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THE FOUR WORLDS PRINCIPLES

FOR BUILDING A

SUSTAINABLE WORLD COMMUNITY

These sixteen principles for building a sustainable world community emerged from a twelve year process of reflection, consultation and action within tribal communities across North America. They are rooted in the concerns of hundreds of aboriginal elders and leaders of thought, as well as in the best thinking of many non-aboriginal scholars, researchers and human and community development practitioners.

These principles constitute the software for the process of healing and developing ourselves (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual), our human relationships (personal; social, political, economic, cultural) and our relationship with the earth. They describe the way we must work and what we must protect and cherish.

We offer these principles as a gift to all who seek to build a sustainable world community.

PREAMBLE

We speak as one, guided by the sacred teachings and spiritual traditions of the Four Directions that uplift, guide, protect, warn, inspire and challenge the entire human family to live in ways that sustain and enhance human life and the life of all who dwell on Mother Earth, and hereby dedicate our lives and energies to healing and developing ourselves, the web of relationships that make our world, and the way we live with Mother Earth.
THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Starting from within, working in a circle, in a sacred manner,

We heal ourselves, our Relationships and our World

STARTING FROM WITHIN

Development Comes From Within

The process of healing and development unfolds from within each person, relationship1

family, community or nation.

Vision(link to picture)

A vision of who we can become is like a magnet drawing us to our potential. Where there is

no vision, there can be no development.

Culturally Based

Healing and development must be rooted in the wisdom, knowledge and living processes of our cultures.

Interconnectedness

Because everything is connected to everything else, any aspect of our healing and development is related to all the others (personal, social, cultural, political, economic, etc.). When we work on any part, the whole circle is affected.
 
 

WORKING IN A CIRCLE

Growth And Healing For The IndivIdual, The Family And The Community Must Go Hand In Hand

Working at one level without attending to the other is not enough. Personal and social development as well as top-down and bottom-up approaches must be balanced.

Unity

We need the love, support, and caring of other to heal and develop ourselves. Unity is the starting point for development, and as development unfolds, unity deepens.

Participation

People have to be actively engaged in the process of their own heahiig and development. Without participation, there can be no development.

Justice

Every person must be treated with respect as a human being and a child of the Creator, regardless of gender, race, culture, religion or any other reason. Everyone should be accorded the opportunity to fully participate in the processes of healing and development, and to receive a share of the benefits.

IN A SACRED MANNER

Spirituality

Spirituality is at the centre of healing and development. Connection with the Creator brings life, unity, love and purpose to the process, and is expressed through a heart-centred approach to all that we do.

Harmonizing With Natural Law

Growth is a process of uncovering who we truly are as human beings in harmony with the natural laws of the Universe.

Walking In Balance

Codes of morality, ethics and protocol teach us how to walk the road of life in a good way. Violating moral and ethical boundaries destroy the process of healing and development.

Working From Principle

Our plans and actions are founded on our deepest understanding of the principles that describe how the uiuverse is ordered and how healing and development unfold.
 
 

WE HEAL AND DEVELOP OURSELVES,

OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND OUR WORLD

Learning

Learning to live in ways that promote life and health is the essence of our development. Our primary strategy is therefore the promotion of this type of learning.

Sustainability

When we take actions to improve our lives or the lives of others, it is critical to avoid undermining the natural systems upon which all life depends and to work in ways that enhance the capacity of people to continue in the path of their own healing and development.

Move To The Positive

Solving the critical problems in our lives and communities is best approached by visuaii~g and moving into the positive alternative that we wish to create, and building on the strength we already have, rather than giving away our energy fighting the negative.

Be The Change You Want To See

In all of our actions, we seek to be living examples of the changes we wish to see in the world. By walking the path, we make the path visible.
 

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