Valvoja: Mikko Korhonen
THE CIRCULATING SCHOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE AS A SOCIAL TOOL
Kai Vaara
I hope to describe somehow the stages of an “orthodox” circulating school for sustainable life-style meeting. The main point is regular meetings in itself – for people belonging to sustainable life style circles or interested in them. Meetings function as doorways for new people to join activist groups and life style circles, and as coming together for getting to know each other and therefore deepen the movement culture. Every meeting will anyway have their own character, so this presentation is just a framework.
The idea constitutes also on the use of a long time together – within our modern work division a weekend with two evenings is the basic, but some times we also use extended weekends. People take part for the time they have in use – still the overall process can be longer. Essential is that that the being together is not limited to a pressed “productive” or “efficient” time frame. With time and different ways of being together people get different ways to open up and get to know each other. This way the understanding about what is important for people or in connection to special themes can become deeper, and the process adapts a kind of ritual fealing.
The ideal meeting is like good community or village life: the program is voluntary and there may happen other things around (like taking care of children, preparing food, working or building something - and some people just prefer to do these things etc.). This also means, that it is important to give space for people’s personal meetings with each other, so the sustainable school –meeting is a meeting of many meetings, a meeting for creation of connections. Of course the “program” with talking circles is essential, a kind of heart around and for which the village life is related.
Basic steps of a circulating school meeting
1st Day, evening
1. Welcoming and a short presentation of the place.
2. A circle with talking stick where all participants tell about their interest for the theme of the meeting – or the place. What has brought them here, what they wish for the meeting. The program of coming days can be (re)constructed according to these wishes – so it is essential, that the participants feel that they can have an impact, that they have their role and are taken seriously.
2nd Day
1. Morning exercise
Voluntary body work, stretching or concentration (early morning before breakfast) like yoga, qikung, taichi, five Tibetans, meditation or prayer… According to people’s wishes and suggestions; the facilitator can also be some of the participants. So, it can be asked during the first evening if there are people knowing some method that they could share with others.
(breakfast)
2. Voluntary working session (2-6 hours depending on other program)
Common introduction to works and actual themes in the place. Division into working groups and guided work if possible. Possibly also documentation.
(lunch)
3. The informative session (2-4 hours)
Some speeches about the theme of the days. Possibly some envited speakers from outside. Discussion.
4. Smelting Walking freely around individually, or discussing in pairs or small groups, joining practical works.
5. Evening session (with dinner)
- talking circle and/or
- singing, playing music, telling stories – in connection to sustainable roots
- wishful words for the dreams of the night
3rd Day
1. Morning exercise
Like on second day. Maybe a new type of excercise.
(breakfast)
2. Voluntary working session or visit(s) in interesting close places
3. Closing talking circle
Sharing of experiences, new ideas, suggestions, visions, division of concrete tasks…
4. Closing seremony With common meditation, taking hands and expressing own short wishes to others or something simple and strengthening.
About talking circle – a circle with the Talking Stick
Talking circle is a very simple but effective way to strengthen democracy. It is also a tool that creates a deepening atmosphere where people’s inner feelings and thoughts can become expressed and combined with a joint search for understanding something essential. The basic is that the person having the stick gets a freedom to concentrate, and that the others concentrate in listening. So, no one is “allowed” to disturb, comment or question anything. Just questions in need for clarification are reasonable, not conversation. The idea is that everyone can talk until they feel they have said what they feel important, that people have a space to seek the talk that comes from their hearts.
People for whom this way is not familiar get easily frustrated in waiting for their turn. So, the talking circle is teaching listening and tolerance. You may also learn to notice that many of your ideas may become expressed from others before your turn. That is why we do not “own” our thoughts or ideas. If they are “real” or functioning, they are also “hanging in the air”, and we might see them get an expression through others, and we understand ourselves as knots in a field or web, not as independent individuals. On the other hand it is not meaningful to fill the air with just own words – do not use too long monologues. And others can also show their interest for hurrying for example rolling thumbs around each other, which the talking one easily can understand.
On the other hand many who are not so experienced in expressing themselves, are also afraid when they feel they have to find out something to say. But that is not the meaning. To talk is just voluntary. You do not have to say anything, if you do not feel so. But anyway you are allowed to get an opportunity in the same way as all the others do. So, the talking circle creates good circumstances for people to learn to open themselves – and to talk what they feel important.
A silent and respecting atmosphere creates a deepening communication. It is not meaningful to stress on preparing your own turn – just letting the stick function as a kind of antenna you may learn to find the right words for the circle.
It is also preferable to begin with telling first your name, and closing by mentioning like “I have talked”, “thank you for listening” or “ugh” or something. Then you just give the stick further to the next in the row or to someone else depending on how you have decided to use the stick. It can also be beautiful to mention the name of the next speaker if you know it. It is not used to clap hands. If you are impressed about someone’s talk you can wave your hands in the air or just pronounce “how” or “wow” or something similar.
– If there is not a big group (let say about 3-20) people you can use the talking stick to move in row;
– In a bigger group (10-50) or when you wish to hurry up and maybe conclude something – the one having the stick gives it further to someone else who asks for it with raising hand;
– With very many people you just divide the meeting into small groups which then use the stick as mentioned above;
– In a concluding situation you can then gather one representative from each group to the centre of the crowd into a smaller circle, and others then just follow the talk from outside. If someone want to come in, they might do it after the first circle, but the amount of people in the middle must remain reasonable;
– Usually a facilitator (or a group of them) is needed to speak for the process and to keep people clear about the talking way that is chosen in the given situation;
– The talking stick can be combined to other types of communicative ways – it is just a tool that can be used creatively depending on the given situation;
– You can also try another way: the one that has talked goes and lay the talking stick on earth in the middle of the circle. The next one, who ever in the circle, then just goes in the middle and takes the stick. This is impressive when the level of the process is dealing with really deep and important feelings.
Choosing working group themes in a deep democratic way
I have also used talking stick combining it with so called “future workshop” tool. If for example you have to define good themes for working groups (or openly add new themes in a prepared schelude) you may first have one or two talking circles, and according to what people raise up write the key words on paper on the wall. After circles you can ask people to add some new if they want. Then you can combine them into some themes – and have the working groups according to these themes.
If there are very many keynotes you can ask people to vote them each person having 3-5 votes which they can distribute freely (not just to five different points, also like 2+3, or 1+1+3 or other combinations are ok). Then you sort and combine the keynotes examining them in the order of their votes. You can concentrate just to the most important ones according to peoples feelings (the votes give an interesting expression of groups interests). You take one at time and list similar types together – and give these lists own titles. In a future workshop it is important that these keynotes express also the feelings or attitudes (administrative way of language is to be avoided), ant the give titles even so express feelings…
Mikko Korhonen kirjoitti:Vois oikeastaan harjoitella köyhäilyä yhtenä kiertokouluteemana ja sitä kuinka luodaan kansalaistoimintaa ilman rahalista pääomaa. Vois olla vaikka sarja tapaamisia.
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