I’ve “dusted off” my copy of “The Way of Council” and have begun to make a mind map to help me organize and process the information.
The section that has been sticking with me is “The Leader States the Theme” and that the best themes are presented in the form of a question, or a request for a particular kind of story, which will shed light on the underlying agenda. This is very provocative and I’m still thinking about, and processing, what this means for us in practice. My thoughts are a big jumble with no form.
In my review the first thing that came up for me were the “Four Intentions” — “Speaking From the Heart”, “Listening From the Heart”, “Being of ‘Lean Expression'”, and “Spontaneity”. It was great to get more depth on what these mean. In my experience the most important part is “Listening from the Heart”. If I do that then other three magically happen. It took me a long time to include paying attention to “body english” as part of “Listening From the Heart”. This also gave me insight into why the circle shape is so important. I’ve got to look at the “whole person” and be okay with the “whole person”. Also, there was discussion of acknowledging each speaker once they are complete. The group can make a simple sound like “Ho”, “clap”, “silent bow”, or something else.
The second thing that came to the mind were the details of “Crossing the Border” — that is activities for transitioning in and out of council. We typically do a meditation, but there are many more activities that the authors have explored.
Also there are many variations of council which could be useful for us in specific situations like — decision making, community business, and visioning.
I’ve got more reading, organizing, and processing to do. My current mind map is below.
My First Draft Mind Map of “Way of Council” 2nd Ed
Mind Mapping Sofware
I like Mindnode and Free Mind.
(originally posted in 2015)
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