Interior - Patterns | livingpermaculture

I thought seasonal rythms would be a good overall pattern to begin exploring. This gave me an idea of energy use & how I experience life throughout the year, where I currently have quiet/busy times, what kind of activities happen when & how I feel at different times of the year.

This I could consider as my base map when thinking about placement in the integration anchor.

As I felt limited by things like unreliable information & not being able to make a positive difference in the world, I looked at my sphere of influence & sphere of concern.

I identified where I can actually make a difference, & how I can act within that which will send ripples out into my sphere of concern.

I know it's a cliché but zone 00 or inside of me is the most effective place to start, small changes here ripple out into the wider systems, for example, finding the courage & the inspiration to organise an event like FUNdamental brings the values behind this out into the community and offers an alternative to the 'Western' values of ways we socialise & celebrate, Wide values which I could otherwise feel helpless about. This pattern of action from the centre reaching out, could be used int he other contexts I've identified as being in my sphere of concern. It's also an edge action in terms of my comfort zone so my circle of influence widens slightly & next time I can maybe do something more challenging.

Interior - Patterns

"Patterns dominate us when we cannot see them, becoming conscious of them can help us to release them if that is appropriate" Ingrid Bacci

Next up I went spinning my way into the world of spirals of erosion & abundance.

I spent a long time exploring these, it was quite a revealing, cathartic & therapeutic experience.

I explored some of the key issues that had arisen so far, from the initial reflection & from the helps & limits.

It was a really fascinating especially to see how the spirals all interconnected

I could see how they all affect each other, so highlighted the idea that fixing just one might not get the the root of things yet could have a ripple effect onto others.

For example, a spiral of erosion around 'communication' connected (through feeling alone & unsupported) to one around 'anger' which in turn connected (bottling up feelings) to a spiral of stress erosion & back to anger once more. Similarly, a 'Black hole of guilt' wpiral connected (through not relaxing fully) to a bad posture spiral... and so on....

At this point I was still really exploring & observing to suss out what was happenning, so this process contributed to the next step in integration where I began to clarify actual 'needs' of the design.

Here I began to ask the question; what would some spirals of abundance look like? The spirals of erosion needed intervention points to turn them into spirals of abundance.

A spiral of abundant communication could be started by identifying shared edges & communicating around these, which could create & strengthen connections which coud then lead to openning up other issues. A money/independant income spiral of abundance could be slowly started off by doing an approved course which would be in my interest and also financially supported by the system.... and so on...

The beauty of this pattern is that because everything is linked, the smallest cange really can ripple out & have the biggest effect. I already feel that my life has changed hugely just from implimenting some of these small steps in key places, The awareness of these patterns is key to this.

Next up I explored 'Quadrant theory'

Quadrant theory is... the theory that cultures are composed of more than just external behaviours.

It can help to avoid "alot of change, but no changes” which sounds perfect to me!

I found it to be an interesting & holistic way of considering change & highlighting what could prevent change from happenning or make change difficult.

Therefore it can be used to ensure the effectiveness of actions which will be supported on inner & outer levels. Itcompliments the sphere's of concern/influence by identifying potential barriers & opportunities.

I learnt that in order to shift my own inner & outer culture I need to work with underlying beliefs as well as outer actions. I also need to consider the culture around me in terms of family, friends, local culture & the different societal/cultural groups.

I used the quadrants to see how my intended exterior 'actions' were, or needed to be, supported in the other quadrants. Some things were well supported & these could be a good place to start the ball rolling, I saw that other intentions were lacking support in one or more quadrants & as such might prove difficult to initiate. So for these I might need to consider extra support, adapt them to the current culture I'm in or leave them until I 'build soil' & momentum through the other actions.

Intentions such as 'exercising' are well supported in all quadrants, it's something that's become socially acceptable & sencourages, whereas things such as 'time off' and 'self study' needed more input & consideration in order to access the necessary supports.

The well supported intentions could be seen as low hanging fruit, starting points.

All of this led me to the Action & the Integration anchor points where I used the above patterns & also explored some others such as:

zones: action plan, starting from the centre, zone 1 making sure that things i need to nourish my zone 1 are close to me or im close to them & so on

sectors, This led me towards using daily, weekly & monthly cycles as well as the annual one.

Working with nature: seasonal patterns, different groups of people who I interact with, topics, growing, celebrating etc

desire lines & routine, where I go, commitments I have (made),

Head Heart & Hands: A balance between head, heart & hands centred actions in the design would help me to maintain momentum

Back to Design Web

This anchor point was very revealing & very helpfull.

I began with a general brainstorm around what patterns might be useful.

It felt as if I was currently in a 'scatter' pattern, which I wanted to change. I don't want too much structure, just enough to provide some support to my vision.

A spiral pattern seemed appropriate as it provides that opportunity for growth, support & protection. It has a centre holding everything together, it's powerfull, can move in either direction, & change speeds. It has unlimited growth & is powerfull. I began to imagine a series of interlocking spirals as a base pattern for the design.

Finally in patterns, I considered was building soil, creating the right soil conditions for the vision to flourish...

So how could I build 'soil' in this context?

First: Protect the existing soil/foundations of this vision, stop waste, stop the leaks, mulch/sow groundcovers to stop the erosion,

Then: Add organic matter, adding courses, intellectual matter, adding in things,

And: plant supportive plants; nitrogen fixing/nutrient accumulators's, Catch & strore energy in the conetxt of this design

Finally: Create communities including companion plants/animals, surround myself with positive things.