The fundamental question, then, is how can we construct the most integrative experience of self possible to promote well-being in our world?

We can choose to take on these integrative ways of living in relationship with responsibility, with a mutuality of reciprocal influence, and in ways that redistribute and share our gifts—all driven by the innate force of love.

It is important to recall the statement, “the more we know, the less we see,” so that we can come to let go of conceptual knowledge that may filter our sensations into limited perceptions; we can, with intention, open our minds to new ways of knowing.

we might find a way to have both a broad belonging and an integrated identity, which would allow for the wide focus of attention on our overall world while at the same time honoring the importance of the individual’s focus on inner experience.

If the hypothesis we are considering in this book is on the right track—that the contemporary construction of a solo-self, isolated from others in our human family and from the family of all living beings, is a significant source of our modern pandemics—then taking on an intraconnected energy flow approach to self, identity, and belonging might

The good news about this identity lens is that we can adjust it—we don’t need to choose one level of identity and belonging over another because they are each real, and each have their importance.

Indigenous peoples have been able to identify and articulate their core values to broader audiences, especially the four R’s (Relationship, Responsibility, Reciprocity and Redistribution). These four R’s form the core of an emerging concept, Indigeneity.

Relational flow indicates energy that is shared between people and between individuals and the natural environment with which they are fundamentally connected.

To connect head to heart may mean linking the logical reasoning of the head with the compassionate feelings of relational connections of the heart. To melt that ice, we may need to inform and transform, to realize the relational fields that connect us, even if the logical eye cannot yet see.