One of the practices I have cultivated for many years is the art of rock balancing. I was initially inspired in this by watching rock balancing artists along the waterfront in Vancouver in the mid nineties. I was amazed at the serene beauty of large rocks balanced at improbable angles. When I began trying this for myself, I discovered that the practice is deeply reflective and highly instructive. It is a calming meditation, inviting rocks to find a balance with one another, and it is a lovely metaphor for the leadership qualities of facilitating and holding space. Often, as part …
Good old whiskey river: Mindful Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for – to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world – to instruct myself over and over in joy, and acclamation. Nor am I talking about the exceptional, the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant – but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab, the daily presentations. Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help but …
Some upcoming learning opportunities in the British Columbia and Washington state areas… News from my dear friend Peggy Holman that she and Steve Cato are offering their Appreiciative Inquiry facilitation training on February 1-3, and it’s not too late to register. Toke Moeller is hosting a FlowGame at Aldermarsh on Whidbey Island in the middle of March, after which we are penciling in an Art of Hosting primarily with Aboriginal youth, but open to the public as well on Vancouver Island. Michael Herman and I will be offering a retreat to support practices for Open Space faiclitation in April, during …
It’s been an age since I posted, mostly because I was on Maui over New Years, unplugged for the most part and not at all inclined to blog. So I’ll ease back into it, with some music to start of your new year. While on Maui I bought a bunch of slack key guitar records by the likes of Sonny Lim and George Kahumoku Jr. Slack key guitar is a Hawai’ian style that originated with the Mexican paniolo cowboys that helped establish ranching in the early 20th century across the Hawai’ian islands. These dudes brought their Mexican cowboy guitar styles, …