Wishing, Dreaming, Working

I figured I would take a minute to share some vision and what I’ve been up to

“We are socialized to see what is wrong, missing, off, to tear down the ideas of others and uplift our own. To a certain degree, our entire future may depend on learning to listen, listen without assumptions or defenses.”
― adrienne maree brown

I came to listening and healing long ago; to believing that despite this sad state of our world, change is possible. It feels like a fragile hope. I have had to lean into radical hope – continuing on despite all odds. To relinquishing hope of actual change and simply commit to the action of change, whether it bears fruit or not. Fortunately, there are always those who hold the vision for new ways of being and who want to learn and create, and who are actively working to bring those visions into being. Now more than ever we need each other. We need spirit-rooted change.

I believe in authenticity in all relationships. I am an advocate for our planet and for the multi-hued people who inhabit it. I am able to stand in the discomfort of multiple conflicting perceptions and find ways to connect. I am inherently curious about others and seek constantly to learn about people and their journeys to themselves. I am a cultural and religious mutt with a home in Judaism; a seeker, a listener. I have listened to women giving birth, to hikers on trails, to the wounded and scarred, to the dreamers and creators and to those seeking to create new paradigms. I have listened to people from all over the world, in many accents and many hues; to people who just want to be safe to live their lives. I have also listened to the angry, the frantic, the scared and the judgmental. To the people who scream on the streets and whose very stories would eradicate mine.

My mission is to bring people together so they can have conversations that matter and use those shared experiences to deepen into working together or to use them to begin  working together more effectively.

At its essence, my work is asset-based community building and I believe in the wisdom of community and of individuals, and the power of the stories being shared. It’s radical social change linking with the dreams and visions of entrepreneurs seeking new models of engagement, companies working to recognize and honor the assets and talents of all their workers, of communities learning to live together. I believe that strengthening the individual strengthens community, and strengthening the community strengthens the individual. By making art, sharing stories, creating circles, we break down barriers and experience new ways of being human together, while recognizing and honoring our differences.

Lately I have been leaning deeply into Liberatory Design as well as the brilliant work of adrienne maree brown and her Emergent Strategies. I remain jazzed about Theory U and the Presencing Insitute. 

The people I work with are ready to learn. They have heard the call and are seeking the tools to make the change and to bring it back to their companies, communities, families and places of worship. We can do this. We can heal ourselves and the planet.

As a facilitator, a teacher, a healer, a performer and a ritual leader, I combine tools from many arenas to bring a unique set of tools and skills to groups and individuals.

Just for the record, here’s a bunch of cool techniques that my partners and I use:

Hosting conversations that matter, story circles, world cafe, circle practice, harvesting and reflection, dialogue tools, mind mapping, visual thinking, dot democracy, Liberatory Design exercises, case clinics, action steps planning, systems tools, dynamic governance, ecosystem exploration, beyond the hierarchies, collaborative tools, collaborative and consensus decision making, collage, theater of the oppressed, sharing rhythms, group art making, dance breaks, mindfulness exercises and more!!