Author: Tenneson Woolf

Kathy Jourdain is very good friend. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is one of my dearest teaching and hosting companions in the Art of Hosting Network. I love the way that we connect with each other — one of those friends where the right timing always seems to show up without effort. I also love the way that she is a committed writer. She is committed to the practice of writing, which I’ve also been learning a lot about lately.

Kathy has written three pieces recently that feel like essentials for contexting the Art of Hosting and the deeper patterns that become available to participants and those of us that steward this work. I see them as fabulous pieces to offer, particularly when people are just starting to explore what this work is or whether to come to a training. Her context to me helps invite the awareness of really important skills, and, the rich, rich possibility underneath those skills that shift paradigms and becomes ways of being.

One AoH Training Does Not a Practitioner Make — I love the call to practice here. Not as role-playing. And not as volume or certification. Rather, as getting the deeper pattern and resonance.

Becoming an AoH Practitioner — Some further description and guidance on beginnings. I’ll add this piece also that I wrote a while back on Credentials as Practice. It speaks to the need to just start and learn as we go.

The Art of Stewarding — I love the reference here to knowing and feeling the resonance of people gathered in learning. Also, the importance of self-work (and clearing, etc) to change the relationship of holding group. What is underneath has always been a compelling question for me. I wrote some of this here, Hosting What? Consciousness, Wellness, Wholeness, and Resonance.

So much to explore. For me, I give attention to world views and practices from the quantum paradigm, intuition and alchemy, energy and light, reification. Like Kathy, and gladly, with her, finding some really helpful levels of essentials that further feed this beautiful and practical Art of Hosting choice for doing good together.

Below is an email exchange I had this week. Some of it I offered through the Art of Hosting listserve. Some of it in response from my beautiful friend and colleague Maria Scordiolu in Greece. I post it here because it helps me to see more language for gifts, energetics, and human systems evolving with choice of what we hold in the central hearth to imprint in all of what we offer and become. And from the realness of revolution in Greece, a pattern showing up in many places in the world now.

Hello Everyone (July 2 — To AoH Listserve)

I wake this morning with an impression to share this context of AoH, one that many of you know. It was something that we sent out through Berkana last week to context a few upcoming AoHs. I like the simplicity of words and the expression of clarity.

I’m aware, reading this morning again of Maria’s postings. Her invitation to support those gathered in Greece, not just for Greece, but for the bigger system. Her and others continuing to share the story, the courage. I receive those stories as energetic activations — give attention to the beauty that is there in and among people, and by so doing, help that consciousness come to material form. It is some of the wizardry that many of us practice. At one level, it is hosting. At another, it is invitation to organize around what we love and have that at the hearth of what we do.

I’m aware of reading a financial analysis of United States economic systems of the “house of cards” kind of feel. An amazing system that feels like it could collapse in a number of ways. Such an illusion that has sustained for many years. But now, it shifts. Insurmountable debt. Deep budget cuts in all states.

My intention is not to speak of the fear. But rather of the masses of energy in people and in groups — with this kind of macro story. When we look at these levels of scale, the world needs some basics of presence. Even with fantastic skills and good people. There are energies that seem to be bursting at the seems. Why? I am one who believes an energetic pattern is shifting here on earth. That is spoken from many traditions. It is becoming more intense. Some of us humans are learning how to be in that. And some are just spinning in it. Those spinnings can quickly become wildfire.

The time for us to be in healthy patterns of our engagement, learning, wholeness feels very strong. AoH is a pattern for us to do that. I’m glad to be a part of that, knowing what shifts in me, and in what I see in remembering community and wholeness. I don’t mean to offer that in any kind of marketing way. Rather, with awareness, and invitation for all of us to be coming with our gifts and inviting self/ others into wholeness patterns, while being in what will continue to grow as experiences in immense energy.

Quite a thing to be human, isn’t it. And quite a thing to be remembering and evolving together.

Love from Utah.

Tenneson

 

Dear Tenneson, (July 2 from Maria)

What you are writing to – a gifting culture – where each of our gifts can be a contribution – is exactly what I have seen being practiced on a small scale in Syntagma Square.  People are simple being gifts to one another.  Some know about technology – so they set up the technology group – other are artists – so they set up the artists group – others are good at organising food and water – so they set up the food and water group.  Each person is just being a gift – to the whole.  This is a new form of economy – eco – home – nomia – keeping order – in other words – keeping order of our home – or housekeeping.  For now, Syntagma Square is the home – and people living there are living this form of economia.  Anyone can gift – and there are boundaries – please do not come here to put forward your political party or dogma – gift because you want this to be a part of your act of direct democracy – that is taking your place as a person who cares.

I am witnessing what Meg Wheatley spoke about all those years ago – a new form of leadership – anyone who cares and wants to do something about it..  When the something we care about is about life – and our place as people in it – in a way that has dignity and integrity – it really is not difficult to stand up and gift.  And it hurts – boy does it hurt – when this form of leadership is tear gassed and portrayed in the media as violent – when it just is the most basic of human rights – to take part – to contribute – to gift.  Why – for love!!  For connection.  For wholeness.

This is not about right or wrong –  this is natural law.  We humans belong to life – we do not create it – we do not direct it – we are it!!  We are coming back.  We are re-membering.  We are reframing.  We are be-living.  And it is taking so much strength and courage – to break through the delusion and illusion – so we can stand naked and realise – we are just part of this mystical and magical web – called Life!.

Much love

Maria

OK, so it’s a bit simple, and certainly not new. What’s a weed? What’s a flower? Eye of the beholder at some level.

I like to garden. I like to have my hands in the dirt. I like the way that I feel when I’m committed to growing things. And yes, there is some kind of energy in all of that, that for me, just feels healthy. I think of it is a kind of wholeness, the energy of a bigger living system (yup, maybe just an expression of one system), that touches me and helps realign, retune me.

In my current garden, this is the first spring / summer that I’m experiencing it. I have a wrap around flower garden in the back. A small southern-exposure vegetable garden on the side. Two significant beds in the front. The person who lived here before me loved flowers. And she did a fantastic job filling the beds. I quite love that every week / month there is a new surprise showing up in the gardens.

Yes, I weed. It’s a bit confusing to me. Knowing what’s a weed and what isn’t. I know that part of me that was trained to think about getting all the weeds out. An urgency. Yet, some of those weeds are quite beautiful. And they seem to do what I (and many) hope for with perennials and ground covers. Hmmm….

So in the midst of my relating to my garden, pulling out a few weeds, leaving a few, pulling out a few flowers, I got curious. Weed? What’s a weed? Who said? “Valueless plant.” Maybe. “To the exclusion of a desired crop.” OK, that’s making more sense. “Inefficient and superfluous.” Says who. I have learned that dandelions go quite well in a salad.

So, here is what I came up with. If my desired crop is tomatoes from my tomato plants, I don’t really want the weeds. True for my food growing. If however, my desire is to see beauty in my flower gardens, and “those weeds” grow naturally and spread naturally, then there is something that makes sense to me in that. Hmmm.

How does all of that relate to organizational work, change, leadership, dialogue? Not intending to force the point, but it seems worth attention. What is the crop that we really intend? What grows wildly? What wants to grow? What is perfect for the environment? You get the gist.

Weeds. Flowers. Beauty.

What a lovely event this was, the Rocky Mountain Conference, a regional conference for the United Church of Christ. It is an annual meeting, this year being the 37th convening. There were about 160 people that attended. Ministers. Delegates. Lay people. The theme was “Life is Different Now.” I was invited by my friends Erin Gilmore and Glen Brown to meet with Conference Minister, Tom Rehling. All of us together, imagined and designed a 2.5 day format that supports some of the imaginings of “new church.”

There are several things that I loved about this gathering. One, working with Erin, Glen, and Tom. They are each and all brilliant, clear, open, courageous, creative, purposeful. Two, the participants. Stellar. Welcoming. Inviting. Enthusiastic. Three, this is an example of deliberately evolving the large conference format to be highly participative. It often requires more letting go. It invites more trust and welcome of the people in the room. It was a courageous call, particularly from Tom. He and his staff were the ones that fielded questions and concerns about shifting format. In the end it feels simple. But it takes commitment to get there. There was much appreciation, many “best ever” comments from participants. Appreciation for the feeling of retreat. Welcome of the aliveness from being designed to support a next level of wellness and wholeness.

Below are several links to helpful and important resources.

Slide show with a few of the photos I took (5 minutes). With credits to Ben Lee and his song, “We’re All in This Together.” Buy it. I did.

The same photo set on Flickr, as used in the above slide show.

Landscape map photos on Flickr, a few that I drew to show some of our design and content.

Haiku harvest video (from Open Space, to go along the harvest forms posted here)

Invitations Teasers (a few that I created to send after the original invitation)

UCC Newsletter Followup (from Tom Rehling sent to UCC community)

Video Reflections, Hopes, Testimonies (Interviews from Chance Percival)