Ways of Being: Collaborative Tools

September 8, 2013 Leave a comment

The following post is part 1 of a 2 part series on some collaborative tools and strategies to help us change our selves, change our organizations and change the world.  We hope you find it helpful.  We encourage you to join the conversation! 

We are compelled by a quote from Theory U, attributed to William O’Brien “The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener.” Collaborative tools and strategies are only truly useful in the hands of practitioners whose hearts are big enough to hold the complexities, struggles, hopes and fears that accompany the work of transforming racism.

If we want to do change, we have to be changed, or more accurately, we have to be continually transforming.

Here are a few of the ways we work on ourselves as practitioners.

Deepen our spiritual practices.  We share practices and insights from our varied spiritual and religious traditions and practices. Individually, we find and cultivate our connections to the ultimate source of power and meaning in our lives.

Live the examined life. We explore how race, racism and privilege shape our experiences and how we use power and authority. We reflect on the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, motivations, and unconscious biases that drive our actions.

Stand firmly on deep truths. We proceed from a conviction that we are deeply connected and that what hurts anyone hurts all.

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