Category: Edited

Hosting on Bowen Island, at Rivendell Retreat Centre is always a treat. Last week was no exception. The location — there is something about coming to the edge of a continent, boarding a ferry to an island, and then upon reaching that island, traveling to the top of one of its peaks. In this case, Cates Hill, upon with Rivendell sits. The co-hosts — Chris Corrigan, Caitlin Frost, Teresa Posakony. We have much pattern of hosting together that continues to teach me about hosting a field from a field. The participants — old friends and new friends who have come to learn and practice together.

One of the experiments that I most appreciated was a next level of hosting a Proaction Cafe. Myself, Bill Robb, Kathy Olson Adams, Pong Leung, and Leon Janssen scoped out a new version to offer to the group.

The first version of this that I’ve learned and practiced was from several colleagues in Europe. It is a marriage of Open Space Technology and World Cafe. The first part of the process utilizes Open Space. People naming projects on which they will work. What is different from OST is that there is a set number of groups. These people then become table hosts in a cafe format.

What changed in this evolution was the questions we asked during the rounds of cafe. Rather than asking in Round 1, “What is the quest beneath the project?” we dropped in the model of the Chaordic Stepping Stones and asked people to help fill in the buckets of Need, Purpose, Principles, and a bit on Intended Harvest. We kept the energy of quest, but this model seemed to add some specificity and focus to the table conversations.

With a similar spirit of revision for Round 2, rather than asking “What is missing?” we asked, “What is the further help that you need?” and asked people to fill in the buckets of People, Concept, and Limiting Beliefs. We kept the energy of “missing” and “help needed,” but with added specificity.

Our time was short for a third round on next steps, again inspired by “Structure” from the Chaordic Stepping Stones model. Some time for the table hosts to sit in their learning and to sit with a new group of participants. It was even shorter for a group reflection, but mostly to accommodate a closing ritual with the group, wrapping up the entire gathering.

This aspect of timing is important learning for me. Though I can often run a World Cafe in 1.5 – 2 hours, many of these are about exploring purpose and the context of the times we are in. In Proaction Cafe, I really want 2.5 – 3 hours to fully support the movement of projects into energy. And to reflect some of the learning of the group from the project hosts and from participants.

I’m appreciating this experience and others that experiment with method. Proaction Cafe is really quite a brilliant model for welcoming in a relatively short time, 10-12 coaches and co-thinkers to help move ideas into the energy of action.

There is some inspiring work taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is about public engagement and citizen participation in building a significant centre. I’m aware of it through my friend and colleague Tim Merry. It is well thought out. Involved. Quite beautiful.

The website is here. And a poem, written by Tim that focuses attention and energy on the “why” of democracy. Beautiful.

Redesigning Democracy.

Why?

Because it is already happening.

The collective voice of people is uprising everywhere. On streets, in
schools, in organizations and online. This is the age of mass
participation. The risks of not going with the flow of this moment are
high – isolation, riots, strikes, revolution, fundamentalism.

Citizens can organize themselves now. Let’s organize with them.

One age is past and a new one is uprising. The time of an isolated small
group making decisions for the benefit of the many is gone.

We are all experts.
We are all informed.
We are all connected.
We are all talking.
We do not need anyone to decide our future for us.

Let’s build our containers to make visible this collective voice.
Let build our platforms to launch it.
Let’s amplify the voice of the people to transform the leadership landscape.

Listen leaders and follow us!

We are tired of following you and finding no fulfillment of our dreams.
We know what we want and where we want to go.
The collective is the leader.
The collective has a voice.
We have voted ourselves in.

We ask that you follow in the path of our clarity and join us to make it happen.

Those in town halls, penthouse offices, parliaments, senate houses,
head quarters – notice has been served.
The invitation has been made.
The time is changing.
Join us.
Join in.

The citizens are uprising

Last week I co-hosted an event for ministers and leaders from the Episcopalian tradition. I quite love meeting with those who are familiar with moving to the edges of tradition. To the newness. To the uncertainty. To the letting go. To the irrepressible inner prompt. This was a group skewed toward seeking out together new ministries in response to the needs and realities of human beings and churches today. Inspiring.

One thread of learning for me has been about the sacred, the essentially sacred. I named this as a topic to explore and invited other to join in that. I quite love the multiple meanings of this phrase. It points to what is at the essential core of the experience of sacred. It also points to the bridge that connects to the secular, simple hosting and social technologies that leave people feeling  something akin to sacred, but named differently.

My new friend Dan Burner spoke the first words of this. This simple phrase stays with me. I find it is the one that I’m sharing as one key marker for me from this event.

Sacred is released in relationship.

And I like how it is evolving. I shared this with a group of people I recently started meeting with, formed by friend Judy Wallace. It is called the Conscious Creation Circle, in the simple yet profound rhythm of meeting weekly by teleconference call for an hour, that begins with 15 minutes of silence. From participant in that group, Nana Dunn, added additional nuance.

Sacred is released in relationship and connection.

And as, email threads tend to go, another layer was added by Hala Makarem of the same group.

Sacred is released, revealed and sensed in relationship and connection –
a multi-dimensional heart space is birthed to breathe into
and manifest an integrated physical body experience.

Delightful isn’t it.

It sparked another layer of nuance for me that was present in the original conversation with Dan and others.

Relationship and connection
to self, each other, community, nature, subtle realms.
For me I feel the relationship, connection, and I’d say activation,
with some specifically named mediums —
beauty, light, love, kindness.
These each have frequency to them, an energetic,
that can pop to presence when attended to.

Glad to carry these expanded markers with me. And welcome both the simple essence and the added nuance.

They are feeding a current inquiry that pal Chris Corrigan, I, and others are holding, hosting, and harvesting together with some deliberateness over the next several weeks.

• Great to be with Episcopal folks asking important questions about new ministries. More interfaith in Utah, Nov 28. http://on.fb.me/Rvozl5 
• Support a conscious and deliberate inquiry into what faith communities can be today. Like this FB page: http://on.fb.me/OociyD 
• Many leaders in faith communities are committed to evolution of form and practice. Join us 11/28-12/1 in Utah. http://bit.ly/SAJBex