Belonging

Context

NAIO International's commitment to Belonging centers it as an ordering principle and universal value. NAIO International and the practice of NAIO™ takes place in a global context. Educators, Practitioners, Guild Members operate from within diverse psycho-social-cultural-biological-natural constructs. These constructs consist of unique, multi-faceted and complex histories. What creates identity, how it's experienced is unique, complex, nuanced and always moving. So to orientations, beliefs, affiliations and perspectives. The challenges that exist for people within each country, their locality and social structures; at any given time, represent multi-faceted obstacles to achieving true Belonging for all.

Belonging - Universal Value

Belonging is an emergent and relational, deeply felt, embodied organizing principle. Based on the interconnectedness of human beings, nature, Gaia and the Cosmos. It is a universal birthright and basic, foundational need felt from deep within our Soma. It is a precondition for all life to thrive. Belonging centers in principles that have existed throughout the ages. Spanning across the spectrum of humanities various wisdom traditions. 

It is a vast and evolving concept to live into. This commitment reflects an ongoing process.

Belonging honors individuation and connects people to place, mutual power, and purpose. The experience of belonging is about connectedness through community. It includes rootedness in a place. A feeling of self-sovereignty in shared outcomes, and a sense of purpose with others. Belonging describes values and practices where no person is left out of the circle of care or opportunity to create their life circumstances.

It means more than having access. It means having a meaningful voice, the opportunity to participate and be included. To honor the diversity of individual differences as the very substance that creates a sense of Belonging. It does not insist that we are all the same. It means we recognize and celebrate our differences, in a society that includes all people, and the care for nature, and the Earth.

It also means within the circle of care that there is a response to correct, include and bring to balance any person or group affected by inequity, power, oppression, or marginalization in the shifting, complex, multi-factorial and intersectional ways that it arises from personal or systemic conditions that create othering and violence on all levels. This happens within the approaches of Bridging and Targeted Universalism.

NAIO International is committed to living into these values and welcomes the shared process of belonging with the diversity of peoples

from racialized identities, ethnicities, ancestral lineage, cultural identities, social or economic status, genders, ages, abilities, religions, sexual orientations, and expressions of interdependence, care and love. 

Othering and Dominating - Obstacles to Belonging

Othering and Dominating beliefs and behaviors stem from imbalances and distortions within an individuals relationship with themselves and life.

It reflects fragmentation and isolation within their Soma. It then projects and imposes the isolation onto other. At its most extreme it expresses disconnection from creation - Gaia, and the Cosmos.

This individualism expresses a disregard for interconnection, and creation's individuation and multiplicity. It seeks to subsume its own replica of Gaia and the Cosmos onto life, for its own ends. Discarding Eros that drives the desire to embrace other. Whilst this arises in a human being, individualism also exists in group identities, which express isolation in self-reinforcing circles of distortion.

Othering is a social and psychological process in which individuals or groups are perceived and treated as fundamentally different from

oneself or the dominant group based on certain characteristics, attributes, or identities. It involves categorizing others as "outsiders,"

"different," or "inferior" in comparison to the ingroup, often leading to a sense of "us versus them" mentality.

This phenomenon can manifest in various forms, such as racial, ethnic, religious, gender, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, or cultural othering. It is often driven by stereotypes, prejudices, and biases that have been perpetuated and reinforced over time, leading to the marginalization and exclusion of certain individuals or communities.

Othering can have harmful consequences on both the targeted individuals or groups and society as a whole. It can result in discrimination, unequal treatment, and limited access to opportunities and resources for those who are perceived as the "other." Additionally, it can lead to the reinforcement of power dynamics and the perpetuation of social inequalities.

At the individual level, othering can generate feelings of isolation, alienation, and a diminished sense of self-worth for those who experience it. They may face social stigma and struggle to fully participate in social, economic, and political spheres.

Addressing othering requires promoting empathy, understanding, and open dialogue between different groups. It involves challenging stereotypes and prejudices and recognizing the shared humanity among all individuals. By acknowledging and addressing the dynamics

of othering, we can work towards building a more cohesive, empathetic, and compassionate world.

The approaches of Bridging and Targeted Universalism are used to deepen into belonging and address any bias or inequities.

Bridging and Targeted Universalism