1. HOW SUSTAINABILITY COMES TO LIFE
The inner and the outer world

2. ENJOY YOUR READING AND REFLECTING
We at Seven happily and heartily give away ideas and theories that can serve as handles
and pointers in our further development that we all seem to need on our way forward.
Please give us your views and ask questions to your heart’s content.
See contact details in the back.

3. Why look inside?
When we’re really concerned with the outside
Do our attitudes play a role when we view the
world from the inside? What about our mood
swings? And how do they affect our behavior,
our actions in the real?
Truth is – our Basic Values matters more for
how we act. Problem is – we are mostly
unaware of them unless we have examined
them thoroughly at some stage in our life.
So we are proposing that the outside reality is
affected by our inside reality, and that is mostly
governed by those basic values we may or may
not be aware of.
How can we investigate this so it becomes
clearer and above all so we can master our
actions consciously?
Actions in the real
Basic
Values
moods
attitudes

4. What is our objective reality really?
Let’s start with an example. You wake up in the
morning and for some reason you have had
marvelous dreams all night long. You feel that
the world is your oyster, anything is possible.
Your children get the best of you and when at
work this day you spread good humor and
creativity comes by itself. Other people’s view
of the world has shifted to a more positive
stance. So what is the objective world saying
about this?
It has adapted. It shaped itself around the
actions of you and your fellow human beings.
And your actions came from inside of you,
depending on your values and moods and
attitudes and so did all the others’ actions.
What happens the day you had a rough night?
What is the experienced reality then?
Our experienced reality

5. Our experienced reality
The Value Field
Our experienced reality
We talked about values. How about the
culture? The one that’s in the walls or in
the air, the way we do things here!
All our actions shape a culture in the
organization, in the various groups and of
course in every one of us. We are all
bearer of a culture. The way I am, the way I
do things.
The interaction between the values and
the culture forms the Value Field which is a
name we put on the dynamic field of our
experienced reality.
If you observe the Value Field over time
you will start to notice patterns. Certain
ways of behaving, certain ways of saying
things by choosing words and tones,
certain ways of approaching problems and
possibilities. There will be subgroups and
subcultures.
Values
Culture

6. As within so without
Inside of me there will also be subgroups and
subcultures. I am a multicultural being with a register
of personalities that I bring forth depending on the
circumstances. Sometimes I do this with volition and
sometimes not when I react on a personal trigger.
To what degree does the external reflect the
internal?
This is where it starts to get complex. The more
individuals in a group or organization the more
complex the Value Field becomes.
In a similar context we all react differently. Some
react according to their inner patterns, others chose
consciously how to act. This is the symphony of the
group or organization. A quartet or a full symphony
orchestra? Harmonious or somewhere a dissonance?
It will all play out in the Value Field.
We are in relationship whether we like it or not. We
form a complex system. And it all rests on our basic
values and how aware we are in handling them.

7. Friend or Foe?
We may have a problem!
Do the individual values match the company
values or don’t they?
Herein lies the crunch.
If they match in the basic sense then we have
cocreative power in the company. AND – Each
individual can still have her/his personal
variation.
There is no need to sacrifice your personality
and become like the rest. The secret lies in
using the potential of all your inner
personalities consciously, choosing actions
aware of the values that will promote the
good of the individual as well as the
organization, society included.
How do we then align these so we can fulfill
the vision, our vision, my vision?
Individual
Values
Company
Values
?

8. Sustainability
If I find that the external reality forms itself according
to my internal architecture and processes, what
choices do I have?
I can choose for wellbeing or ill-being. A rather
simplistic but still realistic scenario is this:
After some time of reflection I set my heart to a
positive feeling of empathy with the help of my
mind. I hold it out with my empathic personality.
Then this feeling of loving empathy will seep out of
me to influence others around me and slowly but
surely construct a culture of benevolence, freedom
and creativity.
With clear vision and mission in mind appropriate
goals may be selected and we are on our way to a
sustainable society.
It is of course more complex than that but then
again, maybe not.
Finally – In what ways can I make my inner world
sustainable?
Empathic
personality

9. Inner sustainability
Inner Sustainability can be addressed in many ways.
This simple model devised by Ted Harris we find very
helpful.
We talked about our inner world and as complex as it
is we can handle it with three aspects of
consciousness:
• Experiencing
• Reflecting
• Willing
In short – throw yourself into the world with all of
you present. Reflect on the consequences and what
the experience tells you about yourself.
Use your will to consciously correct your further
actions so that the results align with your true
intentions.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Look out onto the world. Is it your world yet?
Outer world. e.g.
physical
phenomena
Inner world, i.e.
subjective
phenomena
Willing
Experiencing
Reflecting
Inner Sustainability

10. The details
Just in case you’re not completely satisfied we will
look further into the core of Inner Sustainability.
What do human beings need, and need to do, in
order to achieve satisfaction in life? An important
aspect of satisfaction in life is existential growth –
that is
• self-esteem (a positive evaluation of oneself)
• compassion (a positive evaluation of others)
• benevolence (a positive evaluation of life)
That is what Inner Sustainability is all about.
and finally to get there you have a choice. Use your
will and you are in contact with the fundamental
source of value and meaning.
Self-esteem
Compassion
Benevolence
Inner Sustainability
Existential Growth

11. From the original idea of Ted Harris
Ted Harris Inner Sustainability edward.harris@svenskakyrkan.se
In collaboration with
Zenita Toftgård One World – One Gestalt zenita@sevencf.se
Svante Björklund Corporate Philosopher svante@sevencf.se
HOW SUSTAINABILITY COMES TO LIFE
The inner and the outer world

12. Our belief is that successful business is done with both mind and heart. To develop individuals and organizations,
we put human and group vitality at the very core of what we do. Our promise is to deliver quick results and long-
term sustainable change. In your world.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Seven Change Facilitators AB Parmmätargatan 7 112 24 Stockholm Tel: 08-441 07 77 www.sevencf.se