Connecting the dots - Regeneration and Inner Development
Having worked in wetlands and water resource conservation for 6 years my radar has always been tuned to sustainability and even more so to regeneration. While sustainability focuses on maintaining balance and preventing harm, regeneration goes further—restoring, renewing, and enhancing ecosystems, communities, and systems to thrive beyond their original state. Which is why this interactive Regenerative Paradigm Map created by Dr Vanessa Taveras-Dalmau on 14 Sep 2025 retained all my attention. The Regenerative Paradigm Map (see the link below) has 7 core principles, 33 themes, and 253 specific elements detailing regeneration’s ‘what, why, and how’. The seven themes are: 1. Start with inner transformation (this occupies 13 of the 33 themes and is by far the most important) 2. Adopt pluralistic, post-capitalistic economic models (5 themes) 3. Practice participatory and ethical governance for regeneration (2 themes) 4. Put community first (2 themes) 5. Work with place as living (2 themes) 6. Use systems approaches (2 themes) 7. Learn from existing regenerative practices or complementary approaches (7 themes) Without wanting to simplify the breath of this research I am truly inspired by the inner development work that we have cut out for us! The 13 themes of Inner transformation include: Elevate your consciousness, integrate diverse knowledge, embrace a new mindset, shift to an ecological worldview, embrace a different discourse, honor negative emotions, channel positive emotions, embrace new leadership, develop new values, acknowledge your inner compass, develop multi literacy, develop soft skills, nourish people and place connectedness. Each one is explained in greater detail in the interactive map and our job is to bring this alive in our work to shift the discourse. It's a lot to digest for sure, but nothing this complex is going to be easy. We in this community are the one's who are helping to create shifts and bring about change.