Dialogue Practice One

 I am kind of starting in the middle of this dialogue practice stuff because I do not know where the beginning is. Come to think of it, I believe that there is no end to it either. Is there and end to the practice of medicine?  Maybe, but so far, when the career of one doctor ends another doctor continues the practice. 

The practice of medicine is important. By reading on you may discover that many consider the practice of dialogue more important than that of medicine.  The practice of dialogue is certainly serious.  It is also interesting and fun.

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Plunging right into a serious part of  dialogue practice I can say the following:
After a time of dialoguing we can better understand how a certain opinion or assumption of another participant has come to be held. That's serious isn't it? Have you never thought to yourself, "How can that person have such a belief or opinion!?"

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Dialogues of the kind I have been speaking of Have been called Dialogue For Peace, Magic Table Dialogue, Fair Fighting dialogue, and just plain Dialogue Practice.  I have thought of calling it Dialogue For the Creation and Preservation of Culture, but have not done so until just now. This practice has also been call a Listing Practice.

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I have been writing these bits about dialogue as though we were the dialogue practitioners and plan to continue doing so.

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We will bring our assumptions to our dialogue for peace practice group for it is impossible not to bring them. Those assumptions will come up.  Our purpose  is not to judge them, not to suppress them, not to believe them or to disbelieve them.
Our purpose is not to see them as good or bad. Our purpose is to listen for them, to hear them, to recognize them, and to accept  their  existence.

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There are lots of rules for good dialogue practice, but not much enforcement of those rules. One may take them as very valuable suggestions. 

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The idea in our practice group is not to change anyone's mind.
The aim is try to see  what each assumption means. The purpose is to understand the experience which gives a particular assumption it's birth and which supports it 

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So we are here coming to see that dialogue practice entails a listening practice of a group of listeners. One person talks for a bit and gets to be well heard. Than another talks and is well heard. We all become better listeners. Some  have mistakenly thought that a dialogue practice is only for and between two persons. In our dialogues there are many great listeners who all listen to one person at a time.  You can be that person who is well listened to and well heard.

Not a Public Forum

Public forums are great. Our dialogue practices are social, but usually not public. They are more focused on meaning and understanding than is much of our discourse.  

             A public forum is of great value to a people. It is a place for news and information to be exchanged, and may be a place to convince others of the value of one's positions. It may even be a place for economic or religious contention. Such forums are important tools of democracy, nation, and community.

        Members of dialogue practice groups often support public forums. The public forum is a place for the practice of free speech wherein the limits are so broad so that it seems that anything goes. The debate found there is often valuable. Our practice groups are less interested in bringing another to our point of view and more interested in truly understanding the meaning of what the speaker has said.

        In our dialogue groups we aim for higher levels of meaning, understanding, and ability to think together. We aim for greater respect and valuing for the assumptions and opinions of others. With appropriate modesty, we aim to better understand the meaning what others are saying for us.

        We like our group to be inclusive. We are interested in sharing peace, meaning, and understanding. In our groups we practice talking among ourselves using rules for, and ways of,  carrying on our talk effectively.

        To beginners our talk sometimes seems purposeless. We seem to have no agenda, to have little authority or hierarchy. However, with our rules, ways, and skills, we limit fear, anger, and contention as we enhance understanding, meaning, and peace. At times we are pleasantly surprised by evidence of a new power of thinking together.

        Check out the other posts on this kind of dialog on this blog. A new post is on the way.

        Thank you for reading.

        

                                                    by Richard Sheehan 

                    

Terms for the Dialogue

Here are a half a dozen terms I have used to write of our dialogues.

I have written a few words about each to remind you about their meanings.

Assumptions:
We have differing experiences and so differing opinions and assumptions.We have differing views because of who we are. We often come to interpret our worlds differently from one another. We develop conscious and unconscious ideas about the ways of the world which are difficult for others to understand until they know more of our experiences.

Defending:
Without the abundance of shared cultural meanings good dialogue brings, it is unreasonable to expect a peaceful society. Defending our own or another's opinions keeps us from laying out our assumptions were we can all look at them and try to appreciate their meanings  and so keeping us from productive and satisfying dialogue we want an need. It is shared deeper meanings we seek. Also defending our assumptions consumes the energy we could better use to achieve a clear understanding  of the assumption of another.

Go-under:
Without good dialogue we are likely to miss opportunities and lose understanding s. We are likely to miss out on good positions, to go under and lose out as individuals, corporations, families, nations, churches, parties. The shared meaning we gain in good dialogue helps us , maintain, grow, and strengthen party, church, nation, family, corporation, and self.

Coherent:
For many, an important benefit of dialogue practice is experiencing the power of collectively shared meaning. Most ordinary talk in in society may well be called incoherent. Our dialogue practice is designed to promote areas of  coherence in the vastness of misunderstanding. The meanings we share a cohesion of understanding.

Group: 
Fora truly effective dialogue of of sufficient variety of viewpoint A group of between 15 and 40 seems optimal. It is possible to do preparatory work with a dedicated, active organizing group of say nine may be adequate. A long lasting group with regular meetings is called for.

Thinking Together:
Is a frequent result of a dialogue group and ought perhaps be a aim of your group. We learn to stay close to the same page and to carry each other's thoughts forward. Individuals sharing common meanings in a coherent way have power for peace and creativity. Thinking together coherently calls for dialogue sustained  long enough to to share a body of coherent meanings. 

You strengthen culture, create it enjoy it, and pass it on.



By Richard for You








 

Benefits of the Dialogue

Dialogue With RCS: more meaning in you your life, better understand others, a way to a better world, being listened to.             

                On this new blog I intend to continue a number of posts on a kind of dialogue with which you may be becoming familiar. Some churches, corporations, civic organizations, and others have been this sort of dialogue for years, so it is not brand new.

               

                For those who may not be certain of what I mean by dialogue, In brief, it is meaningful talk within groups.

                

                Below I will begin to note a few of the dialogue's benefits. As we are now on the internet I will say now that, I do not know of cases of the dialogue's being used successfully online. However, I believe that it is now possible to do so, but am not sure how. If you would like to suggest something the "comments" window below is for your use.

                

                As I know it the dialogue is best used face to face, in person. And seems most effective in groups of between 20 and 40 participants. Groups of 15 and less have been please with it. Much of it can be used to good effect between husband and wife. It has been used with groups with groups much larger than 40 with professional facilitators and more as a demonstration than as well functioning group. I would like to see it use online. 

                The following list is far from inclusive and not completely representative, but can serve to introduce something of the dialogue.

I am calling it the dialogue now, have called it Magic Table Dialogue and Dialogue For Peace.

                    

 Benefits include:

~ learning to make yourself heard.

~ being heard.

~ being listened to.

~ coming to enjoy being heard.

~ an opportunity for the practice of listening.

~ learning that dialogue is more than talk.

~ gaining motivation to listen.

~ improving your use of language.

~ practicing a language new to you.

~ learning new listening skills.

~ the possibility of getting in touch with traditions of knowledge new to you. 

~ getting to know yourself better.

~ getting to know an interesting other.

~ knowing new people.

~ having fun while realizing that the dialogue is a serious activity.

~ experiencing the creation of culture. 

~  increasing your word power.

~ Seeing how better dialogue can be a way to a better world.

~ sharing meaning and understanding.

~ the possibility of beginning an interesting new exploration with safe, comfortable "baby steps." Still there might come a time that you will want to take a step beyond your comfort zone.

~ improving your ability understand others, even those quite different from you.

~ learning more of the effect of assumptions in our lives.

~ the possibility of increased meaning and understanding in our lives.

                                     

                 More to come.

                There are about 50 little essays here. It's okay if you read a couple.

                Thank you for reading!

                                                                                                              RCS