Convocation and Keynote: IntraConnected as MWe (Me plus We)

In this Keynote and workshop of immersive and interactive gatherings, we will explore the nature of “self” from scientific, Indigenous, and contemplative perspectives to address the possible ways in which a modern cultural construction of a “solo self”—an identity as separate and a constricted belonging only to those of similar background and appearance—may be at the root of many of the challenges we face today. The pandemics of racism and social injustice, misinformation and polarization, digital addiction and climate destruction, along with how we have poorly handled the COVID-19 viral pandemic, may each be worsened, if not caused, by the modern human mind’s construction of a self that emanates from the individual body alone. Instead, a wider view of what self is extends the subjective experience, perspective, and agency of this individualized self to a more integrated experience of identity, a broader belonging, as Me plus We equals MWe. More than an inner aspect of our embodied lives, inclusive also of our inter, relational selves, we have an “IntraConnected” self that is both inner and inter. Learning to live, love and learn from this integrated identity as MWe is how we can promote the relatively rapid cultural evolution the world needs to address the pressing challenges of modern times. MWe can do this, together!