Community of Practice for Bohm Dialogue Practitioners & Thinkers

Thank you to those that joined our first meetup on Monday to explore how we can shape a community of practice for Bohm Dialogue.

I started this meetup to bring together the people I have met who are passionate about or interested in practising and working with dialogue.

My hope is for it to become a space for knowledge sharing and learning. It aims to be an inclusive space for anyone working with dialogue or anyone wanting to find out more about the practice and thinking of dialogue.

Together we will shape the community of practice in a way that meets the needs and aims of the group.

Some needs that emerged from our first meetup were to have a space to practice and experience dialogue; testing ideas for the facilitation of dialogue; and to explore concepts, issues and thinking through being in dialogue together.

My hope is that we can create meetups around people's needs to accommodate those already familiar with the practice of dialogue and those new to dialogue who are wanting to learn about the practice of dialogue as David Bohm and others since have proposed and worked with. 

To listen to the check-out from the first meeting click here. 

Digify x Mindful Communication

This week saw the last in my four workshop with the 4th Digify Cohort. This inspiring group of young people have been selected by youth-led creative network Livity to take part in their 'talent-spotting and hot-housing digital skills incubator,' Digify. Supported as part of Sadiq Khan’s Digital Talent Programme, after two months of paid in-house training, they will all shortly begin a six month placement at Sky.

I have run four half-day workshops with the group as part of their 2 month training programme. We have covered mindful communication techniques such as listening, non-judgement, curiosity, creativity, non-violent communication and values. 

Using LEGO Serious Play to explore the qualities of a good listener

What are our values and why are they important to us

Making models to represent mind, body and spirit: what can we learn when we check in with how we think and feel with our whole body

How can we communicate with a language of feelings and needs

Reflecting on our life journeys and our hopes for the future

This workshop series aims to give participants a creative and relaxed space to connect with themselves and others. Each workshop utilises playful techniques such as LEGO Serious Play, making and drawing, combined with mindfulness, non-violent communication and dialogue practices. The experience provides a sense of calm and opportunity for reflection, allowing participants to ground themselves in a better understanding of their values, feelings and sense of self. In turn it provides participants with skills that can help improve their communication with others and contribute to their overall sense of well-being.

“For me it has been such a pleasure to work with a group of people who were so open, warm and caring. They fully participated with honesty and curiosity in every activity I asked of them. Together we created an energy and connection that I found inspiring and which will motivate me to continue with my own work, purpose and passions. I wish them all the very best on the next steps of their journeys and I am excited to see what change they can bring in making their unique marks on the world.”

Create Seven - Discovering New Leadership at the Centre for Alternative Technology

I had the great privilege of being one of the 'pioneers' of Create Seven's pilot on the first module of their New Leadership programme.

We spent three days together at The Centre For Alternative Technology in Snowdonia, Wales, exploring how mindfulness, connection to nature and creative dialogue can contribute to the creation and enabling of leaders for a more sustainable future.

Create Seven's mission to create leaders for a more sustainable future is based on the seven stages of psychological growth and the qualities needed to support the transition from conventional leadership to post-conventional.

The Discovering New Leadership module introduces participants to the three key areas that can help support leaders to the post-conventional stages of New Leadership

• Mindfulness - witnessing thoughts, emotions and behaviour to gain agility and experiencing a state of consciousness associated with the higher stages of development
• Connection with wilderness and nature - helping us to drop our own ego and learn from nature
• Creative Dialogue - connecting with other people and to think together to co-create the future

Over the course of the three days I was reminded of the power of mindfulness, nature and dialogue to give us space to reflect, connect with and better understand ourselves, others and the world around us. Just as Mother Nature creates space for all living things to thrive, so too can leaders. We can accept that we live in complex times and that no one person has the answer. By mindful listening and the new thinking generated by dialogue we can co-create more sustainable solutions and enable responsive and responsible leaders from all levels and across all sectors.

The next Discovering New Leadership module will run from the 22nd-24th April, if you would like further information or to register your interest please visit the Create Seven website. 

Dialogue & New Narratives of Leadership

• What does leadership mean to you?
• Is leadership a dirty word?
• What kind of leadership do we need to create a more sustainable future for all?

These are all questions posed by the newly formed CIC, Create Seven. Founded by Terry Sexton, Jill Chapman and Gary King, it seeks to develop and enable leaders to co-create a more environmentally, economically and psychologically sustainable society.

After joining a meeting of Create Seven members it became clear that in order to create new leaders we need a new narrative of leadership, and an opportunity to share meaning on how we already are or can become leaders in our own lives. 

I collaborated with Create Seven to co-host a dialogue on new narratives of leadership. For those new to dialogue we explored some of the principles; listening, non-judgement, creativity and values, after which we were in dialogue together in the afternoon.

The day generated some rich thinking, understanding and connections, summarised by Terry in his blog post and shared in the Create Seven podcast.