A Couple of Nuances on Intentions and Agreements

Good morning. We’ll, almost afternoon now where I live.

I’m pulling myself up from a morning of AI geeking (creating questions for a program I want to offer). That kind of framing is one of the great gifts of AI. Sometimes the questions are good to go. Sometimes they need just a little tweaking to bring to alignment.

And I’ve been reading. My buddy Chris is distilling a couple of important maps and ways of practicing. Check out his posts on his site about Four Fold Practice and Two-Loops. And read The Tao of Holding Space — it’s one of my favorites.

And, I’m reading some more. Marti Beddoe, a practitioner from The Circle Way tradition that writes about SoulCollage. And she offers some nice evolutions of agreements.

It’s Marti’s writing that has be nuancing some beloved ways of speaking intention and agreements. I won’t speak the whole journey of these. Rather, I want to write what is sparked this morning (and with particular anticipation for a group of men coming to my home next week for a 1/2 day Flow Game.)

Intentions:
– to practice and create time + space + process for thoughtful, honest, serious, playful learning
– to practice and create time + space + process for life to flow, and for us to be flowed

Agreements:
– confidentiality: we need to create a container for our unpolished, unfinished, still-moving selves to be present. It’s important in most dialogues where we are meant to discover what is unknown.
– speak from your experience and curiosity: this is different than offering, or worse, imposing, judgements, fixes, and rescues. We do better when we stick with our stories, and of course connect them in principle to others in their stories.
– offer witness, often silent: this one I just lifted from Marti (thank you). This agreement counters the ever so prevailing tendency to say too many words, comments, and other well-meaning forms of support. Trust the power of the silent witness.
– pause from time to time: it’s been so powerful in the Circle’s I host to let people know that they can call for short pause (tingsha bells rang twice; or the one minute timer). It’s not just for facilitators to decide. The shared tending is rich.
– welcome being moved: and surprised. Moved by life. Moved by what emerges. This is one of the primary possibilities and delights, right.

Good morning again. Thx for reading.