Shifting Fields of Attention

The planning for Leslie Creative Learning Cooperative has gone well. The visioning period went well. Last meeting we unhinged the structure and let things float for a period. We re-opened a number of variables that had been set in the first draft of the strategic plan. The meeting wrapped up and we had not come to any closure. I asked everyone to stay in the uncertainty until the next meeting, in order to see how the various options felt.

Last night we met again. I facilitated a process which I'm thinking of as a "Deep dive to I Am." We passed a talking stick and began with "When we left the meeting I felt... and since then I've been feeling...." I facilitated discerning thoughts from emotions. I held the intention and facilitated A) People going deeper in the U (Theory U) by personally admitting their fears, and B) Viewing themselves at responsible and accountable for starting a school, 3)Realizing that there were no external forces which were preventing us. By connecting to the universal emotion of fear people had a shared experience and were able to shift from field 1 and 2 to field 3: "Seeing myself as part of the whole."

Once people began sharing feelings of fear and disappointment they began experiencing care and compassion for each other. This raised the coherence of the field in such a tangilble way that it created safety. I then lead people to connect with their most creative and innovative self and pass the stick a round with this topic... "I know I can do this. I am ___. I am going to ___." Each individual made a number of commitements and assignments using "I am" at the beginningof each statement. Then I called out questions and prompted them to all reply "I am" again and again like drumbeats.

The purpose here was to allow it to really sink in that we were the only things stopping us and that we decide whether we succeed. It also made a cadence which shifted the field from care and compassion due to vulnerability, but rather hype and momentum for success. Next we passed the talking stick for a round on the topic "Right now I feel..." and saw the noticeable shift in emotions. By going into fear together we generated the fuel for our own reserection. People were excited, and appeared to have a new sense of ownership, clarity, and purpose.

I closed the circle and released the deeper space we'd been holding. We chatted about fundraising and enjoyed a lovely meal.

While I know that the field 3 awareness was fleeting, I also know that the more we operate from that space the easier it becomes to achieve levels 3 and 4.