, creating both interesting and, at times, overwhelming possibilities.

As consciousness evolves, the maturity of its realizations brings forth the understanding that we evolve as experiences shape our perception of what is possible — and how to frame those possibilities.

Stay with me.

Pre-tragic:

A pre-tragic stage of consciousness reflects a state of optimism and confidence, often accompanied by an unawareness of impending challenges. This phase is marked by a sense of stability and faith in existing systems and structures.

We might say that it is an infancy stage of consciousness. In the pre-tragic phase, logical thinking prevails. This mode of thinking starts with generalizations, assuming premises to be true, and deducing conclusions about specific cases.

Individuals in this phase often rely on logical chains of reasoning, establishing a sense of stability and confidence in prevailing systems and paradigms. The pre-tragic phase refers to a state where problems and risks are either not widely recognized or are not yet at a critical level.

This stage for me was when I was 10 and the dimension of the world was too big for me to be aware of it. School and friends were predictable. I heard some bad news on TV but that didn’t affect my perception of reality.

Tragic:

The tragic stage represents a critical state where the challenges and risks have escalated to a point where they can no longer be ignored or easily resolved. This phase is characterized by the realization of the severity and complexity of the problems one faces, often accompanied by a sense of despair and potential catastrophe.

In the tragic phase, existing systems and solutions may prove inadequate or even exacerbate the problems. In the face of despair and potential catastrophe, individuals resort to breaking down intricate problems into manageable parts, attempting to find solutions through isolated observations.

Think about divorce, the loss of a loved one, a complicated health issue, political tensions, climate change, or some challenge whose variables are too complex to understand and integrate from a reductionist perspective.

In this consciousness stage, the illusions of childhood are stripped, there is a tragic structure to existence itself. In response to this moment, an individual or group of people may “bounce back” to the pre-tragic outlook, preferring to turn a blind eye to the complexity of the issues. While black and white thinking remains a tool for navigating the loss of control, it ultimately falls short in addressing the increased level of complexity.

One could become fixated and rigid, polarising between A or B options, failing to understand that the emergent event provides an opportunity for broadening ones perspective about life.

Or, one could transition to the post-tragic path.

Post-tragic:

The post-tragic stage of consciousness doesn’t resolve tragedy, it learns how to live with it. Through cooperative disposition with circumstances, it transcends tragedy from within. That is to say — it takes into account all variables at the same time, shifting from certainty to ambiguity, acknowledging chaos as an intrinsic part of reality interplay of variables.

It accepts loss as part of human condition and understands that the best pattern for a civilization to avoid self-termination lies in constantly improving its own ability for learning and constantly refreshing its capacity for adaptability.

The post-tragic stage refers to a potential future state where humanity has collectively acknowledged and confronted the tragic challenges we face. It represents a transition towards a more mature and resilient way of addressing complex problems.

In the post-tragic phase, there is a greater emphasis on long-term thinking, collective intelligence — which by default cannot thrive in a reductionist environment — and global cooperation to navigate existential risks and create sustainable solutions. It involves developing new systems, technologies, and governance structures that prioritize the well-being of both present and future generations.

As this period of transition shapes who we were into who we are becoming as a species, we need to get more comfortable with a certain amount of chaos and disorganization. We need to value and display greater emotional capacity to hold tragedy, otherwise we will fear unavoidable tragedy, and neurotically colapse at a collective level.

When we deepen our contemplative practices and connect with a sense of immortality experienced in deep states of meditation or altered states of consciousness (hello psychedelics), it alleviates neurosis and opens pathways for greater depth and complexity in development and embodiment.

You can only open those doorways if you have a certain relation to your own awareness, your body, and your ability to self-regulate awareness and emotion through practice.

NEW NARRATIVES

Our perception of the world is often shaped by incidents that align with our existing views. If we believe someone is working against us, we tend to notice and remember actions that confirm our suspicions, even if it distorts the reality of the situation. In truth, all ways of thinking, including holistic thinking, simplify — acknowledging the impossibility of fully knowing and understanding reality.

Yet, there exists a profound capacity to navigate the worlds of inner, outer, and shared realities with gracefulness.

The ability to fluently move between temporal horizons, embrace epistemic pluralism with agility and groundedness, and hold multiple possibilities while maintaining a central axis of integrity is pivotal in shaping the landscape for our future collective narratives.

The visionaries of the future will listen to their bodies and trust intuition while respecting the intellect's role in questioning, refining, adapting, altering, and even rejecting narratives that feel a certain way, rather than being imposed by a specific agenda. They will be highly attuned.

“New visionaries will be future-oriented, but historically informed. They are likely to be post-tragic in their ethos in the sense that their positivity will be authentically grounded in the awareness of trauma and tragedy, and perhaps the direct experience of it, and yet live with hope as a verb of their own making.”

— Jonathan Rowson

(Read more: What is a Visionary)

We're in a major world-historical moment of transformation, in which the old world is passing away, becoming increasingly dysfunctional, and the new world hasn't emerged yet. We're in a period of chaos; the old forms of order no longer hold, and the new forms of order have not emerged.

We're at a moment when we can become fully conscious and think about design parameters, about systems that would allow for the emergence of new forms of order and co-creation of reality. That is why it feels like such a potent time, both dangerous and exciting.

We have the future in our shaking hands, and it is up to us to hold still and amplify who we were to who we are destined to become.

We are now faced with the decision between roaming in infancy where predictability shields our innocence, or transcend into maturity where we fully own the fragility of our human predicament.

As we make our choices be seen, we decide the narratives that will play out in the long-term future.

Choose wisely.