Wielding Authentic Power in the Emerging Chaordic Age
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
by Douglas Bonar
I borrow the term chaordic from Dee Hock (1929–2022) the founder and CEO of the Visa credit card association. He wrote The Birth of the Chaordic Age in 1990, and its expanded edition One From Many in 2005. The term chaordic is the blend of chaos and order. Hock introduced the word in 1993 during a speech where he described systems that are simultaneously chaotic and ordered, self‑organizing, adaptive, and decentralized.
He coined the word because existing organizational language could not describe the kind of system Visa required:
Too much order → rigidity, bureaucracy
Too much chaos → instability
The sweet spot → chaordic: enough order to maintain coherence, enough chaos to allow innovation
Alas, it appears that our current governmental and institutional “systems” are both rigid and unstable! We are, as yet, in the throes of chaos and throttled with imposed order in service of “external power” in such forms as greed and gluttony.
This article is not meant as a condemnation of the United States or any other country. Rather, it’s meant to be hopeful and uplifting. The core problem is far more elusive and expansive. This is a global phenomenon prophesized by indigenous cultures for generations. We are in the midst of “The Shift of Ages,” also known as “The Great Turning.” Concurrently, it is important to look closely at the significant part the U.S. is playing in this scenario. To look the problem in the eye can be daunting and difficult. Looking within ourselves can be even rougher. How do we perpetuate the chaos in our homes, workplaces and communities? As I’ll relate, this is both an individual and collective opportunity to introspect and respond, holistically.
Many wither and fade in the face of this storm believing there’s nothing we can do about our apparent dilemma. “I’m powerless.” “I’m just one person.” Hence, the need to wield authentic power.
I borrow the term authentic power from Gary Zukav who wrote The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics in 1979, The Seat of the Soul in 1989, Spiritual Partnership: The Journey to Authentic Power in 2021, and Universal Human: Creating Authentic Power and the New Consciousness in 2021.
As I’ve written in prior newsletters, as a forensic counselor, I conducted 29-week groups for clients (mostly men) who were court-ordered into my practice due to an arrest for domestic violence, or doing case plans through the child protection system to maintain or regain custody of their children due to concerns of domestic violence. It is mandated in the state of Florida that certified providers use a power and control model to address this form of violence. Providers are versed in “The Duluth Model” (developed in Duluth, Minnesota) pictured below:
I used the model regularly as prescribed, unapologetically, for several years before realizing that the model perpetuated the idea that power and control were inherently bad. I told my clients that I wanted them to be powerful people – power to achieve their goals and to leave an unhealthy relationship nonviolently, as opposed to exerting power and control over another person. In response, I updated and morphed a parenting model (Roots and Wings: The Balance of Healthy Parenting) I had previously written into a domestic violence model to complement the dominant Duluth model. Though I will not elaborate upon the model, condensed below, I point out that the clients were learning how to wield authentic power, resolve conflict nonviolently, and live in peace.
Authentic power is the balance between control and surrender. When we surrender, we gain access to our “True Self,” or “Higher Power.” We learn to co-create not only with our partner, but more importantly, with Source as each may know and name it. The clients were also taught skills such as mindfulness practice and emotional self-regulation to help achieve this relational goal. In a handout given to the clients, here are some quotes from the book The Seat of Soul:
No understanding of evolution is adequate that does not have at its core that we
are on a journey toward authentic power, and that authentic empowerment is
the goal of our evolutionary process and the purpose of our being. We are
evolving from a species that pursues external power into a species that pursues
authentic power ... We are evolving from five-sensory humans into multisensory
humans.
From the perception of the five-sensory human, we are alone in a universe that is physical. From the perception of the multisensory human, we are never alone,
and the Universe is alive, conscious, intelligent, and compassionate
I invite you to reread the second paragraph of the handout and try to grok how my clients felt when hearing this unconventional message. This is the message that is desperately needed in the world today to address the polycrisis we’ve inherited. The global problems, such as climate disruption and economic disparity, are multifaceted, ubiquitous, and entangled. We cannot solve them individually, or even as one nation, as they tend to amplify and infect each other in unpredictable and random ways. In understanding and embodying authentic power, we acknowledge the core issue behind the problems, which is the illusion of separation, which I’ve documented previously. By surrendering, we not only gain access to information and solutions not accessible vis a vis our everyday consciousness, but we also put into practice the understanding of our oneness, wholeness and interbeing. This is the practice of sacred activism reflected in the Way of Wholeness model updated below:
Wielding authentic power in this yet chaotic and rigid age is the practice of sacred activism. The mantra of the model addressing domestic violence was health whole holy home. We are becoming universal humans to address the Taoist questions posed in the model. The questions posed in the yin aspect are “Who are we, and what are we?” The questions posed in the yang aspect are “What is the meaning of life and what gives us purpose?” In answering these questions, we grok that we are the universe in individualized form, and that we are here to cocreate a world that works for all. Sacred activism is the calling to bring it home, to our families, our communities, and our sacred Earth and her inhabitants. We are one and connected.
In the words of Buckminster Fuller, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” To grok wholeness, we embody our yin aspect of Metta (compassion), and our yang aspect of Dharma (purpose) to address the personal crises we face, and our collective plight. Chaos emerges with order as this understanding grows exponentially. Chaos and uncertainty are not to be avoided, they are to be embraced. We are blessed to live in this evolutionary age, once we truly get it. This is a good day and age to look deeply within to our essence, and access the wisdom of the Universe, ever-present, to show us the way. This is a good day and age to discover our unique gifts and what gives us purpose in the world. This is a good day and age to be one, with each other, the living earth, and the conscious universe.
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