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Copyright 2002 Carrying Council in the Wilderness The Four Intentions In the Ojai model, at the center of council lie four intentions, which are
Speaking from the Heart The term heart is deeply resonant for the culture in which council is embedded. The heart, with which we speak and listen in council, is the center of our being, that which integrates passion and energy. To speak from the heart is to speak ones own truth, honestly, sincerely, and humbly. This can be very difficult. It is risky, and requires courage. There are no rules about what may be spoken from the heart. Often it is a statement of belief or opinion I believe we should do this, I think people should behave in such a way. But it can be a story, or a memory, or a song, or silence. In many native cultures, direct expressions of belief or opinion are considered rude, especially if they may be interpreted as being in opposition to the beliefs or opinions of someone else. In such cultures, telling traditional stories whose point the listeners are expected to grasp immediately is often done instead. There is no reason why we should not be willing to do the same. There may be something to be gained by departing from linear and rational models from time to time. The longest distance many of us have to travel is from our head to our heart. Listening from the Heart Much more difficult than speaking from the heart is listening devoutly from the heart. Each participant has to intend to listen suspending criticism, refraining from argument, not preparing a response, not judging appearances. This is remarkably difficult; it goes against all our ingrained habits of conversation. The use of the term devoutly is not simply metaphoric. As in a Quaker meeting, the proper attitude is a reverential awareness that spirit is addressing us through each speaker. Spontaneity The intention to be spontaneous means, simply, that each participant does not plan ahead what to say, but simply speaks without preparation. Spontaneity is a very difficult intention for many participants. We probably all would have to admit that, most of the time, when we are talking to someone else, we are not listening so much as patiently or impatiently waiting our turn to speak. I have heard it put this way: we spend half our time during a conversation not listening but reloading. Moreover, while we are listening in council, we think of things we want to say, important things, meaningful and impressive things, that we dont want to forget; so we constantly make covert mental notes of the topics to cover when it is our turn. Thus, an intention to be spontaneous when we speak is a means to allow us to listen undistractedly. But spontaneity in council means more than avoiding distraction while listening. The intention to be spontaneous is a form of surrender to the process a trust that the participant will say what needs to be said. This trust is expressed in many ways by different participants and facilitators, but the remarkable experience of finding oneself speaking spontaneously from the heart, without notes or preparation or rehearsal, is again often stated in spiritual terms that the speaker is moved by spirit, or spirit is speaking through the participant. In fact, spontaneity includes spontaneous silence the willingness simply to pass the talking stick if one finds that one has, on that round, nothing to say. Spontaneous silence, and the acceptance of spontaneous silence, is also a way of trusting the process. The assumption is that the individual participant is not necessarily responsible for making a point to the council; what needs to be said will get said, by someone, or by spirit, and spontaneously. Lean Expression Concision or lean expression is, among other things, a courtesy to the other council participants. The term means that the speaker avoids digressions and long-windedness. More important, the intention to be concise interacts with spontaneity: the speaker trusts the process enough to feel that what is said is enough. I think this point is worth emphasizing. Both spontaneity and lean expression are expressions of trust and abandonment of ego. The speaker trusts that the spirit or whatever you want to call the web of connections that moves the council forward toward an often unapprehended goal will make the things right at the end. An analogy I might recommend is a drum circle. In a drum circle, everyone does something different, and, ideally, the different thing each person does creates a single perfect whole; for example, a participant may perfect the rhythm with, say, a single shake of a rattle on the seventh of eight beats. The smallest of contributions may be just what is necessary to make the rhythm complete. Since the totality shifts as participants move in and out, or change their contribution, what is required from each participant changes from moment to moment. To abandon ego in a drum circle, to trust in the drum process, requires each participant to act both spontaneously and leanly, so that just as in council the almost autonomous web of connections among the drums can lead the process toward an unforeseen perfection. | ||
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