WISDOM COUNCIL
Solving Complex Problems by evoking Collective Intelligence
Wisdom Council Home
History
of the Council
How It Works
Wisdom Council Process
Example Outcomes
What Clients Say
Other Forms
Training
Links
Contact
About us
HISTORY
The Way of the Council, of which the Wisdom Council is a form, has its
roots in the cultures of the Mayan and pre-Mayan peoples. It is the
oldest known form of participative democracy and, it is said that,
through migration over hundreds of years from what is now Mexico to
North America, these old wisdom ways were spread to many of the Native
American peoples.
“Poised at the millennium, we confront two
critical challenges: “Our responses may lead us, ironically, “In a sense, such a change involves returning to an older
model of community: traditional societies that gave equal weight
to elders |
|---|
In particular the Iroquois Confederacy, a grouping of six of the tribal nations in the North East of America and Canada, used the Council as the basis for its governance.
It use was so successful that "the American constitution was based on the spiritual inspiration that Thomas Jefferson and his group gained from the Iroquois government. They drew out of it what they thought was a democratic tendency.
"On the other hand, Karl Marx, apparently inspired by the Iroquois, wrote Das Kapital mostly by drawing on its communal and socialist tendency.” From ‘Dreaming the Council Ways’ by Ohky Simone Forest.
In both cases they omitted the most essential element of the Iroquois League of Peace – the role of the women. We are just beginning to re-learn the value in balancing the feminine and masculine - the being and doing - to create sustainable organisations.
The old peoples realised they needed to keep the eight energies alive so they organised themselves so that they always paid attention to them.
The people learned that, for example if they people did not stay free and creative, they would lose there vibrancy and creative spark and were likely to get stuck in a rut. Equally, they were aware that if they did not pay attention to the life supporting systems and processes, then soon they would not be able to care for themselves properly.
And so by keeping these eight energies alive in their people they could sustain themselves and survive and grow.
These Teachings have been passed on for milennia through an oral tradition which, despite being in severe peril from the onslaught of the peoples from Europe, through the courage and dedication of many women and men who knew the preciousness of the bundle they were carrying.
It was p assed to us by teachers WindEagle, RainbowHawk and WhiteEagle, who were told by their teachers to breathe these teachings into the world and maybe some good will come of it.
So in our way, we share it the world and hope that we all benefit.
Find out about How the Wisdom Council Works to resolve complexity and about the Wisdom Council Process.
