Pattern Library
Just a few of the works by evolutionary thinkers and doers across a wide range of fields that have helped catalyze and shape this emerging pattern language.
Whenever a map or model proves beneficial across many different contexts, we might reasonably call it a pattern. At the heart of The Regeneration Handbook (and Evolutionary Change more generally) are four “meta-patterns” of Transformation, Expansion, Wholeness, and Balance.
Please click on the illustrations below to learn more about each of these meta-patterns: their archetypal forms, primary characteristics, and how they show up in both nature and culture. Each page also features examples of related patterns that are mentioned in the book and links to resources for further study.
The Four Meta-Patterns
Illustrations by Carrie Van Horn of Heartwood Visuals
“In an ordinary English sentence, each word has one meaning, and the sentence too has one simple meaning. In a poem, the meaning is far more dense. Each word carries several meanings, and the sentence as a whole carries an enormous density of interlocking meanings, which together illuminate the whole. The same is true for pattern languages. It is possible to make buildings by stringing together patterns, in a rather loose way. A building made like this is an assembly of patterns. It is not dense. It is not profound. But it is also possible to put patterns together in such a way that many many patterns overlap in the same physical space: the building is very dense; it has many meanings captured in a small space; and through this density, it becomes profound.” — Christopher Alexander, et al, A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
Two Dimensions of Change
The difference between these two dimensions is that Vertical Change refers to processes that only unfold over time, while Horizontal Change describes the development of innate capacities. In reality, they aren’t actually separate. Wholeness and Balance run like threads through our journey, evolving as we transition from stage to stage and level to level.
-
Vertical Change
While patterns of Transformation can be used to describe a complete process, they can also be thought of as just one step in a much more expansive journey. If we look at a spiral, we can see that it’s actually made up of a series of U shapes. This is an image of the union of the meta-patterns of Transformation and Expansion.
-
Horizontal Change
Wholeness and Balance also complement each other. We can imagine the yin-yang of Balance being placed at the center of the mandala of Wholeness and radiating out from there. In seeking to cultivate Wholeness, we not only need to engage and develop every part, but also ensure each part is continuously held in Balance.