Social Healing Project Harvest

World Cafe Exploration

Click here to see all pictures from the Social Healing Project

Yesterday was the last day of the Social Healing Project that I wrote about in a prior blog. What a rich time we had. The people attending represented the many regions of the world where conflict is either still quite alive and overpowering, in a state of calm yet still evident or where hope is starting to show through the cracks and beginning to take hold.

Our time together revealed the depth to which our personal and collective wounding informs our actions. We experienced what we do for others but rarely for ourselves – the power of witnessing and holding a safe, heart-felt space for the darkness of another or the almost unimaginable pain of a whole community to be voiced. With acknowledgment and standing with the others’ suffering, the healing and transformation is able to begin.

We heard stories of occupation and deep hardship from around the world in the Native American community, Northern Ireland, Israel, Palestine, South Africa, prisons, street gangs and beyond. We shared personal family histories of separation being both victims and perpetrators. We celebrated together the hope that is achieved by projects that honor the ‘hidden heroes’ and those who cross enemy lines to help their brothers and sisters on the other side of conflict.

This was a gathering that found ways of bringing in the intellectual stimulation and information on the theories of social healing along with the important experiential processes that bring us closer together as a community. Practices such as World Cafe, Open Space, small group sharing, systemic constellations, deep sharing in Circle Practice grounded in shared values using a talking piece create the much needed safe space for sharing and re-energizing that those of us working in all levels of society in social healing and peacemaking need.

What was different about this gathering and is very consistent with my passion for what is needed as we emerge as possible humans in these evolutionary and turbulent times is that along with the intellectual and collective processes, we welcomed in expansive and sacred ways of knowing – the wisdom of the ancestors, the energies of the four directions, the spirits of the land on which we met, the beauty and healing power of song, art, nature and a central fire.

I am grateful to have a newly expanded community of ‘mates’ doing exquisite work around the world. As always happens, the field we held was rich and is already seeded with ideas of how we will cross pollinate going forward. I welcome that and look forward to meeting and working together again in times to come.

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Reflections on a virtual world cafe

Engaging in Juicy Stillness,
the importance of connection.
As we each share our gifts with subversive lightness,
we energize the hope and deep compassion we and our world are yearning to receive.

That is a reflection I had after I participated in a World Cafe call of 23 people from around the globe. We spent 2.5 hours together, engaged in meaningful conversation using the Maestro Conference technology. This allowed us to speak together in a large group and to break out into smaller, intimate conversations.

The conversations were rich. I come to these calls because taking the time to speak to people in this respectful way is sacred, important and so rare in our every day busy world. In these conversations we speak from our hearts because we find the space to be welcoming and nourishing. Breaking out into small groups of three or four people combined with caring ‘hosting’ by the World Cafe “hosts” who clearly direct the call makes what can be a very impersonal technology very personal.

Some people said the call provided an “earthy world connection” and a “community meditation practice.” I agree. That is why I believe the more we come together in these conversations and build bridges between us, the stronger we will be to hold the hope and deep compassion our world needs.

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