As dialoguers we tend to say that we need to listen, and not to exclude anything; but we can't listen to everything. The whole is too much. There is no way by which we can always get hold of the whole. It is the nature of our thinking to abstract, limit, and define.
You might want to check your favorite online dictionary for a full meaning of "to abstract."
Another act nearly impossible for any of us, is to comprehend the whole truth. So, as practical dialoguers, we need to keep aware that we can't hear everything and that we can practically never understand all that we hear.
As dialoguers it is best not to demand anything of our dialoguing companions. I do hope that we are most often trying to be honest.
As dialoguers we are not authorities. None of us is a father or a teacher of the group. There is a lot that we can learn from one another.
Difficult for new dialoguers to understand is that we seem to have no purpose or agenda, no goal or set destination, that we seem not to accomplish anything, or that nobody seems to have to agree on anything.
Group dialogue practice can be among the best facets of one's life. The practice puts more meaning, understanding, and peace within our reach. Positively.
by Richard Sheehan
by Richard Sheehan
