The Philosophy

What is Spaciology?

Spaciology is an open-source, living philosophy, movement, and practical toolkit. It invites individuals, organizations, and communities to reimagine transformation, belonging, and meaning through the lens of space4—not as emptiness, but as a dynamic, relational, and generative field. At its heart is the adaptable framework of Space as Metaphor, which bridges theory and practice, connects inner and outer worlds, and draws from diverse traditions.
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Our Core Concepts

Space as Metaphor
Space is not a void. It is a field of possibility—internal, shared, and external—where growth, healing, creativity, and connection happen. Making space is a practice, a strategy, and a worldview shift.
Fluidity and Movement
Spaciology rejects boundaries and fixed categories. Instead, it emphasizes movement, flow, and the ongoing creation and recreation of meaning, identity, and relationship.
Relationality
Truth, knowledge, and transformation emerge in relationship—between people, between humans and the more-than-human world, and between traditions.
Open-Source Adaptability
Space as Metaphor is freely remixable and co-creatable. Practitioners, educators, and communities are invited to adapt, expand, and attribute the framework in their own contexts.
Decolonial and Anti-Hero’s Journey Stance
Spaciology critiques the dominance of the linear, individualistic hero’s journey and instead centers collective, ecological, and plural ways of becoming.
Curiosity as Compass
The only non-negotiable is curiosity—an openness to not-knowing, to emergence, and to the unexpected.

How Space as Metaphor Works

    • Framework, Not Formula:
      Space as Metaphor is a living, breathing conceptual toolkit. It can be used to make space for understanding, for grief, for laughter, for new ideas, for silence, for dialogue, for healing, for chaos, for home.
    • Bridging Inner and Outer:
      The framework guides movement through internal space (self-reflection, somatic awareness), shared space (dialogue, relationship), and the field (systems, culture, ecology).
    • Practice and Strategy:
      Making space is both a daily practice (pausing, listening, inviting difference) and a strategic approach to complex challenges (ecological crisis, organizational change).
    • Invitation to Co-Creation:
      Anyone can develop new practices, exercises, or prompts using Space as Metaphor, contributing to a growing, evolving commons.

Practices and Applications

  1. Imagine a flowing stream, river delta, or swirling cloud:

    2.  

  2. Constantly moving, intersecting, and reshaping itself, with no fixed boundaries—only ever-changing currents and confluences.

    3.  

  3. Movement through space is the core metaphor—no boundaries, only pathways, intersections, and open possibilities.

Practices and Applications

Making Space can mean:

  • Creating room for new perspectives, emotions, or stories.
  • Allowing for silence, rest, or grief.
  • Inviting difference and plurality, rather than enforcing consensus.
  • Designing physical, social, or organizational environments that foster openness and emergence.

EcoDialogues is our flagship application, but Spaciology is meant to inspire countless other programs, workshops, and practices.

Toolkit

The framework encourages practitioners to develop their own exercises, prompts, and interventions—always with attribution and in the spirit of open-source co-creation.

Use & Attribution

Space as Metaphor is offered for open use and shared application across many contexts. While the framework itself is not meant to be modified, you are welcome to apply it in your own work and practice.

If you do, please credit the source:

Based on Space as Metaphor by Rev. Dr. Robert Levey
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

For support in applying the framework to your work—or to share what emerges—feel free to reach out to me at robert@exponentialsquared.com.