There’s a quote by one of my heroes, Buckminster Fuller, who said, “In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete.”
The evolution of human knowledge has numerous examples of old models being washed away by a new paradigm, for instance…
– the heliocentric model of the solar system
– Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation
– the theory of evolution by natural selection
– the germ theory of disease
– quantum mechanics
– etc
One of my favourite books is John Waller’s “The Discovery of the Germ”. It’s an account of the 20-year period that took germ theory from being a fringe theory to being mainstream science. In the book’s introduction, Waller reveals just what an extraordinary transformation this was, saying:
“In just 20 years, the central role of germs in producing illness was for the first time decisively demonstrated and Western doctors abandoned misconceived ideas about the causes and nature of disease that had persisted, in one form or another, for thousands of years.”
As you may know, I believe we’re in an analogous situation with regard to our understanding of human psychology; that the principles behind clarity first articulated by Sydney Banks offer a genuinely new paradigm. Here’s how I wrote about it at the end of the new edition of my book CLARITY (© 2023, Jamie Smart)
Are you open to the possibility that the field of psychology today is in a similar position to where the field of medicine was in the nineteenth century? Is it possible that we could discover something that would have psychologists, psychiatrists and medical doctors abandon misconceived ideas about the causes and nature of mental health issues that have persisted, in one form or another, for thousands of years?
The discovery of the principles behind clarity is to psychology
what the discovery of germs was to medicine.
You may recall my personal mission is to awaken people and help them awaken others.
As I write, I’ve spent the past 14 years coaching, teaching and doing therapeutic change work with thousands of clients using these principles exclusively. I’ve road tested the principles behind clarity in my own work and trained thousands of coaches, therapists and change workers to do the same.
As the years have passed, the truth of these principles has become clearer and simpler to me, and the impact of my work has continued to increase. The same is true of the results my colleagues and students are getting with their clients.
As I wrote in the Preface, the world has changed radically since CLARITY was first published. As we reach the end of this new edition, it seems to me that there are two main reasons why the world needs this understanding more than ever before:
1. Well-being: We’re facing a humanitarian crisis in mental health, and the field is buckling under the strain of trying to operate without knowing the foundational principles that underpin it.
2. Wisdom: Our habits of thinking have not developed for the exponential world we’re now living in. We need wisdom, compassion and exponential insight to meet the challenges of the digital age.
In Chapter 22, I quoted Dee Ward Hock saying that a 400-year-old age is dying and another is struggling to be born. The challenges of well-being and wisdom are a part of those birth struggles, and the principles we’re exploring are part of the solution.
The only qualification you need to share this understanding are your own insights and the feeling you’re living in. And as my dear friend, colleague and mentor Chip Chipman once said. . .
The feeling you’re living in is all you get.
New season of the Get Clarity Podcast
In other news, as you may know, I’ve long been fascinated with exponential technology and its impact on us and our world. With that in mind, I’ve decided that in the next season of the ‘Get Clarity’ podcast, I’m going to be having conversations with people who can share insights to help us navigate this rapidly changing landscape from a psychological and spiritual perspective.
My first guest is Jeff Booth, a friend whose work I’ve been exploring for several years. Jeff is a bestselling author, tech entrepreneur and a very deep thinker. Jeff coaches and mentors technology entrepreneurs, and one of the things I deeply appreciate about him is his ability to describe a new paradigm (in Jeff’s case, it’s about money, wealth and abundance). So I was wondering…
Q: What question would you like to ask a coach who mentors tech entrepreneurs & runs a venture capital fund?
You can read the questions we’ve already got and post your question(s) here.
Tons of love
Jamie