“We shall not cease from exploration
and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.”
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Why?

We will witness within the next decades, the highest speed of change ever experienced by a human generation on Earth. This changes manifest themselves in multiple dimensions. Three of them that are highly relevant, regarding the overshoot stage we are in, are: ecosystems dimension, social dimension and self dimension. We live in a VIUCA world that is currently increasing in Volatility, Interdependence, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Some responses to this conditions that we build individually and collectively are the generation of fear, anxiety and confusion. We can observe this inside organizations and communities more often in time.

Given this context, it is very clear that we need to learn in other ways and make sense individually and collectively in order to make the outcomes that we want to see. How do we learn in a world of such a challenge?

What is it?

The Patterns that Connect is a programme that has to do with the challenge of change, complexity, emergence and increasingly bizarre systems in three dimensions: self, community and ecosystemic inside an experiential workshop. It integrates praxis, structures and spirituality inside a transformative learning environment to foster regenerative intentions and projects. How do we learn in times of increasing complexity and disruptive change? It contains methodological and experiential integration and is informed by phenomenology, neuroscience, artificial intuition, living systems, systems dynamics, system thinking and many others secondary approaches. It is a strategy to align our intentions towards aur purpose, widening our perception of reality, generating regenerative coherence in our projects, intentions, organisations and designs. In one sentence, it`s a way of making meaning together and widening the circles of awareness in this interconnected, interdependent web of life.

Why is it helpful?

The Patterns that Connect is a collaboration and cocreation construction of a trustfull social field towards a participatory and regenerative oriented experience. It promotes the connection with the self, the legitimation of the other, the development of collective trust, searching for commitment through relational awareness. It is useful to increase the levels of perception from experience as a whole.

Why collaborative and regenerative?

If we just consider carbón dioxide cycle that is liberated to the biosphere, we need today one and a half planets Earth to take this CO2 back to the soil. We know that and we are not aware of the relevance of that fact. We still believe that we have to leave business as usual to foster green or ecological development which is less harmful but still doesn`t meet real needs of sustainable development. The fact is that we need to change the whole narrative of why and how we relate to development and growth. We are now stuck in what we know as sustainability: it has a beautiful definition but in reality it works as cero emmisions, as sum cero, as making as balancing the damage we make. This awareness no longer meet the real needs we face if we want to see the conservation of complex life on Earth. We need to go beyond, towards concepts such as restorative and regenerative… two concepts that are emerging. To restore means to give to the Earth more tan we extract from it. In a way this is essential. But how to really integrate this awareness. When you restore, you are still looking to the Earth as if it was outside from yourself. It`s a handout.

When we speak about regeneration, there`s a threshold to cross that has to do with the nature of who we are in relation to the whole ecosystem we live in. It has to do
with going beyond biofilia and having nature as a teacher… it`s the process in which
we realice there`s no separation between us and the natural world. To be
regenerative means to think and act as if we were nature.
To be able to do that, we need to liberate our creativity and cultivate empathy in a
massive and collective way. We need to make a collective transition towards a life
sustaining experience.

How was it developed and what does the programme consider?
The emergence of The Patterns that Connect has been a search and research of
the guidelines that connect the exploration of making sense together and learn in a
transformative way given complexity we face and the speed of change we live in,
through the understanding of underlying patterns that exist in some emergent
methodologies and systemic tolos that help in the conservation of complex life on
Earth.

It`s been a work of seven years of experience and methodological integration to arrive to some introductory and intensive prototypes, considering the experience built working inside organizations, communities, academy, The Center for Entrepreneurial Learning and 30 years of meditation practices. The integration consider diverse elements and resources in which the facilitator has deepen, such as Dragon Dreaming, The Work that Reconnects (Deep Ecology), U Theory, Stillness practices, Supporting Circles, Phenomenology, Permaculture, Design Thinking, Art of Conveining, Non Violent Communication, Art of Hosting, Human Scale Development, Neuroscience, to name the most influential ones.

Beyond the methodological arena, making meaning together comes from experience. This is the reason why we work with patterns that connect this tolos, resources and methods. It is the experiential intuition of pattern discovery from where we make sense collectively.

This is at the heart of the proposal.

Who is it for?

For those who have curiosity, for those that would like to discover the potential of
experiencing, for those that have dreams, ideas, intentions and projects, for those
that want to build community, for those that would like to deepen self awareness, for
those that would like to see organizations, relations or projects in a systemic way.
For those that want to widen their circles of perception.

What would you achieve?

* Understand emergent paradigms in a global and local context

* Identify the underlying patterns that connect supporting structures to emergent
paradigms.

* Widen the levels of perception around our intentions, projects, contexts and ourselves, practicing zoom in and zoom out.

*Develop systems thinking and systemic intuition Recognize our own capacities and develop new collaborative and individual ones.

*Understand what does regenerative means in our lives.

* Build a bridge between where we are and where we want to be in our transition.

* Be aware of my personal learning and creativity process.

Who is the facilitator?

Ronald Sistek G. , Chile

Born in Chile; in the last few years he has deepened methodologies for adult transformative learning and management for regenerative projects. He facilitates processes in groups and organizations, he mentors change management
through Regenerative Circle Support Projects, and through consultancy. These
methods all have a strong focus on systems ecology, individual growth and collective
transformative results. He is a specialised mentor in Regenerative Projects at Gaia
University, Latin America and gained a PDC Course in 2010. He has extended the
Eco-Village Design Education (EDE) program to design human habitats in transition
in 2013, and the Transition Train the Trainers program 2016. He has also deepened
participatory strategic planning methodologies, particularly Dragon Dreaming. In
addition, he has been trained in deep ecology, nonviolent communication,
neuroscience, neuroplasticity, transformative learning, U Theory, Sociocracy 3.0,
System Thinking, Phenomenology, stillness programs, Design Thinking, Art of
Hosting and some other collaborative tools.
He has a Masters in Development and Project Management in Real Estate at the
University of Chile 2008-2009, a degree in Civil Construction at the Catholic
University of Chile 1991, and was a student at The Grange School.
Since 2009 he has been an academic at the University Andres Bello in Ecological
Assessment of Real Estate Projects and Project Management. He is facilitating
collaborative methodologies at the Masters in Human Scale Development and
Ecological Economics at Universidad Austral. He has managed a variety of projects
over the last 24 years.

He co-founded O2 consulting, business management and sustainable design
projects for resilient habitats in 2004.
In 2013 he initiated Supporting Circles for Regenerative Projects, monitoring and
support for initiatives focused on the regenerative paradigm.

Since 2013 he has been an international consultant sharing participatory tolos
toward regeneration and since 2013 he has been developing “The Patterns that
Connect”, exploring and connecting our dimensions as human beings with the
increasing complexity of all systems and domains. Observing patterns as a unit of
cognitive understanding and cognitive processing of reality, acknowledging
paradigms and change theories through experience. This is a theoretical explanation
of his journey inside collaboration, regeneration, leadership and transformation
through learning practices. Father of four wonderful children.