Yeah!!!! ANd off we go. A movement of self-sharing, self-knowing shoulder to shoulder Skye
On Saturday, March 28, 2015, Tricia Chirumbole via OSList < [email protected] <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','[email protected]');>> wrote: > Lucas, > > Thank you so much for this! For your courageous actions and for sharing > them with us in a spirit of giving and curiosity! > > This touched me and inspired me to action! > > I am now finally going to get my butt out into the public square and try > something similar to what you have done. I am going to invite others to > join me, and maybe, I will take a few kids along with me. > > *Listening resources & thoughts *for those who would like to explore this > further: > > My belief in the power of listening was rekindled when I participated in a > training in Seattle with a wonderful group that some of you may know, The > Compassionate Listening Project. <http://www.compassionatelistening.org/> > > These folks do incredible work and have cultivated a deep and mindful > practice in the art of listening. At this training I met another incredible > woman who had started something in Seattle that is similar to what Lucas > has done, which she calls *The Free Listening Project > <http://www.freelisteningproject.com/> - *They go into public spaces with > a silent invitation on their T-shirts and/or a sign: "*No advice, No > judgment, No Interruptions...just Listening" *- I have wanted to do this > ever since, but for some reason have not - thank you again for the > inspiration Lucas! Imagine if there was a critical mass of people offering > to listen, witness, hear and share our suffering and our empathy...... > > *Thich Nhat Hanh*, believes that practicing deep listening is the only > way that we will achieve world peace, and that this deep listening begins > with learning to listen to our own suffering with empathy. He advocates for > an "army of listeners" to heal our suffering. > > *Listening for world peace *is described in this article: > http://www.lionsroar.com/in-engaged-buddhism-peace-begins-with-you/ > > For some who may not be familiar, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist > monk who was a leader in the peace movement during the Vietnam and a leader > in a practice known as "Engaged Buddhism". > > I love that what you did, Lucas, mixes listening with the invitation for > dialogue among 2+ people and that we are spreading open source "social > technology" that is not owned by any "helping" organization, > "evidenced-based" academic methodology, or "well-planned" government > program :) > > My last thought - I hear the desire for this all over, for both listening > and being heard, for talking about real things without the pall of needing > to debate or convince, with the invitation to share anything in a space of > respect, to tell stories....I was just at a community swap - clothes & > stuff - and this guy was telling people about an idea that he had, telling > it with self-ridicule & laughing it off. He wanted to have a* "crying, > comforting" party* - OK, yes, that may come across as a little odd and > off-putting, but in essence it is the same thing we are talking about here. > His motivation, "people suffer, why suffer alone?" - yes! I suggested that > he make the invitation a little broader and invite people to come and share > their stories & listen to one another, or frame it in some way that invites > people to go deep or vulnerable if they choose, which may include crying, > but invited all feelings and reactions :) If he was really into the crying > part, he could serve raw onion dip :P > > Thanks for listening! > > > > Tricia Chirumbole > US: +1-571-232-0942 > Skype: tricia.chirumbole > > > On Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 10:29 AM, Lucas Cioffi via OSList < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> This is cross-posted on the NCDD listserv, and I'm sharing it with the OS >> List, because-- even though it's not about OST-- it's about opening space, >> and I welcome your thoughts! >> >> I was partially inspired by Michael Herman's quote from four days ago: >> >>> "the other thing i do is never set out big circles in the breakout >>> spaces. i set three chairs to mark each breakout space, with more chairs >>> piled to the sides. the three chairs are pushed right together close, >>> their front edges forming a closed triangle. set this way, they are >>> impossible to use. the first person has to move them to whatever distance >>> feels right to them. after three people come, everyone needs to move them >>> to make room for others. in this way, i dictate nothing. they literally >>> open the space at the center of each breakout group. i've done it this way >>> every time since my first time, when i set big chairs and watched some >>> small groups squirm in spaces that were too big for them." >> >> >> I happen to live in Charlottesville, Virginia where a recent violent >> arrest of a student and race-related protests have gotten some national >> media attention. Over the past two days I tried an experiment in creating >> pop-up civic space for dialogue. >> >> This is designed as an alternative to how Starbucks conducted its Race >> Together initiative last week which has had mixed reviews. *I wrote up >> my thoughts below and attached some photos so you can get a feel for the >> experience.* >> >> My goals were to "bring dialogue to people" and to create a simple, >> repeatable process that others might improve or replicate, even without >> resources. >> >> This is not to detract from formal and well-resourced dialogue programs. >> I believe there is also a vital need for public dialogue in the margins >> like this when no resources are available. >> >> I'm wondering what your thoughts and suggestions are for improvement. >> -- >> Lucas Cioffi >> Co-Founder, QiqoChat >> Charlottesville, VA >> 917-528-1831 >> >> >> >> >> Note: The article and full size photos are here: >> http://americantownhalls.org >> >> *The American Townhall on Anything* >> Over the past few years, I've worked with a few volunteers to experiment >> with different methods for having productive discussions on difficult >> topics like politics. >> >> Our current effort is *The American Townhall on Anything*, a playful yet >> important opportunity to connect with fellow Americans for meaningful >> conversation. >> >> The goal for this experiment is to create "pop-up civic space" where >> people can have productive political discussions. This effort is similar >> to open source software; no one owns it, and anyone can build on it and >> modify it to make it work for their community. >> >> There is no official organization making this happen. These are just >> ideas that we hope will catch on, evolve, and adapt as they grow to have >> greater impact. >> >> You are invited to take these ideas, improve them, and build on them. >> Here's what we've learned so far: >> >> *Day 1, March 24th* >> >> With my dad visiting from out of town, I wanted to have some fun, meet >> some people, and help him get the feel for the community. I've been >> thinking about doing something like this for a few weeks now, and >> (finally!) I had someone who would sit there with me so I don't look so >> alone. Thanks, Pops! >> >> We took my four dining room chairs and walked them over to >> Charlottesville's charming Downtown Pedestrian Mall. With some paper and >> tape I put some signs on the back of the chairs such as the one you can >> read above. >> >> Using indoor dining room chairs wasn't intentional (I didn't have any >> other chairs), however they probably helped to catch people's attention >> because they were both unusual and inviting. >> >> My father and I just started talking about topics that were important to >> us. We had two open seats and people would read the signs and drop in to >> join us for some conversation from time to time. >> >> Over the course of two hours, we met all types of great folks with >> interesting stories to share. We talked about the weather. We talked >> about race, religion, politics, and power. We connected in some surprising >> and rewarding ways. >> >> One person walking by asked an intriguing question with a warm smile: "Is >> this performance art?" My answer: "I don't know." Perhaps it is, or >> perhaps it should be. I have to think about that. >> >> *Day 2, March 25th* >> >> On Day 2, I wanted to kick it up a notch. I wanted to bring our >> traveling road show to the grounds of the University of Virginia where >> there has been significant racial tension over the past week due to an >> arrest outside a bar. >> >> We didn't go there to talk about any specific topic. We wanted to just >> "open some space" and see what people wanted to talk about. This was an >> experiment to test how students and university staff would react to an >> opportunity to exercise their right to free speech. >> >> I was anxious, because I didn't know how this would be received. After >> all, these are strangers sitting down to have some potentially difficult >> conversations. I didn't want to create a space where someone would feel >> uncomfortable, misunderstood, or disrespected. Fortunately everyone felt >> comfortable, and we had some great conversations. >> >> We didn't state any ground rules. People simply defaulted to being >> humane. Perhaps there should be ground rules. I don't know. >> >> On this second day, we were more effective in communicating what was >> happening; we posted small paper signs 50 feet out in both directions >> along the main walking path so that people had more time to understand what >> was going on and that that they were absolutely invited to join the >> conversation. Our simple handwritten signs were in color and said "FREE >> SPEECH - Talk about anything." >> >> Sometimes when people would walk by, we would ask them jokingly, "Are you >> here for the free speech?" People got a laugh out of that. >> >> Students were curious. The chairs filled up quickly. Several other >> students took photographs and we heard some very positive comments as >> people were passing by: "Great idea!" and "I'm headed to class, but how >> long are you hear today?" and "Are you going to be here tomorrow too?" >> >> After 30 minutes, it started raining, so we packed up and went home. All >> in all, we were able to quickly validate our hypothesis that people would >> be receptive to this type of experiment on a college campus. >> >> I wanted to see whether the students would move the discussion to some >> difficult topics on their own, but the rain cut us short. Given what I saw >> today and given my experience participating in a formal >> student-faculty-community dialogue programs at UVA last year, I expect all >> participants would have dealt with difficult topics in a respectful and >> productive way if they came up. >> >> *Next Steps* >> >> This was energizing and fun, and I'm not quite sure what happens next. >> >> I'm active in some online communities of dialogue facilitators, so I'm >> going to share this story with some friends in the National Coalition for >> Dialogue and Deliberation and elsewhere to see what they think. >> >> Given that the new Starbucks "Race Together" dialogue initiative has had >> mixed results (many people did not want dialogue forced upon them), I'd >> also like to (delicately) try a modified version of this inside experiment >> a Starbucks. >> >> If I try something in a Starbucks over the next few days, it will be very >> different-- it would be just a sign-- a silent invitation-- and people can >> choose to sit down and join the conversation if they'd like. >> >> *What do you think?* >> >> Where do we go from here? Well, if I/you/we can create a simple, >> repeatable process for opening "pop-up civic space" like this, then others >> might do the same, and we might all surprise ourselves with what is >> possible. There is certainly a need for more productive dialogue in our >> country. >> >> Please do get in touch: [email protected] >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> Past archives can be viewed here: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >> >> > -- *Skye Hirst, PhD* President - The Autognomics Institute *Conversations in Radical Self-Knowing* www.autognomics.org @autognomics New Phone Number: 207-593-8074
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