Wed, August 19, 2009
Ocean Robbins
1:00PM

Present: Barbara Fields, Ocean Robbins
 

Do you have processes you’ve worked with that you think are effective?

What would be helpful to you in your work?

O: I’m really excited about being in conversation about the right questions. Making sense of what we see happening in the world right now. What are the opportunities that are present right now that did no exist before. What is the meeting point between utter necessity, new possibility, and human longing.
What is the meeting point of our gifts (what we’re really good at), our passions (what we love doing), and what we hear the world calling for?

What do we see going on in the world what are the major forces we see at work? We are both helping to ease the suffering that comes with the demise of unproductive systems and institutions upon what we are dependent, at the same time living in a post globalization world, how do we help to bring that into being. What are people seeing the “hospice movement’ and the midwifery movement; what are some of the lifeboats that can help us make the transition between sinking ship and land.
What are people in this circle alive with passion about?
We come through billions of years of evolution and have creativity, innovation to respond to crises. What is it in our dna that we need to draw upon to respond to this crisis of our time. What are some of the qualities we need to grow stronger in?

B: Barbara Marx Hubbard also talks about how our crisis is a birth. How dangerous birth can be.
Also emergencies/emergences.
These are integral questions; what are the attributes that we need that may have been ignored/ unsupported by the previous social order.

O: I’d love to use freewriting at least once; 10 minutes with a prompt: ex- what I hear the world calling for:, these times are inviting us to:, the qualities that these times call me to cultivate. Stream of consciousness, pen doesn’t leave te paper. Then they share with partners/ the whole group.

Group free-write
Or in a whole circle, same thing but people can see what their neighbors are writing, and you must at least ten times steal a phrase from what your neighbor is writing. Then every minute, somebody calls out a word that relates to the theme, and every one must use that in the next sentence.

You end up with common themes, sharing in pairs back and forth, and you find the points of overlap etc. Sitting on the floor is easiest.

Pair and shares on questions; small groups, whole groups, circle style, popcorn. Or people who are prepped to seed the conversation and to share more provocative/personal.

What is a defining pain or struggle in your life’s journey, and how has your response to it helped define your life/ passion.

Relationship between crises/opportunity. What are opportunities that are unique to this time…in this time of pain and struggle.

B: What is it we haven’t thought of that would work better? How can we shift the dynamic of generational decision making in the system.

O: another good question: Where are you struggling and where are you growing?

The dynamic is better when everyone in the room is in the conversation, not just listening.

We could have everyone read the bios before hand so we don’t have to do formal introductions, but immediately go to a deeper place.

I’ve gotten frustrated about people introducing each other, because I feel like I’m not really getting the person…just hearing about them. If the person is connected to their spirit I’d rather hear straight from them.

B: It’s more about establishing that the ego was checked at the door; a one or two intro of someone, then what they had to add or say. Plus a substantial section later where people get to speak about themselves.