Mindfulness — In Action
No need to sign up for a mindfulness course right now. And for those who have already done them, this is a powerful time to put the exercises into action. We are all being asked or forced to slow down.
Our awareness of how we conduct our daily life — business and personal — is being examined and reflected upon. We get to see who we are in relation to ourselves, others and what is unfolding and how we are responding or reacting. To connect to all the parts of us that are shocked, fed up, deeply scared, concerned for others more vulnerable, feeling helpless, deeply privileged, invincible, angry, antagonistic, isolated, vulnerable, opportunistic, in denial, overloaded with conflicting information or simply distracted as a way to cope.
I was grateful to be part of a Dynamic Facilitation process led by the masterful Rosa Zubizarreta whose work has been at the heart of some very successful civic councils in Germany and Austria. We dove into two questions. How can we bring a better balance of heart and head to citizens assemblies through Dynamic Facilitation? What is the gold in the coronavirus outbreak?
The latter was a potent topic for me as I felt the tension in my body over my plans to visit a close friend undergoing chemo.
The power and beauty of this process was the safe space Rosa created and held so that all views whether opposing or not could be heard, played back and documented. She engages in what she terms we-flection where her brain is on loan to us, actively supporting what they are trying to day. Our concerns, assumptions, solutions and basic data all written for all to see and replayed back. Over time this neutralises and transforms things that may have initially been received with an edge This enabled us to connect to parts of ourselves that need such an environment to be witnessed.
- To see the power in naming the feeling.
- Realising that we may not be letting in all of the news about what is going on into our mind and heart.
- Recognising the attachment to the way we live. To acknowledge both the capitalist and the environmentalist can co-exist within us. External conflict is also internal.
- Potential power that crisis has to bring out more in us.
So we dove deep, saw and accepted so many parts of us including our blind spots and left more connected, humane and grateful for the gift of life. And, as the wise Mayor of a Californian town said — we are our first responders.