Re-Entry: Moving from Abstract to Concrete

Have you ever had an Experience of Re-Entry?  Those minutes, hours, or days after a vacation or a retreat, when it is time to "return to reality!"  I had a period of re-entry last week after facilitating a 3-day MBTI-Dialogue work-retreat for a company.  The participants were so engaged in the discussions and creative in their solutions that it was an ethereal experience of connectivity and wholeness.  Days later I was still processing the retreat, even as I returned to my real work (= paid work with a software company).

For me, the re-entry pointed to the stark awareness of the disconnectedness or separation from two believable realities.  It was like coming down to earth.  In these moments of re-entry a question begs to be asked: is one world more real than the other?

The retreat ended with a group outing to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway: a treat in itself as we left the hot desert floor and soared to an elevation of over 8,500 feet above the desert.  The temperature cooled off considerably, leaving behind another world.  If you have never experienced this tramway, the gondola rotates as you move upward to the restaurant and hiking trails above the desert floor and when you return to the base station.  The rotating gondola gives each person a chance to see different vistas of the valley below and the cliffs above.  No jostling for a better position: each person sees it all... but at slightly different times!

Re-entry: returning home (Palm Spring Aerial Tramway)

Last week's posting focused on the first of the Dialogue Skills (skills that move us toward a non-defended stance).  Dialogue Skill #1: the ability to advocate a position and invite inquiry.

Dialogue Skill #2 encourages us to move from abstract thoughts towards explaining in more concrete terms.  These first two skills welcome us to explain our position and thought process, what we are thinking and feeling.  Like the retreat or the tramway gondola, these skills allow us to rotate various perspectives or views, drawing us together to experience or see different vantage points in real and concrete ways.

Gateways: to see beyond (Japanese Friendship Gardens, San Diego)

A friend and I recently visited the San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden for the first time.  As we meandered through this serene setting, we could become distracted by the planes flying over, the children running ahead of their parents, or the little discoveries of Zen gardens, Koi ponds, waterfalls, and flowering trees and bushes.

It took time to slow down, to focus on what was attracting our attention, and then talk about what we were experiencing.  This practice of mindfulness or mindful noticing allowed us to be okay that we had different "favorite views."  All were valid; all were real; all were important... to each person separately, and as a whole!
 

What do you see?  Where is your focus?

 Questions we may consider this week:

• What is important to you at this moment?
• How do you see or understand a specific perspective?
• Can you share these thoughts or positions, in a concrete way, to help another person see and hear the reality you are experiencing?

Enjoy the gift of this new week - a chance to turn and see new horizons!

Larry Gardepie