The question that called us together in Armidale in learning, conversation and practice asked:
What's possible when we intentionally connect and collaborate for a thriving region?
What's possible when we intentionally connect and collaborate for a thriving region?
,Welcome to Country
We were all welcomed most beautifully onto this lush high tableland country by proud custodians from the Vale family; Carol her father Richard and sister Hazel. Their yarning in circle of growing up and living on this land and nearby Tamworth, grounded us all deeply in place, with gratitude and respect for those who have cared for and stewarded the land before us, and continue to do so.
We were all welcomed most beautifully onto this lush high tableland country by proud custodians from the Vale family; Carol her father Richard and sister Hazel. Their yarning in circle of growing up and living on this land and nearby Tamworth, grounded us all deeply in place, with gratitude and respect for those who have cared for and stewarded the land before us, and continue to do so.
Circle Practice
An introduction to Circle practice or The Circle Way, an ancient way of meeting, with a leader in every chair, was provided to bring us into the space, and to share a powerful tool and way of meeting together in conversation. We created a central space inside the circle with a symbolic representation of everyone present. We were then invited to check in together in response to the question: "Who am I and what do I bring?"
An introduction to Circle practice or The Circle Way, an ancient way of meeting, with a leader in every chair, was provided to bring us into the space, and to share a powerful tool and way of meeting together in conversation. We created a central space inside the circle with a symbolic representation of everyone present. We were then invited to check in together in response to the question: "Who am I and what do I bring?"
Checking in - Who am I and what do I bring?
- Soulful meaningful connection, synchronicity
- What people have brought me
- Deeply flawed human, connection
- Curiosity and inquiry, patience
- Lose myself on the wheel
- Intention to live and work with the life force
- Bring spirituality and visual arts and fun/simplicity/complexity and female power
- Community development and engagement, presence of grandmothers
- Landcare is more passion and purpose, passion for land, picking things to take forward in core areas
- Defined by country, working with Landcare to be part of ethos. Synchronicity, country connection, reminder to be childish
- Talking piece going around circle so all in here now
- Three pieces of wool, women together, safe space with people, couldn’t understand, strangers, and it was OK
- Walking in two worlds
- Masculinity and balance
- Stories share and intention and why
- Feel connected to everything around me – in life, work, where ever
- The mother, to be with it, move with the energy
- Learned to love my authentic self
- New job – very grateful, happy for this opportunity
- I am exactly where I need to be
- Being in transit…be on the right road
- Yarning circle – deep story in safety
- Grandmother memories
- Letters my children gave me, a life, home
- Drum is round and you need to tone it by checking all the parts.
- Ancestors are buried here, intentional nomad
- Need to serve what’s within me – grateful to be here.
- Deepening connection with culture and people who have the balance and connection
- Hopeful in the flow
- Stay open to sense where the life force is
- Armidale connection – born here and back here
- Use my imagination and ideas to connect to the universe
- Reconnect with myself beyond motherhood
- Mother of Lila
- Touch stone that travels
- High level wellness for all – how do we get it and keep it
- I come with empathy, like a sponge for learning
- Dadirri – listening with all of you
- I am just me
- Fully present
A brief teach on complementary worldviews, living systems, and the breath pattern eased everyone into some deeper connection, mindfulness and practice through a dialogue walk.
A dialogue walk is a practice in deeper listening, being present, paying attention to our own thoughts and process and understanding another perspective. Walking in pairs exploring the question through dialogue of "What brings you to this moment?"
A brief teach on complementary worldviews, living systems, and the breath pattern eased everyone into some deeper connection, mindfulness and practice through a dialogue walk.
A dialogue walk is a practice in deeper listening, being present, paying attention to our own thoughts and process and understanding another perspective. Walking in pairs exploring the question through dialogue of "What brings you to this moment?"
Dialogue Walk
"Tune in and actively listen in a way that allows us to suspend judgement and the constant mental assessment so that we can RESPECT the others point of view as possible and legitimate, and create the space for our authentic voice to be heard and understood"
How did you find the process?
"Tune in and actively listen in a way that allows us to suspend judgement and the constant mental assessment so that we can RESPECT the others point of view as possible and legitimate, and create the space for our authentic voice to be heard and understood"
How did you find the process?
- I really enjoyed it
- Love walking side by side..helped the flow with a new person
- Allow silence to happen
- No feedback loop
- I can’t speak anymore – supported to keep going
- Dig deeper into myself as a natural listener
- I learned so much of myself by listening to him..our stories were different but got us here
- Frame of the question brought the insights
- We both started our stories 20 years ago – parallel lives
- Use dialogue walk in work process
- Just listening allows you to tune into the other person – it's energetic
- Not making eye contact was super hard
- The task made me anxious – 150m to go from babbling, to speaking with intention
- I had no sense of the land…watching her read the landscape was powerful
- Comforting, normally worried about talking about myself
- Awkward – hard to listen in silence
- Hard to speak for 20 min
- Listening and remembering not to jump in reminds me how bad I am at listening.
The World Café is a method for creating a living network of collaborative dialogue around questions that matter in real life situations. It is a provocative metaphor. As we create our lives, our organisations, and our communities, we are, in effect, moving among ‘table conversations’ at the World Café.
We explored three rounds of questions at Cafe tables, moving to new places each round and sharing insights as we went.
First round: What time is it in the world?
Second round: What time is it in my organisation/community?
Third round: What time is it in my life?
To begin a collective harvest of our conversations, the hosts from each table were invited to share the insights from each of the three rounds, and silently theme their key insights and learnings in clusters.
Theme 1: host self
Theme 2: host others
Theme 3: Community that learns
Theme 4: impactful outside influence
We explored three rounds of questions at Cafe tables, moving to new places each round and sharing insights as we went.
First round: What time is it in the world?
Second round: What time is it in my organisation/community?
Third round: What time is it in my life?
To begin a collective harvest of our conversations, the hosts from each table were invited to share the insights from each of the three rounds, and silently theme their key insights and learnings in clusters.
Theme 1: host self
- Time to re-evaluate priorities and commitments
- It is a time of great opportunity if we own it – host ourselves and others
- Time to grow up
- It is time to surface the shadow and heal the wounds – healing, cleansing and moving forward
- Emergence (opportunity)
- Time to grow into my bigger self
- Reflection (Question?)
- A time to listen, learn and get real
Theme 2: host others
- We are in a time of accelerating change by changing the trajectory (bell curve)
- A shift in consciousness – less 'me' more 'we'
- Build capacity to trust and accept in the now but also in the unknown
- We are being given the skills we need to move into complex, complicated and ever changing futures. We all have difference pieces of the puzzle – how can we work together collectively?
- Host yourself to build courage in accentuating authenticity
- A time of real and constant change which can bring anxiety and fear
- Embody respect
Theme 3: Community that learns
- Positive change
- Build on our positives through recognising opportunities and possibilities
- Contented and excited for the future
- Shedding/simplifying
- Pay attention, engage
- A time of opportunity to look at what needs to be addressed
- Communities of connection
Theme 4: impactful outside influence
- Fractured times
- There are differences in the generational view about what can be done
- The same story is emerging everywhere
The energy, learning, conversation and connection in circle for the day was closed through a simple check out:
Check out: one word, feeling or phrase about today?
- Open hearts
- Confused intrigued
- Listen
- Energised
- Together
- Excited to learn more
- Highest possibility
- New
- More to learn
- Open
- Generosity
- Happy heart
- Connected collective
- Ready
- Supported
- Valuing the power of not knowing
- Renewal
- Emergence
- Got here
- Grateful
- Tiring
- Connection
At the end of an action packed and heart felt day one, weary hosts and participants wind down with a beverage from the Echidna Gully bar, served by our humble host Jeremy. After dinner, Jane and Frank hosted a number of constellations (also called 4D mapping) for participants to experience as additional immersion and learning for those in residential.