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For generations, the hero’s journey has shaped how we imagine change. Its arc—departure, ordeal, return—offers a compelling story of individual transformation. What if this is just one story among many? What if, instead of a lone hero, we focused on the spaces between us, the stories that overlap, the fields we co-create?
The Space as Metaphor Charter emerges from this very question. Drawing on Indigenous knowledge systems, Ubuntu, Taoism, Buddhism, and ecopsychology, this charter challenges the dominance of the hero’s journey and its focus on linear, individual achievement. Instead, it lays the groundwork for Space as Metaphor itself, an open-source conceptual framework for transformation—one that is collective, process-oriented, and ethically charged (Levey, 2024; Nicolescu, 2002).
Space as Home: Co-Mingling the Internal and External
In education, business, and therapy, we’re often taught to separate “internal” and “external” spaces: the mind versus the room, the self versus the system. Space as Metaphor, however, asks us to see these not as opposites, but as co-mingled—each shaping and being shaped by the other.
How I feel inside colors how I experience a meeting; the design of a classroom or curriculum helps to shape my sense of self.
There is no clear boundary. Space is always relational, always in flux (Levey, 2024).
What if every space—classroom, boardroom, counseling office, or quiet corner of your mind—could feel like home? This is not a home defined by walls or outcomes, but by a sense of belonging, story, and possibility.
The charter invites us to treat all spaces as living homes, full of personal and collective stories, beliefs, and histories. It asks us to pause, reflect, and challenge our assumptions as plans emerge and unfold, creating “thick” experiences that invite deeper awareness.
Deconstructing the Charter: Articles as Invitations
The Space as Metaphor Charter is not a set of rules, but a series of living invitations:
Space Honors Complexity
Space is never empty. It is layered, storied, and interconnected. To honor space is to resist easy answers and make room for what is not yet known (Morin, 2008).
Space Holds Story
Every space is full of stories—personal, collective, organizational, ancestral. The charter asks us to listen for the stories that are present and those that are missing (Levey, 2024).
Space is Historical and Indigenous
Space carries memory. It is shaped by history, power, and culture. To make space is to honor the land, the ancestors, and the wisdom that came before (Massey, 2005).
Space Welcomes Uncertainty
Uncertainty is not a problem to solve, but a condition for emergence. The charter invites us to pause, reflect, and let new possibilities arise (Nicolescu, 2002).
Space Holds Trauma and Healing
Space can wound, but it can also heal. By holding space for grief, restoration, and transformation, we honor the full spectrum of human experience (Naess, 2005).
Space is Chaos and Home
Space can unsettle and shelter. It can be a site of rupture and a place of reorientation. “Home” is not a fixed address, but a process of making room for ourselves and each other (Levey, 2024).
Space is Methodology
Space is not just a metaphor, but an ethical and epistemological guide. It shapes how we learn, relate, and transform—together (Nicolescu, 2002).
Honoring Multiple Ways of Knowing: Process Over Output
At the heart of the charter is a radical ethic: honoring process over output. This is a direct inheritance from Indigenous ways of knowing, which value the journey, the relationship, and the ongoingness of inquiry. The charter resists urgency, binary thinking, and the need for consensus. It asks us to trust in emergence, to invite missing voices, and to act in ways that increase—not limit—the number of choices.
Space as Education
Imagine classrooms where silence is honored, stories are welcomed, and learning is a shared journey—not a race to the finish line. Here, “home” is a space of belonging, not just achievement.
Space as Leadership & Organization
What if organizations were designed to listen, adapt, and make room for emergence? Leadership becomes less about control, more about holding space for complexity and transformation.
Space as Counseling & Healing
Healing is not about fixing, but about “being-with.” Space is held as sacred and relational, supporting deep listening and restoration.
Space as Community & Dialogue
Dialogue is not about consensus, but about making room for multiple truths, discomfort, and the unknown.
The Ethical Imperative: Keeping the Question Open
What if we endeavored to make every space feel like home? Where is this space? For whom? What does “home” mean, and for whom?
The charter refuses to answer these questions for you. Instead, it invites you to ask them—again and again. In doing so, it embodies Heinz von Foerster’s ethical imperative: act always to increase the number of choices.
By not closing the question, we keep the space open, alive, and full of possibility.
Explore the Space
- Watch for the first practical Encyclopedia entry—coming soon.
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