Creating and Constructing Meaning: The Power of Sense-Making

The Role of Consciousness in Meaning-Making

Our consciousness is fundamentally designed to give meaning to everything we experience and do. This helps us perceive our reality as meaningful and navigate the world around us. The human brain is structured to copy known solutions and adapt them to new situations (“design thinking”) for quick and efficient outcomes.

Beyond Simple Solutions: The Need for Collective Sense-Making

However, when facing complex, large-scale challenges—both individually and collectively—this approach of simply copying and modifying past solutions no longer works. To overcome these challenges, we must engage in collective sense-making, especially when our current knowledge falls short. This requires letting go of old frameworks (e.g., “success equals more of the same”) and thinking on a larger scale, where simplistic solutions are no longer effective.

The Process of Collective Sense-Making

Sense-making is a collaborative process where we move beyond individual expertise and explore creative, collective solutions that serve everyone. Even when solutions are not yet clear, this process helps us identify what is needed and where we need to focus our collective energy.

Recognizing Limitations and Softening Perspectives

Collective sense-making helps us recognize our own limitations and challenges our tendency to cling to personal opinions (“my truth”). It equips us with tools, methods, and philosophical approaches to engage more gracefully with ourselves and others. Ultimately, it enables us to work more effectively together, contributing to the well-being of our shared world.