Meditation One: Together
Practice One: Gather The Voices
Practice: Gathering the Voices
This practice invites you to explore a single topic by gathering perspectives from across time and place, as if calling different voices into a conversation. You act as a mediator, holding space for each view without rushing to resolve tension. By allowing each voice to speak and linger, you create conditions for new insights to emerge from their interaction.
1. Prepare Your Table for Dialogue
Choose a physical space that symbolizes a gathering table—a spot where you can imagine different voices coming together. It could be a writing desk, a comfortable chair, or a quiet corner outside. Picture this as a space where ideas sit around you, each taking a seat.
2. Set the Intention:
A Dialogue, Not a Debate:
Before starting, set your intention to gather perspectives. Say aloud or to yourself:
"I gather these voices to listen, not to force them into agreement. I hold this space for dialogue, allowing something new to emerge from their interplay."
Take a deep breath and release any tension.
Remember, you are here to mediate a dialogue, not to dictate its outcome.
3. Gather Perspectives Across Time and Place
Choose a specific topic or question as the focal point of your exploration. Then, begin gathering perspectives from different eras, cultures, and viewpoints related to this topic. Look for writings from past thinkers, listen to modern voices, and explore different cultural interpretations.
To avoid only gathering familiar voices:
Challenge yourself to include perspectives that may make you uncomfortable. Ask:
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Whose voice feels unfamiliar or unsettling, and why?
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What viewpoint have I typically avoided, and what might it offer to this discussion?
List these perspectives as if noting who is "sitting" at the table. You’re not here to critique or judge them yet—only to hold space for their presence in this gathering.
4. Active Listening Without Interruption
As you bring these perspectives together, take turns 'listening' to each one. Try to capture the essence of each viewpoint in writing or reflection, acting like a mediator who echoes back what each voice says.
Ask yourself:
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Can I reflect each voice’s perspective without filtering it through my own biases?
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Am I allowing each voice to be heard without trying to resolve or dismiss the tension?
5. Allow Space for New Understanding to Emerge
After hearing each voice, take a pause. Allow the interplay of ideas to settle. In mediation, silence often creates room for new insights; here, it allows the perspectives to inform one another.
Ask yourself:
What threads are beginning to weave through the conversation between these voices?
Is there a new understanding emerging from the space between them?
Respond Thoughtfully:
When you feel ready, gently add your voice to the dialogue—not to overshadow, but to contribute. Allow your response to be a thread in the conversation, open to the interplay with other voices.
6. Closing the Practice:
Gratitude for the Voices and the Emergence
Conclude by expressing gratitude for the voices that gathered. Say:
"I honor the voices that have joined today. I trust that through their dialogue, something new has begun to take shape."
Reflect on how this gathering has influenced your understanding and how you might carry this practice forward.
Meditation Two: Catch Hold
Practice Two: Holding Conversation
Gathering Voices in the Movement of Thought:
In this practice, we learn the art of holding perspectives in tension within a group setting. This isn’t about resolution or control, but about allowing each voice to roam, explore, and find its place alongside others. It’s about joining in the movement of thought, as one would hold a companion’s hand—not to drag, but to walk together, letting each idea turn corners, change course, and reveal new understandings.
1. Create a Space for Live Dialogue:
Invite a small group of people with different perspectives. This could be a casual gathering, a structured conversation, or even a shared meal.
The goal is to create a space where voices are heard, reflected, and respected.
2. Set the Intention for Mutual Understanding
Begin by sharing the intent with the group:
“We gather not to debate or convince, but to listen and understand. Each voice will be heard, and we’ll reflect what we’ve heard before sharing our own thoughts.”
Reflective Listening:
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One person shares their perspective uninterrupted.
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The next person reflects back what they’ve heard: “What I hear you saying is…”
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The speaker confirms or clarifies: “Yes, that’s right,” or “Not quite. What I meant was…”
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Only after the reflection is accurate can the listener share their own perspective.
This ensures that each perspective is truly held and understood before moving forward.
3. Hold the Tension of Many Voices
As each person speaks and reflects, resist the urge to resolve differences. Instead, encourage the group to hold the tension between perspectives. Allow the conversation to explore freely, acknowledging that not every difference needs to be reconciled.
Use these prompts to keep the dialogue open:
"How do these perspectives add to our understanding?"
"What does holding these ideas together reveal?"
4. Exploring the Movement of Thought:
During the conversation, periodically reflect on how the dialogue is being held:
"As our discussion runs in new directions, what thoughts are being stirred?"
"How can we let our ideas roam further, even if they take unexpected paths?"
Encourage participants to allow the conversation to meander and unfold naturally, reminding them that comprehension involves joining in the movement of thought like a companion on a journey.
5. Check-In: Sensing the Gentle Hold
Midway through the practice, take a moment to sense how the group is holding the conversation:
"Take a moment to sense how we are holding this conversation. Are we allowing room for new voices, or are we grasping too tightly to a single view?"
This check-in helps ensure the group remains open-handed, allowing ideas to reveal themselves fully.
6. Closing the Practice:
Reflecting on the Shared Conversation:
At the end, ask each participant to reflect on what they’ve learned by listening to others and having their own words reflected back to them:
"How did reflecting and being reflected change your view?"
"How has the way we’ve held our dialogue today shaped your own understanding? What might you now hold differently moving forward?"
End the practice with a final moment of gratitude. Acknowledge the voices shared and the careful attention given by the group. Say together:
"We honor the voices that have gathered today. We trust that holding them together will continue to reveal deeper truths in time."