Culture

Collaborative Decision-Making: the Difference Between Being Willing and Being Passive

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This post is a response to Dave Belden’s comment on part 3 of my Personal Growth and Social Change mini-series. I believe what’s below will make more sense if you read part 3 of my mini-series and Dave’s comment before reading what’s below. When I wrote the section on willingness and group functioning I was well aware that what I was writing would not be practical. What would be needed in order to put any of this into practice is beyond the scope of what a blog entry here and there could support people in doing. Instead, I was reaching for enough clarity so that the ideas and images could inspire some people to want to explore, learn, experiment, and ask questions.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 3)

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Crossposted from The Fearless Heart. See Part 1 of this topic here and part 2 here. The person who raised the question prompted this mini-series concluded that social change takes “groups of people organizing together [and] taking visible, observable action in the world to help create change.” In this next post I want to take on the extension of the practices and consciousness of nonviolence to the group and organizational level. Maximizing Willingness for Efficiency and Sustainability
Two challenges that people face when coming together to organize and work for change are how to function together efficiently in the face of different opinions and wishes, and how to sustain the energy over time.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 2)

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Part 1 of this mini-series was posted here. NVC in Support of Social Change
Most often I almost forget that NVC is an acronym that contains the word “communication.” Instead I tend to think of NVC [Nonviolent Communication] as a set of principles and practices to integrate the consciousness of nonviolence into all levels of living:

Personally, practicing NVC offers one way of accepting Gandhi’s invitation to bring nonviolence to one’s thought, word, and action. Interpersonally, NVC conflict resolution and dialogue tools can contribute to the conversations, negotiations, coalition building, and other organizing efforts which are indispensable for any attempt of working with other people towards structural or systemic goals. On the group level, using NVC for facilitation and decision making can contribute to effective functioning for groups and organizations working for social change.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 1)

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Many of us who practice nonviolence carry a vision of a world that works for all, where everyone’s needs matter and people and the planet are cared for. None of us know what will or could bring about our vision. Will it be a miracle of a single leader transforming the cultural assumptions and practices? Will it be a world collapse which will create a void and an opportunity to restructure society? Will it be a critical mass of people who inhabit different forms of human relationship?

Culture

Making Room for Being Different

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I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel different, even when I was very young. Being different is as familiar to me as breathing and eating. Last week, as part of the Institute for Sacred Activism I attended, I experienced a major shift in relating to being different. Because the path I am walking is the path of vulnerability, and because I have some hope that what I experienced may be of use to others, I decided to write in some detail about the opening that happened and about what I learned as a result.
Let me start from the end. I have had a storyline for most of my conscious life that says there is no room for me in the world.

Culture

Shame and Love

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This post was inspired by an email I received two days ago: “Where does shame come from …? How can we approach it so we can eventually free ourselves from it? What works for you? What did you see working for others? Anything alive in you around this topic that might serve other readers as well?”

Culture

Approaching the Oscar Grant Verdict with Empathy

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In a few days, possibly as early as tomorrow, a controversial trial will come to an end, and the verdict on Johannes Mehserle, the police officer who killed Oscar Grant in Oakland, California, last January, will be released. This is a tense moment in Oakland. What will happen if he is acquitted? What will happen if is found guilty? Whatever the verdict is, some people will be unhappy.

General News

Nothing is Separate

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When I read Sharif Abdullah’s Creating a World that Works for All, one of the ideas that really stood out to me was that when the Exxon Valdez crashed, it was delivering my oil to me. It wasn’t someone else’s oil. I was using it just like the vast, vast majority of people in this country. This was radical non-separation for me. It has stayed with me, and continues to inform my investigations about how to approach the current cluster of challenges we are facing in the world.

Culture

Transcending Righteousness

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Imagine you came to a conference about reconciliation. Imagine you are gay, and you discovered that nothing on the agenda explores this dimension of human life. How would you feel, and what would you do? A dear friend just had this experience. I hope you find her story inspiring.

Culture

Empathy and Authenticity in the Workplace (part 3 of 3)

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Part 1 of this mini-series was posted here, and part 2 here. Many people find it challenging, almost impossible, to imagine asking for what they want in their workplace. This is especially true if they have little access to formal power within the organization. I plan to come back to the topic of power, including within organizations, in the near future. For now, I want to focus on fundamental principles that can help you in lining up resources for yourself in the workplace regardless of where you are in the organization.