The STAR Movement Mechanism
Staying attuned to self, other and context.
In 2021, I shared an early articulation of the Waysfinder focused mainly on creating a constraint scaffolding. Since then, the work has continued to evolve.
One of these developments is STAR, a mechanism focused specifically on enabling sustained movement. The acronym takes inspiration from the ancient star compass used by Polynesian navigators.
Rather than mapping our route in advance, STAR invites us to move and then:
Sense — Broad, deep sensing using all our faculties — physical, intuitive, narrative, temporal.
Tune In — Attuning to what matters, discerning signal from noise, listening through the body and the heart.
Awareness — Noticing what emerges from the tuning, where clarity or knowing arises.
Respond — Taking a step, however small, in coherence with that awareness.
And then it begins again.
STAR echoes Tim Ingold’s insight: “We know as we go, not before we go.” It reminds us that wayfinding is not about pre-emptive certainty, it’s about attuned participation.
Quote at the end also reminds me of Woody Zuill's: "It's in doing the work that we discover the work that we must do. Doing exposes reality."