Laddership Circles Are In The Air!
ServiceSpace
--Parag shah
8 minute read
Jun 17, 2016

 



Thirteen of us from USA, Australia, Vietnam, and India came together for Week 1 of our online Laddership Circle -- in what is one of the two concurrent circles this summer!  We had a vibrant crew of fellows and volunteers sharing their wisdom and holding space for each other's deep inquiry. 

Audrey welcome us with a warm, deep smile and a virtual hug.  Birju appreciated everyone's presence, and with deep gratitude for the space, gave some context to the laddership circle and its evolution.  It started 18 months back with a very simple idea of holding space for people, who want to deepen their journey by going within and holding inquiry with their edges.  What we are inside is manifested on the outside, and observing our external worlds and tracking all their roots inside us is to journey in the spirit of inquiry.  The circle supports each other in unseen ways to grow together and connect at a deeper level.

Somik articulated the spirit of circle very well in saying that we don't have any answers and deep inquiry is a space of not knowing which actually is space of creativity and innovations.  The circle will create opportunities for people to connect deeply and support each other in whatever way.

With this context and orientation, Somik shared couple of questions to check in: (1) what brings you to this circle, and (2) what are the questions you are holding which you want to explore in these 6 weeks?
 
In each share, the first few words included descriptions like: grateful, overjoyed, privileged, honoured, gratitude, delighted, happy to be here, and learning.  And every one of us was looking to connect deeply with each other and the spirit of the circle was flowing with each share.

Amir shared he is here to learn and grow with a deep sense of community building, and wants to broaden his lens of love in the corporate world where deep-rooted self-interest structures are in place.  He is currently looking for avenues to build community and "be the change" in his work setting.

Monica shared how eager she is to connect with fellow leaders who are bringing positive change to this world. She also wants more people on board as co-creators and doesn't want to lead alone in her various initiatives.  She is holding a deep inner inquiry about herself, and wants to be internally integrated, irrespective of the external manifestation.  She also raised questions of sustainability and scale in her initiatives for social change.

Ameeta, feels very inspired to meet everyone by reading everyone's reflections on our group feed.  She mentioned how it's difficult to do things alone, and looks forward to collectively exploring with the group, and seeing what emerges.

Bonnie felt very honoured to be part of the volunteer team, and is here to serve.  The question she was holding is how to operate from place of greater generosity, creativity and innovation and not be pulled down by insecurities.  "Who am I?" and "What am I supposed to be doing here?" are the constant question on her back of mind.

Donna shared that she keen to learn in a group with others asking similar questions, and to learn and shift paradigms.  How to bring sustainability and scale to her non-profit is something she is eager to learn.
 
Hang shared she is looking forward to personal growth and collective intelligence to solve the mammoth problem of an under-developed country with a overbearing government.  With a population of 10 million in her city, she faces the edges of post-industrial growth on a daily basis.  She wants to deepen herself in holding space for changemakers and alternative ways of sustainable living in her local community. 
 
Jaideep opened up with the age-old wisdom of "home is where heart is" and felt at home to be in circle.  He fondly remembered meeting Nipun in India Inclusion Summit, which brought him to Servicespace, and eventually to the Laddership Circle.  Jaideep works with underprivileged children in rural India and 'love' is the only resource which sustain them.  He is holding his inquiry how to grow in his heart.

Manu noted that seeking wisdom from participants and personal growth brought her to the circle.  With an open mind and open heart, she wants to extend that to open hands in form of action.  How to hold deep spaces at scale to bring about social change is the question she is holding.

Penny (with a beautiful Aussie accent! :)) was delighted to be with like-minded people and wanted to connect deeply with all that brought her to the circle.  She fondly remembered how watching a TedxTalk brought her here.  She's holding edges around the governance, funding, scaling, and sustainability elements of running her nonprofit organization, and wondering how to "be the change" through it all.

Birju, with a beautiful smile shared, to be in a space where people engage such deep inquiry is guiding his presence in the circle.  He is holding a seeming paradox of being both gentle with himself and others while at same time pushing the boundaries.

Somik resonated with a lot what was shared by everyone.  Having just moved homes, he gave the analogy of lifting furniture alone vs. with multiple people, remarking on how inner work when shared with others becomes much lighter!  He was delighted to be with people who are together for this purpose. 
 
Audrey shared how coming together in a circle and being with each other and holding the questions together is highly synergistic in stepping towards an answer to deeper inquiries.  That spirit of the circle brings her here, and she resonates deeply with the process. 

After our circle of sharing, we went ahead with an open discussion on this week's theme of "Stories".  Below are a few themes that emerged around stories, their purpose, and our motivations for telling them.

Theme 1: We choose our stories.

Somik opened the circle with a beautiful tale of Steve Karlin, who has dedicated the last three decades to working with endangered and wounded animals. He shared a story of how broken animals are becoming teachers to children who have grown up in very difficult circumstances, and raised a very interesting question around breath and depth: how you can't have both, and if you go for breath, you have to sacrifice depth. As he wondered what the balance is so as not to dilute the initial values, he noted that he leans towards depth, and finds beauty in un-scaling. Yet, having said that, it is a dynamic balance and there are edges around it and the question was open for dialogue and sharing between all.

Ameeta brought up the paradox of how we are the stories we carry, yet at the same time, we have to let go of the "false solidity" our stories, as Michael Singer wroteMonica offered that it is important to understand the context of stories, and how stories can be a skillful means-- that it is okay to hold a story for one situation and then let it go when it is no longer useful for another instance or person or stage in life. This allows her to hold the paradox for multi-dimensional thinking.

On the other hand, Hang noted how stories gives us a voice, a freedom of expression. She revealed that, in her context, if she doesn't share her own story, others in power will share an inaccurate version of it on her behalf. During a team-building exercise, she was in a group where people's ages spanned 50 years, and they were trying to sing a song together, they realized that the only song the entire group knew were the government songs they hear every morning in schools and on village radios. To her, it revealed the impact of subconscious messaging. So, "how to create a new form to tell our stories now?" is a very concrete question she is holding.

On that note, Bonnie remarked how our actions can inform our stories. She said that she sometimes has an urge to do something against her ego-- and gave the example of intending to gift books to a group that meets regularly in her church basement, even though her mind doubts how the group would respond.  By taking that action, she actively re-writes the story in her mind.

Theme 2: We share stories to meet people where they are.

Amir pointed out that everyone is at a different stage of their journey, and when he shares, he often asks himself the guiding question, "How do we share where we are at so that we can meet others where they are at?"  Penny shared how in her community building experiences, she often finds herself connecting with young men in immigration detention centers about soccer and pizza. :)  Although she isn't a huge fan of sports, being open about talking about it is an avenue for a connecting to another's humanity.

In addition, Donna shared something very beautiful about the value of listening to those we don’t resonate with, and specially when that ‘someone’ is a family member. She chooses to 'be the change' and feels deep gratitude for people who offer opposite views. Similarly, in carrying an intention to connect across difference, Penny also shared a beautiful story from the community "Welcome Dinners" that her organization holds. When receiving a name tag, instead of writing their names, people are prompted to write what they're passionate about, which straight away helps people connect from the heart-- inspiring a sense curiosity and openness, and dissolving inclinations towards difference or judgment. It was very insightful when she reminded how it is important to work with what we have: our common humanity.

Theme 3: We share stories to listen.  What is spoken beyond words?
 
For Manu, telling stories is also about listening and finding balance and commonalities in both.  Jaideep agreed, as he shared the importance of silence in communication-- how in many of his conversations (with all walks of life-- from rural, underprivileged children to all kinds of changemakers!), he often looks for the silence between the words spoken. 

Manu also noted how the way we live is also an unspoken story-- how when we make decisions or take action to live in line with our values, it can become a living example of another storyline of what is possible.  That sense of possibility reminded Hang of a song that says, "Ring the bells that still can ring.  Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." 

As our 90-minutes flew by, we saw how stories impact our action in powerful ways, and help hold space on neutral ground, that is without any bias or prejudices.  With this insight from Somik's closing stories, we ended the call, leaving all of us more enriched as we head into Week 2!       

 

Posted by Parag shah on Jun 17, 2016


7 Past Reflections