In Homer’s Odyssey, one of the tribulations Odysseus must confront and over which he must prevail, as he pursues his heroic attempt to return home, involves steering his ship through the strait of Messina on the northeast coast of Sicily. Bordering this narrow strait on one side is Charybdis, a whirlpool that can easily suck in and “disappear” a sea vessel. On the other side of the strait is Scylla, a monstrous rock against which even a well navigated ship can collide and founder.

            Those of us seriously committed to conflict resolution, it seems to me, have our own Charybdis and Scylla. On one side, we have our very human urge to return slight with slight, allowing ourselves to become polarized, less compassionate, less intelligent, and less in command of where we’re going. On the other side of our various straits of potential embattlement, we enjoy the equally human urge to be BIG even if, in the process, we split off from our seemingly less noble impulses and fall out of alignment with ourselves.
 
         These are murky waters. Is His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, exacting a price from himself and perhaps even others when he refuses to regard those in charge in Bejing as his enemies?  And, for that matter, what was Barack Obama doing with the all but unavoidable impulse to spurn and impugn when subjected to John McCain’s bitter onslaughts in their recent debate?
 
            We are, I submit, in uncharted waters here. It no longer suffices to say with Nietzsche that “turn the other cheek” is a suppressive ploy of the weak to undermine the strong. On the other hand, we are constantly bombarded with false pieties and facile “correctnesses” that make the Rush Limbaughs of the world possible. Perhaps, at the end of the day, the planet’s schizoid bouncing between “NO TRESPASSING” on the one hand and “GOD IS LOVE” on the other is a very sophisticated Koan. Perhaps it will be only when some of us who have dedicated our lives to peace making throw out our scripts and, with heartful vehemence, shout at the top of our lungs, “GO TO HELL” that God or whatever we choose to call the Cosmic Zen Master will strike us on our heads with the appropriate bamboo instrument and declare us truly purged.  AMEN

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Our planetary situation demands that we totally refocus our human values. As we continue to strive for the necessities of life we are faced with the stark reality that the way we have been going about this is not sustainable. Conquistador, missionary, dominator, imperialist, capitalistic practices will kill us all, after it hardens and breaks us.

The models of leadership that we have perpetuated based on domination are obsolete. Models of servant leadership based on compassionate understanding remove some of the distance of the dominating models. Current research indicates the qualities that yield the best results in organizations are collective, connective and inclusive. (Alimo-Metcalfe. 2006) This British study indicates that groups who function the best and are most productive have higher scores in: honesty, concern, accessibility, trust, encouragement, teamwork, vision, and learning from change and mistakes. A separate American study (Balthazard. 2006) indicated that dysfunctional organizations demonstrate the opposite qualities.

Creativity, required to make the changes needed to survive, is supported by the qualities of collectivity, connectivity and inclusivity. The great teachers in all traditions have advocated for the qualities, the values, that facilitate creativity and community. Individual creativity is valuable but communal creativity will be needed to grow through the challenges humanity faces.

Creative leaders are individuals who together are willing to step into the unknown, access new possibilities, and nurture those possibilities in the face of the status quo. When together we slow down and utilize practices and exercises that activate unused inner resources (90% of our minds) we see connections and openings that were previously invisible. Inclusive, nurturing, community provides the support to do the research, find the fit, develop new all inclusive co-inquiries, and embody behaviors that are sustainable.

References

Alimo-Metcalfe, Beverly. (2006). More (good) leaders for the public sector. International Journal of Public Sector Management. 19(4). 293-315. Retrieved February 11, 2008 by Metro State University Library. http://ill.mnpals.net/exlibris/ill/il6_1/tmp/mtr2081746.html

Balthazard, Pierre A. (2006). Dysfunctional culture, dysfunctional organization: Capturing the behavioral norms that form organizational culture and drive performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 21(8). 709-732. Retrieved February 12, 2008. from Metro State University Library. http://ill.mnpals.net/exlibris/ill/il6_1/tmp/mtr2082102.html

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Demons and creativity don’t mix. I am using demon to point at that which we deify as an irresistible force sabotaging our best intentions. Some of my demons are victimhood, obstacles, Sisyphus, fear of intimacy and self loathing. I look at global warming and the domineering mindset of much of humanity, my heart fails and I surrender to victimhood. I see our fear and isolation, a high stress future, and see the fear growing. I know how important 360˚ feedback is to working together and the development of community and see myself resist it. The exploration of creative leadership renews my hope for compassion, inclusivity, community. To the extent that it has made the world a kinder, gentler place for me the exploration of creative leadership has helped me conquer a few inner demons and is giving me greater access to my creativity.

Several thought systems are converging for me, creating a new question. The old “distant,” authoritarian leadership paradigm is obviously (multiple studies) less productive than a “near” collective, connective and inclusive leadership paradigm. Most of the worlds’ traditions have been preaching the new paradigm for centuries. Yet much of the planet is operating under the old paradigm, failing to address the issues at hand, and not adopting the new. What paradigm do we need to access to learn and grow through the twenty first century? To work, it will have to be irresistible as well as being good for the world.

We are social animals, we naturally want to circle, to congregate, to work together, to play together, to learn together and to celebrate together. Is this what could make this transformation, this paradigm shift, so irresistible the mass of mankind will tackle inner demons and stand up to outer demons, the dominant powers. Playing with this new question lends a greater urgency and a new clarity to my work of developing a community building curriculum; a collection of games, processes and rituals designed to connect us. I need community to keep my hope alive. All of us together need to be in community to tackle both the inner and the outer demons of greed, separation, fear and resignation.

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(Minnesota Council of Churches, Saint Paul Council of Churches, Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, Twin Cities Interfaith Network, Saint Paul Interfaith Network, Interfaith Bridging Initiative etc.)

Opening Conference: The Blessing of Controversy in Interfaith Work I (October 12, 19)

Participants: Circle workers willing to ground these breakouts and clergy and interfaith workers who are committed to serving as facilitators for the entire series.

Objective: Experientially equip participants to use controversy constructively.

The Event: Open the series of events with a retreat in which the keynote not only addresses the issue of “Constructive Controversy” but engages interfaith workers in a controversial inquiry. Professor Kenneth Fox, chair of Conflict Studies at Hamline Law School should be a great presenter and an adept facilitator for this process.

The objective being to press everyone to take a stand based in their faith tradition. Some grandstanding, theatrical, dramatic, great debate, defend your faith, pre-event publicity may be needed to encourage participation. This would be followed by breakouts in which participants are invited to speak out, engage, and practice the skill set needed to work with a group of passionate defendants of their faiths. The conference would close with a common meal.

Possibilities: Despair and Empowerment Work, Fishbowl, Open Question Circle, Open Sentences Practice, Widening Circles Exercise, World Work,

Event Series: Four to six public forums around topics that evoke a faith based response. (October / November)

Participants: These events will be facilitated at different houses of worship to encourage the presence of worshipers from differing traditions.

Objective: The faithful will experience standing up for their faith in ways that encourage others to stand for their own beliefs while honoring self and other. As a result they will continue these conversations within and between their faith communities with the resulting events being inviting to a greater range of believers.

The events: There could be simultaneous series in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and suburban communities. They could be structured with the presentation of opposing points of view on a “hot topic” followed by in depth circle discussions and an appropriate breaking of bread.

Possibilities: Just war and nonviolence, punishment and forgiveness, judgment and non-judgment, good/evil and all one, free will and karma,

Wrap Up Conference: The Blessing of Controversy in Interfaith Work II (December)

Participants: Facilitators from the series and participants who would like to facilitate the next series.

Objective: Participants will integrate learnings, what worked, what didn’t work.

The event: This could be an excellent opportunity to use a fishbowl format and play out (dramatically) different occasions from the series so the entire group could analyze the dynamics and learn from them. Three or four real events, reenacted and analyzed in sequence. Followed by a major celebration.

Email to Circle Keepers.

Circle keepers and facilitators: Attached find a brief description of a series of Interfaith events. To be successful we need experienced volunteer facilitators for the breakout circles at the opening conference. This would involve a preconference meeting and the Sunday afternoon/evening of October 12 or 19^th. If you would be willing to serve the Interfaith community by sharing your skills in this way please reply to this email and I’ll keep you posted. Thank you for the great healing work you do.

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