Charter for the Wiser Society Movement

The purpose is as simple as possible while explaining our reason for existing.

Purpose We help to create knowledge in action among young and old to develop more wisdom in society. Shared Values
We believe that this wisdom and our activities should be based on these core values:

The 5 Cs and 2Rs

1. Community altruism not ego 2. Contribution giving back without reward 3. Challenge rigorous questioning 4. Compassion as a balance to judgement 5. Collaboration generations and cultures working together 6. Responsibility take it - for personal actions 7. Respect for all others diversity adding to understanding

This charter is short and easy to remember. There has been a great deal of conversation about it during the first 3 meetings. The following pages describe the wider background of those discussions and will flesh out the charter for those unable to attend those meetings.

Background to the Wiser Society What is Wisdom?

Definition Wisdom is a state of being and can be developed in individuals and in cultures. Throughout history, influential individuals have contributed wisdom to society. There are many definitions of Wisdom, my favourites is: Practical wisdom is the ability to do the right thing in the situation for the right reasons. There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom does not have an intellectual basis. Knowledge is understanding that a tomato is a fruit and wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad! I also found these definitions on Google: 1. The ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight 2. accumulated knowledge, erudition, or enlightenment. Everyday application of wisdom The use of words such as insight and enlightenment make wisdom far more than intellectual capability or knowledge and experience. It is the process of being able to joint the dots and intuit a more complete awareness in a situation. It usually also assumes an element of compassion and altruism along with practical application of the best action in a particular situation. Hence the practical definition of wisdom can be Knowledge in action. Traditionally wisdom has been associated with age. There are probably for two reasons for this: 1. Accumulation of knowledge. In previous eras the accumulation of knowledge could only happen through years of experience. Therefore a person needed to be a certain age before they had sufficient knowledge of the way in which the world works. Today, we can all access knowledge on the internet easily however, wisdom seems to be more associated with the practical application of knowledge that the simple accumulation of it. It is knowledge and

awareness of context that enables a wise person to decide on an appropriate action. 2. Physical brain development. This is outlined by Elkhonan Goldberg in his book The wisdom paradox. Research on the brain has unearthed an interesting fact we dont develop the wiring that supports wisdom until we are approximately 45. We can have compassion, knowledge and the rational decision making skills, but being able to use all of these in an appropriate way seems to develop from our mental connectedness; we can join the dots. Along with this development, over the years people clearly develop more emotional intelligence, altruism and Greater good thinking.

We need all generations to work together

it is probably still the role of Elders to contribute wisdom to society, although they need to be balancing not extinguishing the innovation and rebelliousness of younger generations. Generational habits and behaviour are learned from cultures. If a wise society exists, younger generations will contribute their energy to a greater good; if it doesnt they may choose to use their energy and innovative drive for their own ends. Sagacity without energy is not much fun and may achieve very little by becoming fixed. We need young and old to work together in society to create the future.

We need more wise elders

Our population is ageing. As elders begin to outnumber young people we need to make sure that most elders are wise because all wise people are old but not all old people are wise! Cultural links between generations need to be formed and we need to minimise the number of elders who suffer from dementia or retirement inertia. Elders must know how to stay relevant and take responsibility for getting rid of the cultural myth of the useless, doddery old person. There are many existing older role models for those who would like to see energy and innovation continuing over 65. The number of aged people in society over the next 20 years will create a situation where we need to have more of these people.

We need to get a wider understanding about a wiser society.

This assumes that we do not believe that we have a wise society at present and that this is an important vision for the future. It also assumes that we want to be proactive and take the initiative. We want to make society a better place. We need to be able to paint a picture to explain what it will be like! This picture will emerge more clearly over time, and it will be an overview. This group will be focusing on a part of this vision as described above. As a start, the following description may begin the learning process:

What is a Wise Society?

Everyone will have their own version of this future state and it is easy to get lost in philosophical definitions. It is also possible that we will never reach a final definition; that is not a problem this is a journey rather than a destination. However, we prefer to work in a more practical way rather than examining the philosophy; many other groups already do this. Shared consciousness around ecological (earth wisdom) and cultural diversity (world view wisdom) are important areas for identifying development. This group starts with the assumption that these other areas can be more easily tackled when individuals and groups have more wisdom through thinking and awareness. In order to be better focused, this group will search for opportunities to influence the development of wisdom in individuals and groups especially where this involves older members of society. The version below is one that I think we all share even though some of us may add more detail. It attempts to give us a tangible picture. A wise society is one where the energy and innovation of youth is combined with the judgement and compassion of age in order to create a sustainable, diverse, fair and fruitful culture. A balance of young and old will be combined to create a world where energy, spontaneity and creative ideas could combine with better judgement, compassion and understanding of big picture consequences. There will be personal responsibility and community support for developing our minds and taking effective action. This will lead to positive contribution by all able members of society and the protection of all those who need support. Differences from our present society will include:

Fewer cases of age related dementia and more individuals reaching state of wisdom People looking forward to contribute to society for their lifetime A society better balanced (but not constrained by) by wisdom Each individual able to take responsibility for maintaining and developing their own minds while respecting others A compassionate society where everyone works for the whole and the whole protects the individual A new interpretation of old age where old is not automatically regarded as useless or tired including new and responsible roles for those over 65 A synergy of minds around a common purpose across the generations

An ability, freedom and expectation to be positively challenging and respect the power of diversity in all its forms