2 : On the illusion of separate self (as root cause of socioecological crises) and radical intraconnectedness (as precondition for healing and transforming)

Abstract

This chapter continues to embed the book in the wider transformations literature and to unpack the connections between meaning and materiality, and ontologies and structures. Drawing on Eastern philosophical and spiritual teachings, its main contribution as a standalone chapter is defining and exploring the “illusion of separate self” as the root cause of human suffering. Such suffering nourishes selfishness, competition, and the will to dominate others, not understanding that “others” are I and I am others, which leads to the violence and destruction of the “Self”. The Self in this context includes all Life in its various manifestations and forms; hence, the destruction of the Self is synonymous to the socioecological destruction addressed in this book. The chapter proposes the concept of “radical intraconnectedness” as a precondition for healing and a precondition for reversing the Self-destruction. The chapter explains the differences and similarities between the concepts of radical intraconnectedness and “radical interdependence”, which originates from the South American indigenous context. Finally, the chapter concludes by connecting the inner/personal and the collective/societal by outlining the fractal approach to scaling transformations.