Lisa Barker - Wellbeing Science Practitioner/Organisational Coach
My most authentic self feeling small amidst the magnificence of nature.
Melbourne, Australia
Key Passions: Nature Connection, Ecological Systems, The Heliotropic Effect
Key Strengths: Creativity ~ Presence ~ Communication
WEIRD (White, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic) data still dominates the landscape in the field of Psychology. The under-representation of the vast majority of the world population in a data driven science that is all about human wellbeing must change. We need to find new and innovative ways to explore the wealth of diversity that constitutes being human in these challenging times.
Humans find wellbeing within a context that supports and sustains them. We live our lives in relationship with everything else around us. In my work as a wellbeing science facilitator and organisational coach, I bring awareness to the ever-widening systemic relationships we are embedded in, beginning with our own biopsychosocial system. Our relationship with self, others and our shared habitat will look and feel different for everyone. For each one of us, any successful application of wellbeing science will be nuanced, culturally and context specific, dynamic and responsive.
My work is very much inspired by Maturana and Varela’s Theory of Autopoiesis – Self Creation. A successful self-organising system senses and adapts to its environment, relying on feedback, reflection and action. This system is constantly sensing, observing and adapting. As it iterates and creates, patterns of being and doing, thinking and behaving are established that move all integrated parts in a heliotropic direction.
How might we collectively sense and actualise system wide relationship-based innovations so that the global community can cohere and move towards optimal outcomes for all? Optimising the whole system makes wellbeing more likely for the individuals embedded within it. I am so keen to collaborate with others on this.
The overwhelming response WSSC has received tells us we are not alone in seeking meaningful systemic change. We hope to be able to bring into the world a transdisciplinary wellbeing movement that goes well beyond the field of psychology. We need diverse voices around the table and an eco-centric approach that represents a true system; one that is both heterarchical and humble; one that embraces worldviews and puts the health and wellbeing of our planet at the very heart.