Suse Meffert's Posts - Community life competence2024-03-28T12:36:07ZSuse Mefferthttps://aidscompetence.ning.com/profile/SuseMefferthttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2523260255?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://aidscompetence.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2ed83zptf0ymo&xn_auth=noESBZ a Berlin SALT visittag:aidscompetence.ning.com,2016-10-14:2028109:BlogPost:1567632016-10-14T16:15:25.000ZSuse Mefferthttps://aidscompetence.ning.com/profile/SuseMeffert
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<p>SALT visit in ESBZ (see reinventing organisations)in Berlin</p>
<p>This is a very remarkable school for pupils from 10 to 18 years. The young learners call their teachers study coaches, they plan their own learning pace and goal. Two times a year they show their projects to the coaches, up to their 16th year they never get grades. Later they do, to be compatible with…</p>
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<p>SALT visit in ESBZ (see reinventing organisations)in Berlin</p>
<p>This is a very remarkable school for pupils from 10 to 18 years. The young learners call their teachers study coaches, they plan their own learning pace and goal. Two times a year they show their projects to the coaches, up to their 16th year they never get grades. Later they do, to be compatible with the general exams in Germany. Mostly they are better students, more self reliant and with great awareness. When they get no grades, they get useful and detailed comments from their coaches. When they find their learning environment too noisy, for example, they get used to find another good place for themselves....</p>
<p>When we came to this school on a saturday, there was a working weekend for parents, fixing the classrooms (foto) and getting involved, also in touch with each other. It was also a learning day for new parents, they got introduced in the philosophy of this school, as well as the practical implications.(foto). We were having a great conversation with two experienced parents, they told us stories about the school, how much more work the teachers have with coaching and commenting in such a personal way. Also the parents have to choose consciously to send their children to this school, as they get much more involved in all the different projects there. They can also bring a free time project there if they have a good theme of interest. The older sister of her son had given a lecture about monkeys in south Africa, a project she's involved with. So everyone can contribute... Very salty.</p>
<p>It's obligatoir that pupils are involved in social projects in the area (foto), they share their knowledge and learning. It's a conscious and aware new generation that is growing up there. They learn from life, they learn from getting involved. One learning moment is when they get 3 weeks time to travel in a small group. They get 150 euro, the grown up that travels with them only witnesses, only gets involved when there ar threatening situations. One group managed to travel bij canoe, another group discovered a whole new landscape, another group wanted to experience a 3 star hotel. It works, they learn by doing and communicating. They can leave school after 10th grade, they can go on to university.</p>
<p>Great example, horizontal organization and democratic co-working. The only thing I missed here were people from different continents. It's all quite white and weel educated. Nevertheless worthwhile to visit and inspiring to think further.....</p>
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<p>parents fixing the classroom</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2540693689?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2540693689?profile=original" width="640" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>participation</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2540693821?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2540693821?profile=original" width="640" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>Salt visit ?tag:aidscompetence.ning.com,2016-09-07:2028109:BlogPost:1563342016-09-07T17:19:18.000ZSuse Mefferthttps://aidscompetence.ning.com/profile/SuseMeffert
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>next saturday, 10-9-2016 there is an open day at <em>startblok riekerhaven</em>. Birgitta and I have been there earlier for a SALT visit, there was also a picture posted then.</p>
<p>So there's a new possibility to get in contact with this community at the open day, would be a good thing for another visit. If someone is interested, Amsterdam practitioners, we could join and visit, reflect and experience…</p>
<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>next saturday, 10-9-2016 there is an open day at <em>startblok riekerhaven</em>. Birgitta and I have been there earlier for a SALT visit, there was also a picture posted then.</p>
<p>So there's a new possibility to get in contact with this community at the open day, would be a good thing for another visit. If someone is interested, Amsterdam practitioners, we could join and visit, reflect and experience together.</p>
<p>file:///Welkomstfestival%20Startblok%20Riekerhaven.webloc</p>Not - knowing ...... a practice?tag:aidscompetence.ning.com,2016-08-29:2028109:BlogPost:1559052016-08-29T10:19:59.000ZSuse Mefferthttps://aidscompetence.ning.com/profile/SuseMeffert
<p><b>Appreciating the practice of ‘not knowing’ </b></p>
<p><b> </b>...a personal reflection concerning today’s triad skype talk about action planning…</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>You have heard of flying with wings</i>,</p>
<p><i>But can you fly without wings ?</i></p>
<p><i>You have heard of the knowledge that knows,</i></p>
<p><i>But can you practice</i></p>
<p><i>The knowledge that doesn’t know?</i></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p><i>Consider a window: it is…</i></p>
<p><b>Appreciating the practice of ‘not knowing’ </b></p>
<p><b> </b>...a personal reflection concerning today’s triad skype talk about action planning…</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>You have heard of flying with wings</i>,</p>
<p><i>But can you fly without wings ?</i></p>
<p><i>You have heard of the knowledge that knows,</i></p>
<p><i>But can you practice</i></p>
<p><i>The knowledge that doesn’t know?</i></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p><i>Consider a window: it is just</i></p>
<p><i>A hole in the wall, but because of it</i></p>
<p><i>The whole room is filled with light.</i></p>
<p><i>Thus when the mind is open</i></p>
<p><i>And free of it’s own thoughts</i>,</p>
<p><i>Life unfolds effortlessly</i>,</p>
<p><i>And the whole world is filled with light.</i></p>
<p> (Stephen Mitchell, The second book of the Tao)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anita, Birgitta and I are doing the blended learning training for facilitators. Today we were talking about our practices in the context of creating an action plan. Among others, two questions came up that I want to reflect about, not yet knowing where I’m heading……J:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>a) Can ‘ appreciating not knowing’ be a practice or is it just describing a state of being. The last would not be measurable and therefore not usefull as a practice.</p>
<p>b) Could we use the term ‘not knowing’ instead of what we do want to learn?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In our triad we come from different backgrounds, Birgitta and Anita are facilitators, consultants with a huge experience, sharing the practice of Appreciative Inquiry, also a lot of professional and technical skills. My background is psychotherapy, mindfulness -/ compassion training and many years of shamanic practice / teaching. Google sheets, skype meetings and and also the english language are not my daily concerns.</p>
<p>In fact, I love to learn new skills and I appreciate our triad discussions very much, only quite some moments I have the feeling that I don’t know a lot.</p>
<p>Of course we do share a couple of things besides the SALT approach, our three german mothers, and, we are all into Theory U.</p>
<p>Otto Scharmer describes in his book about Theory U how the actual form of his version of the theory was rooted in a personal experience. When he was 16 years old, his family’s farmhouse was totally destroyed by a big fire. Everything was gone. They had nothing left.</p>
<p>Right at this moment he experienced, besides his fear, a huge creative energy. The future emerged out of this chaos and showed the steps necessary to take….</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Let’s go back to something we know: The iceberg model.</p>
<p>There is a little top, the known, and there is a lot of cold water, the unknown. Once in a while we are drawn to diving experiences. What else is there ? How can we get there? How can we make use of this enormous potential, or anyway just enjoy it? What can we learn from it?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The story Stephen Mitchell tells us about the tao, is talking about an open mind. In the course of my mindfulness / martial arts training I experienced a lot of trouble with this. All these thoughts and considerations that continuously show up. Especially in daily life. An open mind is a lifelong practice. Also, when I see the window in my mind’s eye, there is the light and there logically has to be also shadow.</p>
<p>This is the reason, in the future I want to combine the practice of CLCP / SALT with the practice of Deep Democracy (DD). Because of the shadow. Because DD teaches me to learn about the unknown, the not-said, the minority, the things that are not supposed to be said.</p>
<p>Example: in an introduction circle during a training people would tell that they like to be there. The facilitator could ask what part of them would rather be not there, would love to be at home right now, or elsewhere?</p>
<p>The aspect that are not common or not allowed to be spoken out loud, are called ‘ ghostroles’. They can bring a lot of trouble in groups, they can even be terrorists. If we give them space, if we listen to them, we are getting more whole. These ghosts are getting human then, they get part of the situation, they get even part of ourselves. In other words, we can recognize them in ourselves and get more compassionate with them and us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>When groups forbid their diavowed parts, they become incongruent, rigid and lifeless.</i></p>
<p><i> </i> Arnold Mindell, the founder of DD.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, the ghostroles are located in the cold ice water, creating hotspots in group sessions and we will all meet them in facilitating CLCP meetings. When I had one of my first encounters</p>
<p>with practicing SALT facilitation, I was glad to bring movement through a deep democracy body exercise about conflict. Afterwards the body was alive and conflict was allowed. It didn’t have to go underground.</p>
<p>Another quote from A. Mindell, as the three of our triad are 50+ people, talking about the difference between a leader and an elder: </p>
<p><i>LET IT BE</i></p>
<p><i>While leaders make strategies to win, the elder recognizes others and becomes their student. The leader focusses on issues; the elder on feelings as well. The leader tries to change people; the elder assumes we are all exactly what we are meant to be.</i></p>
<p><i>The leader thinks the future depends on which political party heads the government; for an elder the future depends on enabling what is unknown to appear.</i></p>
<p><i>Therefore the elder focusses on interactions between the visible and hidden polarities, not on the domination or success of any one of them.</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>During my 30 year experience as a therapist, I worked with many people suffering from depression. Different ages, different races, different backgrounds, there is one thing they all shared: the wish to be perfect! Now, that I’m about to leave this kind of work , I recognise the teachings every cliënt provided.</p>
<p>But there is more about this. As far as we want to talk about personalities, there is a root here to create the fertile ground for depression. Rigid patterns that don’t allow certain feelings (from under the waterline, in the ice water) and that expect a certain kind of behavior. If not done, it is wrong. These patterns can be repeated for generations. In therapy we try to get them more fluid.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In anscient traditions there are other ways to work with these patterns. For example the taoists talk about the ‘ Winnning Loser’:</p>
<p><i> The student of knowledge (aims at) learning day by day.</i></p>
<p><i> The student of the Tao (aims at) loosing day by day.</i></p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p>Native American traditions pray to the Great Spirit. They are adressing <i>Great Spirit of Mystery</i>.</p>
<p>The spirit of the unknown.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, Carlos Castaneda, student of the Toltec teacher Don Juan, describes a practice that is called the <i>not-doings</i>.</p>
<p>He distinguishes the <i>doings</i> and the <i>not-doings</i>. This refers to the earlier described patterns that can be rigid and painfull.</p>
<p>The doings are the ways of behaving, thinking and talking we are used to. The ones we know. The ones that we are doing automatically and that might be expected.</p>
<p>Practicing the not-doings means to <i>not</i> act on auto-pilot. Not acting automatically, the way we are used to, the way we see ourselves….can be very challenging. Above all it requires a very active intention. It is an activity, and not an easy one. If knowing is doing, not-knowing is not-doing.</p>
<p>Voilá.</p>
<p>There is a lot more to say about the ice water and about our ways of diving. As far as I’m concerned, up to now, I would regard our 5th practice as active. Measurable?</p>
<p>That would be mind-blowing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Literature</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Stephen Mitchell, <i>The second book of the Tao,</i> NY, 2009</p>
<p>Arnold Mindell, <i>The leader as martial artist,</i> Oregon 2014</p>
<p>Arnold Mindell, <i>Sitting in the fire,</i> Oregon 2014</p>
<p>Otto Scharmer, <i>Theory U,</i> Zeist 2010</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> <em>Not</em></p>