Relational Praxis and Regenerative Possibility

Regenerating the quality of the social soil—the deeper space of connection with each other, with the land, and with ourselves—has always been at the heart of the work of awareness-based systems change. This issue’s editorial, which highlights the notable milestone of JASC’s first special-themed issue, dedicated to Social Presencing Theater (SPT), considers social soil regeneration within the context of deepening social fragmentation, polarisation and disconnection. Each contribution to this issue responds the current context by offering ways to bridge relational disconnects, recognizing that the (research) practices themselves are more than methods for studying or intervening in systems—they are practices shaping the very realities they seek to transform. Social Presencing Theater—a form of awareness-based emergent movement and embodiment—offers a quiet, more spacious mode of exploration and engagement to make visible the otherwise invisible dynamics in a system, and create a space for future possibilities to become known and embodied. SPT and other relational, transgressive, and transformative (research) practices proffer the possibility of holding our collective attention there long enough, and with enough openness, for new forms of enacted systems to emerge.