Faith, Gratitude, and Consensus

By Robert Perrine

This book explores faith for today, gratitude for tomorrow, and consensus for the future. Faith is described as trusting enough to share with others. Gratitude is described as an optimal emotional state. Consensus is described as the best form of decision making currently within our reach.

The chapters describe the layers of complexity which underlie faith, then gratitude, then consensus. The layers of faith are self, family, groupthink, roles, integrity, humanity, and ecology. The layers of emotions are confused, resentful, oppressed, numb, obligated, entitled, serene, vigilant, and grateful. The layers supporting consensus are autocracy, aristocracy, democracy, and representation. Consensus can be practiced with most levels of faith and most emotional states, but the results will only be maximized when we act with integrity and focus on gratitude.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Perrine
• Release date: Sep 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463299142

Robert Perrine

Robert is a wayfarer on this journey through life. He was born in Pennsylvania and now resides in California. During his career he has been a civil engineer, computer programmer, professor and a project manager. Throughout this journey Robert has tried to fit all the pieces together into a holistic framework. His goal now is to describe an integrated model of psychology that he found by delving deeply into a study of project management.

Book preview

Faith, Gratitude, and Consensus

Faith for today, Gratitude for tomorrow, and Consensus for the future

By Robert E. Perrine

Copyright

The copyright on this book belongs to the author, Robert E. Perrine, Bakersfield, California. Please do not copy or distribute this book without advanced written permission from the author. If you have questions or comments, please contact Robert E. Perrine via email to [e-mail].

For more information about the author, visit my website at www.robertperrine.com.

Rorschach quiz - are the people in the cover image facing toward the bag of money and golden crown or are they turning away?

Contents

0 0 0 Introduction

0 A 0 Preface

0 B 0 Overview

0 C 0 Layers

1 0 0 Chapter on faith for today

1 1 0 Faith measured with expanding circles

1 A 0 The first stone is selfish thinking

1 B 0 The second stone is learning to share

1 C 0 The third stone is being like us

1 D 0 The fourth stone is roles for thee

1 D A Rules, roles and beyond

1 E 0 The fifth stone is I for integrity

1 E A Perspective through time

1 E B Presidential perspective

1 F 0 The sixth stone is focusing on all humanity

1 F A Nobel perspective

1 G 0 The seventh stone is ecological

1 G A Faith as it expands

2 0 0 Chapter on Gratitude for tomorrow

2 A 0 An arrangement of emotions and communication

2 B 0 Map of the pathways

2 C 0 Surrender when confused

2 D 0 Looping between serene and vigilant

2 E 0 The lovely pathway from serenity to gratitude and beyond

2 F 0 Thawing out when numb

2 G 0 Detaching from a false sense of obligation

2 H 0 The humble pilgrimage from entitlement

2 I 0 Escape from oppression

2 I A Reframing oppression with gratitude

2 J 0 Casting off resentments

2 K 0 Serenity at last

2 K A Retracing the steps

3 0 0 Chapter on Consensus for the future

3 1 0 Vocabulary for this chapter

3 1 A Abstract regarding faith

3 1 B Abstract regarding gratitude

3 1 C Other terms used in this chapter

3 1 D Inclusiveness within the community

3 1 E Inclusiveness through governance

3 A 0 Objective about proposing a framework for the structure

3 A A Twelve steps

3 A B Twelve traditions and twelve concepts

3 A C Higher Power

3 A D Group conscience

3 A E Inductive Technique

3 B 0 Objective about finding people who use this structure

3 B A Story about consensus is not voting

3 B B Story about consensus is a slow process

3 B C Story about the dissenters might be the only people who understand

3 B D Story about every voice has a right to be heard

3 B E Story about consensus is not unity

3 C 0 Objective about evaluating whether the structure leads to gratitude

3 C A Cognitive dissonance

3 C B Proximal development

3 D 0 Objective about evaluating the level of faith

3 D A Multi-layered literature

3 D B Workshops

3 D C Parables

3 E 0 Objective about defining the process for implementation

3 E A Upside-down pyramid

3 E B Trusted servants

3 E C The twelve-step trapezoid

3 E D Perpetual motion

4 0 0 Chapter on Structuralism

4 A 0 Fully realizing consensus within the twelve-step movement

4 A A We begin by surrendering our personal egos and seek only the will of our higher power

4 A B We believe our higher power desires the best for our group, service, and fellowship

4 A C We turn our self-will over to the guidance we receive from our higher power

4 A D We examine ourselves and our motivations without judging those around us

4 A E We use honesty in all our conversations - we say what we mean and mean what we say

4 A F We either trust the outcome as a valid expression of higher power’s will, or we clearly say why we doubt

4 A G We humbly support the group even if the final decision is not what we had thought it would be

4 A H We act with integrity to do what we have agreed without trying to subvert the process

4 A I We take responsibility for our part in the consensus and do not blame others if problems arise

4 A J We strive to complete the work, understanding we might need to change our plans as we proceed

4 A K We focus on the primary purpose - which is to help new members find their place in this program

4 A L We practice these principles in all aspects of our lives

4 B 0 Repeatability

4 B A Search for solutions

4 B B Sharing the solutions

4 C 0 The right time

5 0 0 Conclusion

5 A 0 Recap

6 0 0 Appendix

6 A 0 Example Materials

6 A A Script for a workshop regarding the application of traditions three and four

6 A B Example of an inclusive presentation

6 B 0 Bibliography

6 B A Hyperlinks

6 B B Supplemental Reading

6 C 0 Research data

6 C A Inaugural addresses by the US Presidents 1789 - 2005

6 C B Acceptance speeches by Nobel Peace Prize winners 1902 - 2011

0 0 0 Introduction

0 A 0 Preface

Each of us lives an isolated life in a cocoon of clay, dependent on fellow cocoon dwellers. We are isolated within our thoughts yet united within our communities. There is tension between our desire for independence and our dependence on those around us. We bond into families and tribes. We struggle to balance the needs of our small social units - self and family - against the needs of our larger social units - city and nation.

Finding any balance is a difficult puzzle. It is even more difficult because the pieces keep moving. Our relationships change. Our community changes. Our society changes. We know the balance between family and nation did not satisfy yesterday. How then do we balance for today? How do we predict which changes will create the best balance for tomorrow?

Change is inevitable. Our little cocoons are jostled and bounced. Our social bonds are stretched; sometimes stretched too far. We want things to be better. The question is who will decide what to change? Is it best to allow a few experts to wisely determine our future? Are you content with masses deciding our future through whims and fantasy? Do you trust our elected representatives to know what is best? Those are the primary choices available to us today - aristocracy, democracy, and representation.

There is, however, another style of decision making.

Consensus is the best form of decision making currently within our reach.

Aristocracy seeks what is best for the few. Democracy seeks what is best for many. Representation strives to find solutions while avoiding conflict. Consensus means we strive to find solutions which are satisfactory to all.

The purpose of this book is to outline the tools and techniques for consensus. To build consensus:

* We need faith and a willingness to trust.

* We need the ability to find gratitude and skill at transforming disappointments into opportunities.

* We need locations where we can put consensus to the test and learn from our mistakes.

* We need a structure to support our efforts.

The four chapters in this book explore these four topics. Faith comes first because it determines the way we look outward. Gratitude is second because it shapes the way we interpret what we see. Consensus is third because we must first have a mature way of looking outward and a self-sufficient way of looking inward before we can prepare to practice the discipline of consensus. However, no matter how great our faith, how strong our internal compass, and how effectively we build communities, there will be disruptions. The fourth chapter explores disruptions and outlines a few tools we can use to minimize the chaos.

0 B 0 Overview

Chapters one and two build on materials first published in 2010 in short books about faith and gratitude (Growth Rings: How We Get Connected; and Coping Styles: Dealing with Life on Life’s Terms). My thinking on those topics has continued to evolve since I first worked on those books.

In 2015 I began probing the boundaries of consensus as expressed within the twelve-step movement. I traveled to hundreds of twelve-step activities and read many books and pamphlets. In 2017 I could visualize how faith and gratitude connected in consensus. I wrote chapters one and two but was not ready to write the third chapter. I spent 2018 traveling, talking, and reading, yet I was still not ready. Then in 2019, I experienced consensus gone bad. I am grateful for the experience. In 2019 I wrote the third and fourth chapters.

The purpose of the first chapter is to describe ways individuals can continue to mature through their adult lives. Chapter one also illustrates ways to assess the amount of social maturity expressed within our communities. In that chapter, I use the word faith to encompass both our internalized thoughts and our actions. Actions without a conceptual foundation may form a connected series of coincidences, but the pattern is not repeatable. Thoughts without actions cannot influence the community. Thoughts are given life through action.

Chapter two describes the seeking process which allows individuals to learn to care for themselves. The second chapter illustrates the choices available in each day. Some of those choices lead to happiness. Other choices allow us to perpetuate our misery. The choices described in chapter two are linked to the twelve steps from Alcoholics Anonymous. Throughout this book, the foundation for my thoughts regarding the twelve steps is the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The third chapter describes the process of consensus. Chapter three assesses whether the twelve traditions from Narcotics Anonymous describe a framework for consensus. In this book, all references to the twelve traditions are references to the twelve traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.

Chapter three also describes tools we can use to strengthen the consensus process. A key to understanding consensus is to appreciate it as a group effort to find guidance and wisdom. It is not voting, though the freedom to choose is a prerequisite. It is not debate, though freedom of speech is a prerequisite. It is not religious, though humbly placing self under a greater authority is a prerequisite.

Chapter four explores the possibilities available when individuals express maturity, seek wisely, and use consensus. The fourth chapter considers the way programs like the Nar-Anon Family Groups blend consensus with corporate governance. Whenever the twelve concepts are mentioned in this book my reference is to the twelve concepts as expressed by the Nar-Anon Family Groups.

Chapter four incorporates materials first published in 2010 and 2011 in short books about social maturity (Growth Rings: How We Get Connected; and Mathematical Analysis of the Nobel Peace Lectures). My thinking on those topics has continued to evolve since the time when I worked on those books.

Chapter four also includes many examples of failed consensus. In the fourth chapter, I postulate what will happen when an experiment with consensus uncovers a way to manage those failings. I believe such a breakthrough will happen. I believe we are now taking part in an experiment as fantastic as when democracy first became established and as challenging as when republics were first constructed. Humanity, today, is learning how and when to use consensus as a form of government.

0 C 0 Layers

Regardless of my faith in consensus, consensus has dependencies. Consensus cannot survive without faith, gratitude, and the organizational styles which come before consensus. Those organizational styles are autocracy, aristocracy, democracy, and republic. These are layers of complexity which our society constructs.

Faith, itself, is built with layers of complexity consisting of self, family, community, society, integrity, concern for humanity, and concern for our ecology. The layers in gratitude are wrapped in a circle like a pinwheel.

I can illustrate the concept of layers with an analogy based on the wheel.

On occasion, I grab a backpack and head out on errands. There are limits to what I can carry with a backpack. Fortunately, some ancestor discovered the wheel. I can leverage the wheel with a luggage cart, thereby increasing my carrying capacity - though at the loss of some flexibility. For example, rolling luggage does poorly with stairs. Most travelers today use rolling luggage. Travelers throughout history have used a form of rolling luggage called a cart.

The next steps beyond rolling luggage began when humans learned to use animals to pull their luggage. My grandfather used mules in his coal mine. Even today, horses and mules are still in use in specialized locations. Using livestock requires a greater infrastructure than is required for human-powered transport. The homeless people in my neighborhood use backpacks, rolling luggage, and grocery carts. Only one of the travelers I encounter here in the Central Valley of California uses three mules for his annual pilgrimage.

Not content with human power, and realizing the disadvantages of livestock power, humans added mechanical power and created trains and the automobile. Today we are experiencing the next layer in transportation as electronic technology augments the mechanical. When I lived in the Silicon Valley, I would encounter commuters with backpacks, travelers with rolling luggage, homeless with shopping carts, an occasional horse rider on a trail, vast numbers of automobiles, and the occasional driverless car.

Waymo would not exist if not for Nader, Ford, Benz, Otto, Watt, and the people before them who invented the wheel. Driverless cars build upon layers of innovation. Faith focused on personal integrity requires layers of social development. Gratitude depends on our ability to navigate the spiral of layers which affect our personal choices. Governance based on consensus requires layers of underlying organizational styles.

1 0 0 Chapter on faith for today

Humanity took thousands of years to build the systems we complain about today. People learned and then taught many useful skills. Now our obsolete behaviors are being set aside. We are learning new skills and a new way of life. Once you see the path we are on, you will realize this moment is as it should be. Please allow me to highlight a few of the waypoints on this path.

One of the key breakthroughs came a few thousand years ago when people learned to enlarge their perception of commonality beyond the family. Today we find commonality in language, ancestry, religion, race, gender, and dozens of characteristics. We are good at this. With one quick glance, or a few minutes of conversation we intuitively find potential friends and probable enemies. This is an old skill. A well-studied and well-practiced skill.

It was a useful skill as humanity transitioned from small bands to organized cities. Generations passed it along. Now it is time to cast it aside. Discernment seems good, discrimination seems bad. Alliances seem good, exclusions seem bad. Yet all derive from the same skill. We discern whether the other person fits our ideal and we discard people who do not. A simple word to describe this behavior is prejudice.

When I say prejudice, I do not mean the all-consuming hatred which vilifies this behavior. Prejudice, in moderation, is a necessary survival skill. Yet, it is an adolescent tool not fit for adult society.

Think back to what you know of history. Do you remember the stories about the journey taken by the descendants of Abraham after their escape from Egypt? They were a collection of squabbling families. They wandered the desert until they learned to think like a nation. Their ability to find commonality was a prerequisite to their ability to become a nation. However, their discernment also led to behaviors we would not tolerate today. Prejudice, taken to an extreme, leads to genocide.

Read about the ancient Greeks and you will find their city-states spent about much time warring against each other as they spent cooperating. Ancient Greece was not a nation. The people in Greece, Italy, France, England, Germany, and other European provinces did not organize themselves as nations until much later.

Nationalism gained supremacy in Europe only a few hundred years ago. Just as a child learns to step out from under the authority of their parents, the people living in Europe learned to express their autonomy. People set rules over their rulers. People began to group themselves based on collective identities. They discerned who was different and re-organized themselves. Rather than being sent into wars by self-serving rulers, they learned to identify with the cause. They fought wars for kingdoms and wars for religion. Eventually, nationalism led to great wars based on nationality. Again, prejudice led to genocide. While war is evil, it was just a tool used by societies who had not yet found better tools. I have faith this too will change. Nationalism is simply an abstraction used as a tool.

It took years of struggle before people begin building complex organizations like the League of Nations and the European Union. Those multinational unions created treaties to outlaw genocide. Now those complex social unions are grappling with the underlying problem of prejudice. We are lucky to live in a time when prejudice can be discerned, evaluated, and discarded.

This is a natural progression. Children are not born with the skill to organize themselves. It takes years of practice and experimentation to learn this skill. By the time the child becomes a teen, he or she typically knows how to form teams. They can pick teammates, arrange competitions, and collectively take on complex challenges.

The transition we now witness is people learning to use more complex structures than those usable by teenagers. This is what we should be doing. Perhaps we could have grown wiser a bit faster, but this is where we are today. We are on a path from yesterday to tomorrow. All we need for this journey is faith, gratitude, and