On setting the physical container for good collaboration: In the 1960s, Timothy Leary coined the term “set and setting” referring to a context that influenced the outcomes of psychoactive and psychedelic drug experiments on his subjects. “Set” refers to ones mindset, “setting” refers to the environment in which the user has the experience. Now Im not necessarily suggesting that you administer psychoactive drugs to your participants, though Im sure that would make your job a whole lot more interesting. What I am suggesting is that “set and setting” play a significant, and often overlooked role, in your work as a …
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Back in November, I worked with my mate Teresa Posakony on a two day gathering the object of which was to work to apply brain science to policy questions on the prevention of adverse childhood experiences. On the first day I facilitated an Open Space event that brought together reserachers and brain scientists to discuss their findings and on the second day, we had panelists and Teresa ran a half day cafe to look at the implications of the research for policy making. I composed a poem at the end of the day. As a part of the experience, we …
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If you want to learn the way another culture thinks, listen to their stories. But don’t just listen to any stories; listen to the stories they have about how knowledge is gained. That gives you the key to understanding all of the other stories and teaches you everything you need to know about the experiences you need to have to gain knowledge. Thinking about the Nuu-chah-nulth methodology of oosumich today which is the way of stilling oneself to listen to the world and enter a dialogue with the unseen. My friend Pawa says that prayer is the act of speaking …
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I am just returning from a memorial service for my friend and colleague John McBride. John and I worked on a number of Aboriginal economic development projects over the years and he died in October from pancreatic cancer. Today at his memorial his wife Val read some selections from his journals. One insight that really stuck with me was written in his final days as he was making sense of his death. He wrote that the end is about peeling back all the layers of who we have been to discover who we really are at our core. And he …
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How's the weather? Pouring rain. Really? Yeah. # The mist on the Sound and the stockings hung with care at #artisaneats on #Bowenisland http://yfrog.com/h4lgtrj # Cocoa West http://post.ly/1KLJO # When the forest breathes at the end of a Pineapple Express: mild, wet and clearing evening. http://yfrog.com/gzkttvj # This morning's rosy tinted dawn. http://yfrog.com/h4ufbojj # Cold front passed. The air is crisp and the ground saturated with four days of chilled rain. # Finn and friends learning longsword at Academie Duello. # Syllable. Grey. Warm. Dry. # The view from my office this wet afternoon. http://yfrog.com/h3572bj # It is a beautiful …