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Choice-creating is a heartfelt creative quality of thinking where people face urgent seemingly impossible issues collaboratively and achieve progress through shifts and breakthroughs. From this kind of thinking a new level of clarity, empowerment, and energy for action emerge. Choice-creating is similar to "decision-making" in that conclusions are reached, but opposite in how these conclusions are reached: Choice-creating uses creativity while decision-making uses judgement. 

When people work together in the spirit of choice-creating, they achieve unity and a new level of agency and empowerment as "We the People."  Because progress occurs through shifts and breakthroughs they achieve solutions that are better than what was previously imagined. And this progress couldn't happen without diversity, i.e. people thinking differently.  So different views on controversial issues becomes an asset when the thinking is choice-creating ... instead of being a liability with normal decision-making. When breakthroughs happen there is a shared shift of perception, leading to greater clarity. And there is a shift of energy, a new sense of empowerment and agency.
Choice-creating often arises naturally in a crisis, when normal thinking modes can't achieve the desired result. Then people put aside their ego-centric positions, open their minds and listen to one another in a quest for some new answer. People seek to understand their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. If large systems of people, like a nation, can be facilitated into the spirit of choice-creating over time, then a new empowered entity arises, "We the People". And if this new conversation continues, it's a new level of democracy that we call "Wise Democracy". . (See the chart comparing Forms of Democratic decision-making)

Choice-creating can also occur naturally in a "time out" moment, when an individual or small group steps back to address the most important issues and seek breakthrough progress. Progress happens in a different way that normal decision-making or problem-solving.  (See Decision-making vs. Choice-creating)
In both choice-creating and decision-making people determine answers. But the process is different. Judgment and creativity are opposites (i.e. You can't be creative when judgment is present.) ... In our current System judgment is primary, like with voting for instance. Individuals make judgments often without talking with anyone else. And these judgments are added to determine the collective judgment. But with choice-creating, everyone is one conversation correlating shared results.

Both decision-making and choice-creating are necessary in a democracy. Maybe 97% of the time we operate through decision-making. But choice-creating is essential. It should be structured to happen at the whole-system level, where periodically we all step back to creatively address the most important issues. Using choice-creating "We the People" periodically step back, figure out what's going on, what We want, and how We should best get there. From this basis, our normal systems can operate normally and contribute to a new level of collective wisdom.

Here are three KEY points:
1) Some level ongoing whole-system choice-creating is necessary for our System to be sustainable and for us to thrive.
2) Dynamic Facilitation can reliably evoke choice-creating for individuals and small groups.
3) The Wisdom Council Process can evoke the spirit of periodic, all-inclusive choice-creating in our national and global systems.
4) Implementing this new process has no downside while sparking immense benefits including a new System of "Wise Democracy."  

Elements of choice-creating include ...

  • Face a Real issue … a "mess" that we really care about (It's OK if it seems impossible-to-solve)
  • The participants are Real people ... i.e. not representatives or role-playing
  • This is about “creating the choice" ... vs. "making the decision" or creating new options for later decision-making
  • The DF'er helps people to ...
    • speak from the heart, what one really thinks/feels ... e.g."What do you REALLY want?"
    • be safe from judgment ... whatever emerges is held by the group
    • follow the energy rather than an agenda ... e.g. speaking with frustration, fear or anger helps the group spark shifts and breakthroughs
    • celebrate diverse opinions and diverse people
    • achieve shifts and breakthroughs ...These are nonlinear jumps, not step by step incremental progress
    • celebrate shifts and breakthroughs ...Movement often goes ignored unless the DF'er helps people to recognize their progress​

Outcomes of choice-creating include ...

  • The group reaches unity …Spirit of "we" with agency,"We the People"
  • The result is a  co-created "choice," that all want to do … more than a "decision," which often needs people's "commitment" 
  • Participants are empowered … people feel energy to solve the "impossible"
  • New meaning …  people create a new story
  • Enhanced individuality ... Paradox: people come together but grow in uniqueness
More Resources on Choice-creating ...Charts of comparison
  • Article by Tom Atlee describing a natural example of choice-creating in a large system of people" How to Make a Decision without really Making a Decision 
  • See the older video interview (2006) on Choice-creating from the Jim Rough Show archive with guest host Paul Everett below:
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