bullet1   Dinner Party

Gathered among family and friends to eat, make merry, and to talk of all things great and small. This is who has gathered around the table lately and what has been set upon that table.




» See document: http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/law/news.html#events

bullet2   Anew

  •   Vipassana
    Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art of Living.

    This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation. Healing, not merely the curing of diseases, but the essential healing of human suffering, is its purpose.

    Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

    The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, judgements and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace.



    » See document: http://www.dhara.dhamma.org/
     
  •   Technique
    Vipassana is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques. Long lost to humanity, it was rediscovered by Gotama the Buddha more than 2500 years ago. The word Vipassana means seeing things as they really are. It is the process of self- purification by self-observation. One begins by observing the natural breath to concentrate the mind. With a sharpened awareness one proceeds to observe the changing nature of body and mind and experiences the universal truths of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. This truth-realization by direct experience is the process of purification. The entire path (Dhamma) is a universal remedy for universal problems and has nothing to do with any organized religion or sectarianism. For this reason, it can be freely practiced by everyone, at any time, in any place, without conflict due to race, community or religion, and will prove equally beneficial to one and all.


    What Vipassana is not:


    It is not a rite or ritual based on blind faith.
    It is neither an intellectual nor a philosophical entertainment.
    It is not a rest cure, a holiday, or an opportunity for socializing.
    It is not an escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life.


    What Vipassana is:


    It is a technique that will eradicate suffering.
    It is an art of living that one can use to make positive contributions to society.
    It is a method of mental purification which allows one to face life's tensions and problems in a calm, balanced way.


    Vipassana meditation aims at the highest spiritual goals of total liberation and full enlightenment. Its purpose is never simply to cure physical disease. However, as a by-product of mental purification, many psychosomatic diseases are eradicated. In fact, Vipassana eliminates the three causes of all unhappiness: craving, aversion and ignorance. With continued practice, the meditation releases the tensions developed in everyday life, opening the knots tied by the old habit of reacting in an unbalanced way to pleasant and unpleasant situations.


    Although Vipassana was developed as a technique by the Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. There is absolutely no question of conversion. The technique works on the simple basis that all human beings share the same problems and a technique which can eradicate these problems will have a universal application. People from many religious denominations have experienced the benefits of Vipassana meditation, and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.




     
  •   Meditation and Self-Discipline
    The process of self-purification by introspection is certainly never easy--students have to work very hard at it. By their own efforts students arrive at their own realizations; no one else can do this for them. Therefore, the meditation will suit only those willing to work seriously and observe the discipline, which is there for the benefit and protection of the meditators and is an integral part of the meditation practice.


    Ten days is certainly a very short time in which to penetrate the deepest levels of the unconscious mind and learn how to eradicate the complexes lying there. Continuity of the practice in seclusion is the secret of this technique's success. Rules and regulations have been developed keeping this practical aspect in mind. They are not primarily for the benefit of the teacher or the course management, nor are they negative expressions of tradition, orthodoxy or blind faith in some organized religion. Rather, they are based on the practical experience of thousands of meditators over the years and are both scientific and rational. Abiding by the rules creates a very conductive atmosphere for meditation; breaking them pollutes it.


    A student will have to stay for the entire period of the course. The other rules should also be carefully read and considered. Only those who feel that they can honestly and scrupulously follow the discipline should apply for admission. Those not prepared to make a determined effort will waste their time and, moreover, will disturb others who wish to work seriously. A prospective student should also understand that it would be both disadvantageous and inadvisable to leave without finishing the course upon finding the discipline too difficult. Likewise, it would be most unfortunate if, in spite of repeated reminders, a student does not follow the rules and has to be asked to leave.




     
  •   The Code of Discipline
    The foundation of the practice is sila --moral conduct. Sila provides a basis for the development of samadhi --concentration of mind; and purification of the mind is achieved through panna --the wisdom of insight.


    The Precepts


    All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:


    1. to abstain from killing any living creature;
    2. to abstain from stealing;
    3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
    4. to abstain from telling lies;
    5. to abstain from all intoxicants.


    There are three additional precepts which old students (that is, those who have completed a course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assistant teachers) are expected to follow during the course:


    6. to abstain from eating after midday;
    7. to abstain from sensual entertainment and bodily decoration;
    8. to abstain from using high or luxurious beds.


    Old students will observe the sixth precept by having only herb tea or fruit juice at the 5 p.m. break, whereas new student may have tea with milk and some fruit. The teacher may excuse an old student from observing this precept for health reasons. The seventh and eighth precept will be observed by all.


    Acceptance of the Teacher and the Technique


    Students must declare themselves willing to comply fully and for the duration of the course with the teacher's guidance and instructions; that is, to observe the discipline and to meditate exactly as the teacher asks, without ignoring any part of the instructions, nor adding anything to them. This acceptance should be one of discrimination and understanding, not blind submission. Only with an attitude of trust can a student work diligently and thoroughly. Such confidence in the teacher and the technique is essential for success in meditation.


    Other Techniques, Rites, and Forms of Worship


    During the course it is absolutely essential that all forms of prayer, worship, or religious ceremony--fasting, burning incense, counting beads, reciting mantras, singing and dancing, etc.--be discontinued. All other meditation techniques and healing or spiritual practices should also be suspended. This is not to condemn any other technique or practice, but to give a fair trial to the technique of Vipassana in its purity.


    Students are strongly advised that deliberately mixing other techniques of meditation with Vipassana will impede and even reverse their progress. Despite repeated warnings by the teacher, there have been cases in the past where students have intentionally mixed this technique with a ritual or another practice, and have done themselves a great disservice. Any doubts or confusion which may arise should always be clarified by meeting with the teacher.


    Interviews With the Teacher


    Problems or questions regarding the meditation should be taken only to the teacher for clarification. The time between 12 noon and 1 p.m. is set aside for private interviews. Questions may also be asked in public between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. in the meditation hall.


    Interviews and question times are solely for the purpose of clarifying actual practical problems concerned with the technique. They are not to be regarded as opportunities to indulge in philosophical discussions or intellectual arguments. The unique nature of Vipassana meditation can only be appreciated by putting it into practice and during the course students should concentrate exclusively on this task.


    Noble Silence


    All students must observe Noble Silence from the beginning of the course until the morning of the last full day. Noble Silence means silence of body, speech, and mind. Any form of communication with fellow student, whether by gestures, sign language, written notes, etc., is prohibited.


    Students may, however, speak with the teacher whenever necessary and they may approach the management with any problems related to food, accommodation, health, etc. But even these contacts should be kept to a minimum. Students should cultivate the feeling that they are working in isolation.


    Separation of Men and Women


    Complete segregation of men and women is to be maintained. Couples, married or otherwise, should not contact each other in any way during the course. The same applies to friends, members of the same family, etc.


    Physical Contact


    Due to the introspective nature of the meditation practices, it is important that throughout the course there be no physical contact whatsoever between persons of the same or opposite sex.


    Yoga and Physical Exercise


    Although physical yoga and other exercises are compatible with Vipassana, they should be suspended during the course because proper secluded facilities are not available at the course site. Jogging is also not permitted. Students may exercise during rest periods by walking in the designated areas.


    Religious Objects, Rosaries, Crystals, Talismans, etc.


    No such items should be brought to the course site. If brought inadvertently they should be deposited with the management for the duration of the course.


    Intoxicants and Drugs


    No drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants should be brought to the site; this also applies to tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and all other sedatives. Those taking medicines or drugs on a doctor's prescription should notify the teacher.


    Tobacco


    For the health and comfort of all students, smoking, chewing tobacco, and taking snuff are not permitted at the course.


    Food


    It is not possible to satisfy the special food preferences and requirements of all the meditators. Students are therefore kindly requested to make do with the simple vegetarian meals provided. The course management endeavors to prepare a balanced, wholesome menu suitable for meditation. If any students have been prescribed a special diet because of ill-health, they should inform the management at the time of application.


    Clothing


    Dress should be simple, modest, and comfortable. Tight, transparent, revealing, or otherwise striking clothing (such as shorts, short skirts, tights and leggings, sleeveless or skimpy tops) should not be worn. Sunbathing and partial nudity are not permitted. This is important in order to minimize distraction to others.


    Laundry and Bathing


    No washing machines or dryers are available, so students should bring sufficient clothing. Small items can be hand-washed. Bathing and laundry may be done only in the break periods and not during meditation hours.


    Outside Contacts


    Students must remain within the course boundaries throughout the course. They may leave only with the specific consent of the teacher. No outside communications is allowed before the course ends. This includes letters, phone calls and visitors. In case of an emergency, a friend or relative may contact the management.


    Music, Reading and Writing


    The playing of musical instruments, radios, etc. is not permitted. No reading or writing materials should be brought to the course. Students should not distract themselves by taking notes. The restriction on reading and writing is to emphasize the strictly practical nature of this meditation.


    Tape Recorders and Cameras


    These may not be used except with the express permission of the teacher.


    Course Finances


    According to the tradition of pure Vipassana, courses are run solely on a donation basis. Donations are accepted only from those who have completed at least one ten-day course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assisting teachers. Someone taking the course for the first time may give a donation on the last day of the course or any time thereafter.


    In this way course are supported by those who have realized for themselves the benefits of the practice. Wishing to share these benefits with others, one gives a donation according to one's means and volition. Such donations are the only source of funding for course in this tradition around the world. There is no wealthy foundation or individual sponsoring them. Neither the teachers nor the organizers receive any kind of payment for their service. Thus, the spread of Vipassana is carried out with purity of purpose, free from any commercialism.


    Whether a donation is large or small, it should be given with the wish to help others: 'The course I have taken has been paid for through the generosity of past students; now let me give something towards the cost of a future course, so that others may also benefit by this technique.'



     
  •   Time Table



    The following timetable for the course has been designed to maintain the continuity of practice. For best results students are advised to follow it as closely as possible.


    4:00 a.m.---------------------Morning wake-up bell

    4:30-6:30 a.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or your own room

    6:30-8:00 a.m.----------------Breakfast break

    8:00-9:00 a.m.----------------GROUP MEDITATION IN THE HALL

    9:00-11:00 a.m.---------------Meditate in the hall or your own room

    11:00-12:00 noon--------------Lunch break

    12noon-1:00 p.m.--------------Rest and interviews with the teacher

    1:00-2:30 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or your own room

    2:30-3:30 p.m.----------------GROUP MEDITATION IN THE HALL

    3:30-5:00 p.m.----------------Meditate in the hall or your own room

    5:00-6:00 p.m.----------------Tea break

    6:00-7:00 p.m.----------------GROUP MEDITATION IN THE HALL

    7:00-8:15 p.m.----------------Teacher's Discourse in the hall

    8:15-9:00 p.m.----------------GROUP MEDITATION IN THE HALL

    9:00-9:30 p.m.----------------Question time in the hall

    9:30 p.m.---------------------Retire to your own room--Lights out




     
  •   Summary
    To clarify the spirit behind the discipline and rules, they may be summarized as follows:


    Take great care that your actions do not disturb anyone. Take no notice of distractions caused by others.


    It may be that a student cannot understand the practical reasons for one or several of the above rules. Rather than allow negativity and doubt to develop, immediate clarification should be sought from the teacher.


    It is only by taking a disciplined approach and by making maximum effort that a student can fully grasp the practice and benefit from it. The emphasis during the course is on work. A golden rule is to meditate as if one were alone, with one's mind turned inward, ignoring any inconveniences and distractions that one may encounter.


    Finally, students should note that their progress in Vipassana depends solely on their own good qualities and personal development and on five factors: earnest efforts, confidence, sincerity, health and wisdom.


    May the above information help you to obtain maximum benefit from your meditation course. We are happy to have the opportunity to serve, and wish you peace and harmony from your experience of Vipassana.




     

bullet2   Chris Argyris

bullet2  

» See document: http://www.infed.org/index.htm

bullet2   Jae Chung

» See document: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~korea/

  • December 11 - Colloquium
     
  • Post-doctoral Fellow, Korea Institute, Harvard University
     
  • Cultural Temporality of Venture Capital: Case from South Korea
     

bullet2   The Cyber Cartographer

"A map has no vocabulary, no lexicon of precise meanings. It communicates in lines, hues, tones, coded symbols, and empty spaces, much like music. Nor does a map have its own voice. It is many-tongued, a chorus reciting centuries of accumulated knowledge in echoed chants. A map provides no answers. It only suggests where to look: discover this, reexamine that, put one thing in relation to another, orient yourself, begin here...Sometimes a map speaks in terms of physical geography, but just as often it muses on the jagged terrain of the heart, the distant vistas of memory, or the fantastic landscapes of dreams."


  • History


    The History of Cartography Project is a research, editorial, and publishing venture drawing international attention to the history of maps and mapping. The Project's major work is the multi-volume History of Cartography series. Its interdisciplinary approach brings together scholars in the arts, sciences, and humanities. By considering previously ignored aspects of cartographic history, the Project encourages a broader view of maps that has significantly influenced other fields of study. Organized by region and time period, the History of Cartography looks at maps in the context of the societies that made and used them.


    The volumes integrate existing scholarship with new research, examining an unprecedented range of artifacts from local maps to those of the cosmos. The books are extensively illustrated and contain detailed footnotes, appendixes, and reference maps.



    » See document: http://feature.geography.wisc.edu/histcart/
     
  •   Web Cartography
    » See document: http://kartoweb.itc.nl/webcartography/webbook/index1.htm
     
    • About
      » See document: http://kartoweb.itc.nl/webcartography/webbook/about/about.htm
       
    •   The Book
      Maps are created as soon as one needs insight in geospatial patterns and relations. They are produced and used both on paper as well as on-screen. The WWW is the new medium for disseminating and using maps. This book explains the benefits of this medium from the perspective of the user, and the map provider. Opportunities and pitfalls are illustrated by a set of case studies. This website accompanies the book and provides a dynamic environment for demonstrating many of the principles set out in the text.


      The authors look at basic questions such as "I have this data what can I do with it?" and discuss the various functions of maps on the Web. Web Cartography also looks at the particularities of multidimensional web maps and addresses topics such as map design (colour, text and symbols), map physics (size and resolution), and the map environment (interface design/site contents).


      In the recent past map production was revolutionised by the advent of sophisticated computer software in the graphics industry and now an extremely rapid technological development is going on in the electronic dissemination of all kinds of information, including maps. Much of this dissemination is on the Internet, using the World Wide Web. Although web maps have some disadvantages compared to traditional paper maps, particularly in terms of size and portability, the virtual, temporary characteristics of web maps are advantages. These maps can be distributed easily and if changes occur, the supplier has to update only one single map and all the users immediately have access to the updated version. One other advantage is that most web maps are produced on demand. In some cases the user can decide which map to see and what its contents will be.


      In the book current developments on the Web relevant for those who deal with geospatial data are combined with recent trends in the world of geospatial data handling in general (e.g. national and global geospatial data infrastructures) and those in cartography in particular (interactive and dynamic mapping). This approach is presented as much as possible from the user point of view, since a clear shift from supply-driven cartography to demand-driven cartography is visible everywhere. Based on a {HYPERLINK "javascript:openWin('../ch01/images/wbofig1-2.htm', 'imageWin');"} classification of web maps  which includes a division into static and dynamic maps, the implications of the Web as a new medium to present cartographic products are discussed. Well-established theory and practice still form the basis of a successful map design, but special attention is given throughout the book to the new options the Web offers as well as to its limitations. Many of the points made in the more theoretical chapters are illustrated by examples from several time-sensitive applications that currently benefit from use of the Web. Any technical terms that might not be familiar to the general reader are fully explained.





      » See document: http://kartoweb.itc.nl/webcartography/webbook/contents/contents.htm
       
    • Search
      » See document: http://kartoweb.itc.nl/webcartography/webbook/search/se-search.htm
       
    • Classification
       
  •   André Skupin
    {HYPERLINK "mailto:askupin@uno.edu"} askupin@uno.edu



    Cartographic Considerations for Map-Like Interfaces to Digital Libraries


    ....to abstract information If spatial metaphors represent a useful basis for the design of user interfaces, then geographic concepts dealing with space should be given serious consideration. As for metaphors, the work of cognitive linguists [12,13] has been particularly influential. Couclelis [6] convincingly links those metaphor notions with geographic concepts. She argues that there are three fundamental groups of questions that arise in this endeavor: a) questions regarding the meaning of geographic concepts in visual representations of abstract information, b) how geographic ....


    ....employ. Distinct techniques exist to project elements of a high dimensional information space in order to create two dimensional configurations made up of these basic geometric primitives, which are either zero , one , or twodimensional. This proposed division of techniques derives from Couclelis [6] argument regarding the cognitive rationale behind use of the spatial metaphor. She argues that experiential space is made up of certain elementary building blocks that correspond to the geometric primitives of mathematical space. Places, ways, and regions are fundamentally distinct experiences




         




     
  •   Helen Couclelis
    Education: PhD, Cambridge University, Urban Modeling;
    Diploma, Technical University of Munich, Urban and Regional Planning;
    MA, Technical University of Athens, Architect Engineer.


    Research Interests: Urban and regional modeling and planning, spatial cognition, geographic information science, geography of the information society.


    Worlds of Information: the Geographic Metaphor in the Visualization of Complex Nonspatial Information



    The purpose of this collaborative project with a group of researchers from the Pacific National Laboratory (PNL) is to investigate the potential of the geographic metaphor in the design of visualizations of complex non-spatial data. The advantages of the geographic metaphor are twofold. First, geographic space constitutes a generally accessible and very comprehensive realm of experience for humans. This minimizes the amount of learning effort necessary for people to make sense of the vast array of possible geographically-structured representations. Second, over the more than two millennia of its existence, geography has developed a formidable arsenal of theories and tools for the representation and analysis of spatial information. Moreover, the quintessential presentation format of spatial information—the map—has always been visual. GIS, the electronic-age addition to this long tradition, successfully integrates the theories and tools of geography and its preferred, visual mode of data presentation, with the computer's capabilities of data storage, manipulation and retrieval. Thus GIS can serve as the technological bridge for moving the geographic metaphor over to the domain of general data representation and analysis.


    A first paper based on this research was presented by the PI at the 1997 UCGIS Annual Assembly held in June in Bar Harbor, Maine. The paper investigates the possible significance of certain fundamental geographic concepts, such as place, way, and region, in an information space that is only metaphorically geographical. These metaphorical meanings are then associated with specific functions and user actions that make sense in the context of exploring and searching an information space consisting of textual document objects. The work continues by extending the vocabulary of geographic concepts that can be given practical interpretation in terms of interacting with complex nonspatial information databases.


    Currently, the PI has submitted a manuscript (same title as the project) to the refereed journal Cartography and GIS, and is working on the followup paper to the one presented at the Bar Harbor assembly.





    » See document: http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/people/faculty_members/couclelis_helen.htm
     
  •   Waldo Tobler
    Biographical Sketch


    Waldo Tobler received his degrees in Geography from the University of Washington in Seattle, spent several years at the University of Michigan and is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Until his retirement he held the positions of Professor of Geography and Professor of Statistics at the same institution. The University of Zurich, Switzerland, awarded him a Doctorate honoris causa in 1988.


    Courses taught have included the History of Cartography, Geographic Transformations, and Migration. Dr. Tobler was one of the principal investigators and a Senior Scientist in the National Science Foundation sponsored National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. He has used computers in geographic research for over forty years, with emphasis on mathematical modeling and graphic interpretations. Well known for his publications, he formulated the "first law of geography" in 1970 while producing a computer movie, and is the inventor of novel and unusual map projections, among which was the first derivation of the partial differential equations for area cartograms. He also invented a method for smooth two-dimensional mass-preserving areal data redistribution.


    Committee work involved the National Research Council, most recently the Board on Earth Sciences. He has been on the editorial board of several journals, including The American Cartographer, Journal of Regional Science, Geographical Analysis, and the International Journal of Geographical Information Systems. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and, until his retirement, was a member of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain. He was a charter member of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, a council member of the Regional Science Association, member and chairman of the Mathematical Social Science Board, and served as the US delegate to the International Geographical Union Commission on Geographical Data Processing and Sensing.


    Recent work involved building a global, latitude-longitude oriented, demographic information base with resolution two orders of magnitude better than was previously available. His latest ideas concern the development of smooth finite element and categorical pycnophylactic geographic information reallocation models. In July 1999 he presented a keynote speech, "The World is Shriveling as it Shrinks", at the ESRI International User Conference, and was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in GIS by ESRI. Taylor and Francis of London recently published a map projection book, co-authored with Q. Yang of China and the late John Snyder. Current interests relate to ideas in computational geography including the analysis of geographical vector fields and the development of global trade models. His recent presentations on these subjects in Oregon, London, and Paris were presented using Microsoft's Power Point. More detail can be found under {HYPERLINK "presentations/index.html"} presentations .



    » See document: http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~tobler/publications/pdf_docs/cartography/Mental%20Maps.pdf
     
  •   William Garrison
     
  •   Dr. Mei-Po Kwan
    My research focuses on substantive issues in urban, transportation, and economic geography. I am also interested in the development of new analytical methods for geographical research - especially GIS-based 3D geovisualization and geocomputation. My studies often rely on the primary data I collected through activity diary surveys and in-depth interviews. Part of my current research attempts to integrate GIS and qualitative methods; while my substantive concerns have expanded to include other topics, such as the impact of new information technologies on women's everyday lives. My research interests include:

      • gender/ethnic issues in urban/transportation geography - daily spatial mobility, access to jobs and urban opportunities;
      • new information technologies (IT) and the geographies of everyday life - the impact of new IT on women's daily lives, their effect on women's social networks and gender relations within the household;
      • critical GIS - the role of GIS in gender research and its implications for feminist methodologies;
      • human cyberspatial cognition and behavior - individual access to information resources in cyberspace;
      • analysis of individuals' spatial mobility in space-time using GIS-based geocomputation and geovisualization; and
      • object-oriented GIS and 3D GIS - especially in the context of real-time Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and mobile applications.



    » See document: http://geog-www.sbs.ohio-state.edu/faculty/mkwan/WebCV/KwanWebCV.html
     
  • And of Course the Dutch
     
  • Cyber-Geography
    » See document: http://www.cybergeography.org/miscellaneous.html
     

bullet2   Knowledge Capture




  • Graphic facilitation
     
  • Large systems change people have visual person in tow
     
  • Question   E&Y Design Shops
     
  • Artists
     
    • Gretchen Pisano at Generon





      » See document: http://www.generonconsulting.com/biographies/GretchenPisano.html
       
    • Dialogos
       
      • Nina Kruschwitz
        Nina Kruschwitz is new to the reflection and product development components of Dialogos, bringing years of experience from within the field of organizational learning. She has worked in depth with Art Kleiner, George Roth, Peter Senge, and others, managing Fifth Discipline Fieldbook projects, Learning Histories, and publishing working papers, such as: “Inventing Organizations of the 21st Century: Producing Knowledge Through Collaboration.”


        Nina lives in the Boston, MA area.



         
      •   Kelvy Bird


        We don't believe in the old "Sit-N-Get" method involving PowerPoint slides and bullet point lists. Nature gave us incredible minds and bodies built for movement, creativity, intellectual rigor, emotional engagement and fun.


        We craft our events and workshops to involve all of these aspects in order to serve the ultimate needs of the team: to make stuff and make stuff happen. Working from the business goals backwards, each workshop is designed with the end in mind.


        No preformatted templates, thank you, just informed, innovative interaction.


        We work within a national network of talented facilitators and consultants who specialize in a diverse set of specialties. Together, we can design an engagement to accomplish your team's specific goals:

          • Biotech and Pharmaceuticals
          • IT Infrastructure and Implementation
          • Branding and Marketing
          • Organizational Development
          • Military History and Theory
          • Complexity Theory and Application
          • Product Design
          • Process Improvement



        There's a better way to organize your group's ideas during a meeting other than taking endless notes on flip charts. It's called graphic facilitation, and it's growing in popularity as a powerful tool in both the private and public sectors.


        As a community of practice, we only work with graphic facilitators who can do two things extremely well:

          1. Listen to conversations on a strategic level, and...
          2. Translate those conversations into words and images that are useful.

        Whether a monthly meeting, board retreat, industry conference or facilitated workshop, this is a great way to make your gathering more effective and much more memorable.  




        » See document: http://www.alphachimp.com/tour/links.html
        » See also: MG Talyor
         
      •   Jason
        » See document: http://www.siliconyogi.com/Jason
         
      •   I'm Your Gardener
        » See document: http://siliconyogi.com/andreas/StrayCats.mp3
         
    • Carol Frenier
        1. Practitioners in the field report that the condition we know in individual practice as sacred space also exists for groups. Sacred space in groups seems to be the salient factor for the emergence of collective intelligence. Some people are called to the experience of sacred space in groups from an inner intuitive knowing that it is there; others, not infrequently, find themselves within sacred space, although they were previously unaware of it and even skeptical of its existence. For most people, once they have experienced it, however they have experienced it, replicating sacred space in groups becomes of primary significance.
        2. "Wholeness" is the word which best describes what people experience in sacred space, a wholeness that can never be fully known. Wholeness appears to human beings to be without boundaries - something above and beyond the human mind and experience. Thus groups in sacred space can be present to wholeness, but can neither create it nor assemble it.
        3. The knowledge and capacity, or collective intelligence, that becomes available to groups within sacred space is perceived as being far more than the sum of the knowledge and capacity of the individual participants.
        4. Sacred space in groups is experienced as both incredibly pleasurable, bordering on the ecstatic, and the cause of considerable discomfort and fear. Wholeness, like God, is a great attractor, but also potentially terrifying. Furthermore, the experience of collective intelligence in sacred space, though wondrous, is also cause for concern among some practitioners - a concern that such enormous unleashed energy can be used for negative purposes.
        5. Since the manifestation of collective intelligence is the desired outcome, a key task for individuals within sacred space is, in the words of Jacob Needleman, to achieve the "willingness and capacity to separate oneself from one's thoughts and freely give attention to the other," thus achieving a state of relationship between participants that transcends ego and conflict. We consider this capacity to be what can be described as "spiritual capacity."
        6. The experience of the emergence of collective intelligence within sacred space is paradoxically heightened in direct proportion to the depth of appreciation individuals hold for each other's unique gifts and points of view. Diversity, then, rather than being an obstacle to be overcome, is viewed as and believed to be the ground of the experience itself. Inclusivity, equality and self-organization are natural outcomes.
        7. The overarching spiritual task of groups in sacred space seems to be to midwife a new social/spiritual order of an evolutionary magnitude. To "midwife" is to assist something that is emerging of its own power.
        8. Learning and doing within sacred space require the whole, authentic person - the integration of body, mind, heart and soul. Multiple modalities of learning are recognized and welcomed as are multiple modes of activity, particularly including those which are organic and non-linear.
        9. People come to their interest in sacred space in groups along many different paths and through many different doors. What is common about their interest in cultivating capacity for sacred space in groups is the experience of the struggle with and/or realization that people must and are able to work together in qualitatively different and better ways. While many people continue to work to change their organizations from within, the revelation that "something" much change in the way we work together often results in people moving out of existing structures.
        10. The tools that people have developed and use to help create conditions to enable the sacred space in groups primarily involve generating expanded awareness and authentic expression. These are believed to enable the kind of presence that allows sacred space to be experienced, which in turn evokes and sustains collective intelligence.


      In the words of David LaChapelle, "By cultivating the awareness tools necessary to validate and register opened fields, a group can begin to mature the ability to recognize the presence of wisdom and ground this wisdom through conscious expression and perceptual acuity."



      » See document: http://www.collectivewisdominitiative.org/files_people/Frenier_Carol.htm
       
  •   Bohm Dialogue
     
    • Didn't work
       
    • Brains flow
       
    • Question   Hierarchy is problem
       
  •  
     
  • Words
     
    • Con-Sultan
       
    • IMap
       
    • Constrainer
       
    • Table of contexts
       
  •   I have thought long and deeply....
    I have thought long and deeply....


    .Insight capture


    Using an alchemical metaphor, a transdisciplinary  conference is a context (a retort) in which insights  constantly bubble up and emerge. The challenge is to  design a conference so that any such insights are  appropriately captured and processed. In many  conferences, where the context is uncontained  ("open to the air"), the insights of the moment simply  evaporate and cannot be recollected. There are a number of possibilities for improving this situation:


    "Insight collectors": This might be considered a  creative redefinition of the role of minute and report  writers. As presently defined, this role is to a large  extent constrained by the administrative and protocol requirements that are often essential for some  aspects of the credibility of the event. It is important  to emphasize the role in relation to the "distillation" of  ideas during the conference process. It is the most "volatile" insights which could be considered of great  value. These are of course the most difficult to isolate  and "condense". The above-mentioned messaging  system can perform a vital role in insight collection.


    Inter-relators: Insights may readily be treated in  isolation. However a transdisciplinary perspective is  necessarily dependent on giving form to "patterns  which connect". This is a role which extends that of insight collectors and may call for other qualities.  One of these may be an emphasis on mapping or  visualization of some kind. Of special importance is  the way in which such mapping can give a place to each of the perspectives and constituencies present  at the conference (or significantly absent). Place in  this sense is associated with function.  Transdisciplinarity can be seen as the Gaia (or  organizing principle) of the noosphere through which  each discipline has a function in relation to the others  (in contrast to the present isolationist emphasis).


    Configuration and self-constraint: It is readily assumed that the insights of a  transdisciplinary conference can be mapped onto some form of checklist. There are  strong arguments in favour of seeing a point-by-point outcome as the most simplistic,  reductionist form of output -- and very probably inadequate to the challenge of reflecting  the subtler patterns of relationships between the emergent insights in any way that could  be considered significantly transdisciplinary. There are arguments for exploring more  complex "surfaces" (in the geometrical sense) onto which to project insights emerging  from such an event. It is such surfaces which suggest relevance pathways between  insights (conceptual "ley lines") and the patterns of constraint (between "opposing"  perspectives) vital to the integrity of the surface as a whole. It is at this level that the  emergent structure characteristic of transdisciplinarity can start to be described. Every  effort should be made to propose a variety of mappings and projections to capture the variety of insights expressed. Such conceptual devices may be even be usefully seen as  performing a role analogous to that of antennae in capturing and resolving insights.


    Metaphors: Transdisciplinarity of any significance must necessarily pose real  challenges to comprehension and communication, both within the conference  and to the outside world. One of the few vehicles to capture transdisciplinary  insights and modes of conceptual operation, with minimum deformation and  maximum communicability, is metaphor. Arguably the most fruitful outcome of  a transdisciplinary conference would be new metaphors. Encouraging  participants to articulate their insights in the form of metaphors, and to sharpen  them by confronting opposing or complementary metaphors, therefore offers a  significant way forward that bypasses many conventional conceptual traps  (terminology, doctrine, etc). Within the alchemical metaphor, metaphor itself  may perhaps be seen as the transformative principle emerging from a  successful transdisciplinary process.




     

bullet2   James Turell





» See document: http://www.lasersol.com/art/turrell/rc_links.html

bullet2   Shakespeare Fellowship

» See document: http://www.shakespearefellowship.org/

bullet2   Dr.Margaret-Anne Storey | Info Visualization


» See document: http://www.csr.uvic.ca/~mstorey/