I suggest we run this site the way open source projects usually are run. Programmers kind of just know how it works but let me try and make the underlying principles clear here. The goal is to come up with guidelines that we can fall back on when we are trying to decide what goes in and what stays out. Something that guides us as we write and review. If you find that some part of this site does not match these guidelines please let me know - it is a bug that needs to be fixed.
I deeply value your time. I promise not to waste it. There is a lot to cover here, but I will only bring in the most important points. There are lots of fun tangents that can be visited as side topics, but the goal is to focus on finding the simplest thing that can work. Every idea will be expressed as simply and clearly as possible. If you don’t understand a concept it is my fault not yours. Let me know. If you think I’m wasting time on something, then you might have found an important bug (or at the very least I am not explaining well enough why it is essential).
The goal is to create something practical. Something that can actually change the world. Getting the theory right is incredibly important, but on the main path we don’t want to bring in any more theory than is strictly necessary. People like me can go off and do the readings, but then we need to come back here ready to share the useful nuggets that can be put to work.
We will know this project is working when we see it inspire actual healing and growth in the world.
Kaizen means constant on-going improvement. It is always possible to grow and learn. You should be a bit skeptical of initial versions of this site, but over time as more people contribute and comment the site will grow and mature. Kaizen is a very open source concept. It is also very Japanese. You are never done with the work – there is always more to be done. And there is a deep joy in that.
Nothing written here is meant to be taken on faith. Please find the truth of everything within yourself. The request, though, is that you search for this truth in all of yourself. Some people tend to only look for truth in their heads, others only tend to look for it in their hearts or spirit. The request is that you look for truth in all parts of yourself, especially in the parts that maybe you don’t typically search. This is especially true for spirituality. Any claim made here is meant to be validated by your own internal experiments. It has to be that way. Only you can find the truth for yourself.
Open source has shown that collaboration works best when people are able to listen to feedback without letting their ego get too much in the way. Any organization that we create needs to have this as a guiding principle. This can be one of the hardest things to achieve, but it is one of the more important.
Again, the willingness to admit that we are wrong is key here. It is especially important when trying to create something new like this because we will have to change our minds numerous times as we try to figure this all out.
OK, with that out of the way let’s get started. In the next section I’m going to give an overview of the plan, and then after that it’s time to finally dive in.