Jones & Compton
Conflict Resolution Education
"Kids, now more than ever, need skills for living and working together in an increasingly interdependent world - skills in such areas as handling conflicts, managing intense emotions, and making wise choices for themselves and their community." - Randy Compton, from "Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making Peace In Our Schools"
COMMENT:
As we shift from our recent spiritual perspective, Buddhism, and veer back into secular interests for awhile, we've decided to share some ideas found in Tricia S. Jones and Randy Compton's text "Kids Working It Out."
As proponents of Conflict Resolution Education (CRE), we heartily embrace the idea of spreading peacemaking and self/other-awareness instruction into our schools. It is clear in today's world that the traditional three "R's" - Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic - while remaining valid and useful, are simply not enough when it comes to making sense of ourselves and our community. We are convinced that a fourth "R," Resolution, would be a step in the right direction.
Jones and Compton have edited a text that embraces and explores these ideas, and that gathers writers and researchers who are blazing paths toward revolutionizing both the nature of education and the nature of our schoolchildren. We hope you enjoy those excerpts from their book that we'll be sharing over the next few weeks.
FAN: Sports, anybody? Is that the Merriam-Webster's definition of athletic benefits?
INSTITUTE: Bryan Thornhill, good to hear from you!
We heartily embrace the value of sports programs in teaching ethics, as well as the aforementioned skills, in our schools. Too often, the American drive for "success" and "victory" (as the recent fascination with Charlie Sheen's "Winning" perspective reveals) overshadows those ideas such as community (read: teamwork), sacrifice, and self-improvement that should be at the heart of any truly successful athletic program.
As a high school coach and teacher, are there any other thoughts you'd like to share regarding the importance of sports programs (or anything else that comes to mind) for our youth?
FAN: I believe it is important to point out that the experience students get from athletics is mainly dependant on the coach. Some coaches use sports to teach cheating, and focus on winning; instead of focusing on improvement and self awareness, as well as developing leadership skills. Learning to be accountable to others and working at building a team environment that's operates with minimal friction and maximum support is invaluable for their college and professional careers.
INSTITUTE: Great point, Bryan, we couldn't agree more! Thanks for helping to bring more focus and clarity to our thoughts on the matter. It sounds as if you're advocating training and accountability at the teacher-training level then, in addition to bringing such training to students, yes?
FAN: Some form of training is always necessary to achieve desired results.
INSTITUTE: Indeed, Bryan, that's a perspective at the heart of our work! Many folks want more peaceful, productive, and fulfilling experiences with others, but have never been trained as to how to achieve these results. Thanks so kindly for your thoughts and perspective!
"As our society has changed, so have our schools. Early schools were institutions modeled after the designs and influences of the agricultural age. Short and disrupted school years were created to help socialize children and increase basic literacy. Families valued education, but they also had to balance the needs of the field and farm." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Later schools were modeled after the industrial age... factory-like replicas of educational efficiency... [desks] in rows, standard textbooks [and] norms... Discipline was often harsh and obedience swift... [to] establish social norms and control... However, much of the racial, ethnic, & religious diversity that existed in our country was molded into predominantly white, middle-class values." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"The efficient, predictable, factory-lIke structure of life began to complexify, and many of our regular ways of doing things began to change. As we know now, our world and our schools have become 'cosmopolitan' in nature, and the computer and the evolving nature of families have forever changed our social and educational patterns of interaction." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Our simple nuclear families and 'nuclear' schools - where all children lived in a predictable family unit and all students learned in a predictable classroom experience - changed. Now we live in multiracial, single parent, and nontraditional families determined not only by blood but also by our interests, geography, and creativity." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"There are many daily conflicts that exist in a school modeled after both factory-like education (desks always in rows, classes moving in a predictable and clockwork schedule, and standardized textbook learning) and computer- and cosmopolitan-like education (many ethnicities, busy, overlapping schedules, Internet-based learning)." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world... [with] approximately 1.8 million people behind bars, we imprison more people than any other country in the world... By the end of elementary school, the average child will have watched 100,000 acts of violence, despite media researchers [having] repeatedly shown evidence linking media portrayals of violence to aggressive behavior." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"The core elements that we used to depend on for social stability and civility - such as the extended family structure, respect for elders, and sharing of communal wisdom - have been significantly altered, causing many families and social institutions to lose the basic keys to social survival." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
COMMENT: As we return our focus to Conflict Resolution Education and public schools, we return to our eager explorations of the manner in which to re-envision and revitalize one of our most important social structures.
We are convinced that teaching our children basic values, the building of character, critical thinking about ethical issues, and the most productive manner in which to interact and engage with Others - especially in times of conflict and struggle - is a task that cannot and should not be ignored or marginalized at the public school level.
To be sure, a focus on traditional modalities of learning, on "the basics", is of utmost importance. However, we advocate (along with Jones & Compton) that the demands of the 21st Century require an embrace of postmodern sensibilities which incorporate the new visions of consciousness and intersubjectivity that have been discovered since the beginning of the 20th Century (and so since the beginning, in most ways, of public education in this country).
Currently, test scores and academic achievement occur in *spite* of these considerations, but increasingly, we are certain, they will have to occur *because* of them. We invite you along on our exciting journey to uncover these new pathways.
"As competition drives down the cost of labor & the dream of a materially rich life becomes the norm, economic forces press on family members & cause them to spend more time working & less time with each other, their community, their schools, & fulfilling their responsibilities for civic engagements [or the real needs of their kids] for safety, belonging, love, and supervision, among others." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"As the communal fabric of society unravels... we find ourselves faced with increasing pressure to be selfish, violent, and neglectful, if not mean. All of this desperately calls out for us to counter the trend... by exposing our children to more altruism, self-restraint, and compassion." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"What we are discovering is that some biological parents are unreliable, immature, or too irresponsible... and that - more than the family - the extended, meaningful community, or 'tribe,' is the key to preserving civilization." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"There are 3 major purposes that human history has assigned to schooling, in every part of the world. One is to make good people. Another... to make good citizens. The 3rd is to makepeople their personal best... a 4th purpose, which comes in around the turn of the century: to turn people into resources for the disposition of government and the corporations." -Jones & Compton, KWIO
COMMENT: The above is a quote in Kids Working It Out from New York State and New York City Teacher of the Year John Gatto, in his book "The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher's Intimate Investigation into the Problem of Modern Schooling."
"Children who have been identified as bullies by age 8 are 6 times more likely to be convicted of a crime by age twenty-four and 5 times more likely than non-bullies to end up with serious criminal records by age 30." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Parents, policymakers, and educators today often fall into the trap of emphasizing obedience over respect. The guilt that can be born when we avoid strict obedience often allows permissiveness and overindulgence. However, neither of these are part of the balanced approach necessary for learning and growing - especially in a democracy founded on participation and empowerment." Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Although it is essential to have influence over children as they grow and learn, influence need not be in the form of giving orders. Instead, it can be achieved through developing mutual respect" - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"While it is important to identify the causes of conflict in our society, regardless of cause, we must find ways to mend the tears in the social fabric arising from these disputes... It seems only appropriate that the most innovative forms of nonviolent conflict resolution are found in schools." - SC Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as quoted in Jones & Compton, KWIO
COMMENT: Justice O'Connor goes on to say, "After children learn to defuse the conflicts between each other through non-violent means, they can utilize these skills to defuse conflicts between themselves and their teachers, parents and siblings, and throughout their adult lives."
This perspective is one shared by Institute Founder Michael Bush, who designs and teaches courses in Conflict Resolution to high schoolers in South Los Angeles. Invariably, after the first day of instruction - which centers on a lesson in Reflective Responding - at least one (usually more) astounded student will return the next class period only to instantly proclaim their love of their newfound skills.
Being able to quickly and easily defuse the often chronic conflicts that tend to define many parent/teen relationships is something that most young adults (and their guardians) never think possible, and they have usually resigned themselves to ongoing conflict spirals as a matter of course.
We at the Institute heartily endorse and embrace any and every opportunity to teach all parties to a conflict - especially within families - the often basic (so easily taught and learned) skills needed to interact with harmony and grace. We also whole-heartedly agree with Justice O'Connor about the encouraging possibilities that present themselves for our society when we consider a future in which *every student* is taught to communicate peacefully and effectively.
"CRE Program outcomes [include] a decrease in incidents of violence; in conflicts between groups of students, and; in suspensions, absenteeism, & dropout rates related to unsafe learning environments... improved school climate; improved classroom climate; a respectful, caring environment; improved classroom Mgmt; reduced time on discipline; & increased use of student-centered discipline." = Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Our schools are becoming more integrated into our communities. Thus, what happens in our schools refelcts the community and affects the community. The converse is also true... Creating a constructive conflict community... means developing a sense of social justice (SJ) and advocating for SJ as a cornerstone of a healthy and enriched society." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Conflict is conventionally thought of as 2-sided: husband vs. wife, union vs. employer, Arabs vs. Israelis... We forget what the simplest societies on earth have long known: that every conflict is actually 3-sided. No dispute takes place in a vacuum... relatives, neighbors, allies, friends... every conflict occurs within a community that constitutes the '3rd Side' of any dispute." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
Emotional Literacy
"Emotional literacy includes being aware of emotions, managing emotions, begin motivated to overcome setbacks, being empathetic, and developing social skills (including communication and conflict resolution)." - Jones & Compton, KWIO (64)
COMMENT: Today, we turn briefly with Jones & Compton to an exploration of emotional literacy, particularly as it relates to Conflict Resolution Education in schools. Developing one's capacity to deal properly and functionally with emotions as they arise is a crucial component of not only CRE but of any healthy lifestyle, and so is a topic to which we will return in greater detail in the future.
"Self-Awareness is the foundation without which the other capacities cannot develop. 1st, we must help our students know themselves... what they feel, need, believe. Only when they know what they are feeling can they begin to *manage* those feelings... to express or contain or transform them in constructive ways." - Jones & Compton, KIWO
"Motivation as an emotional intelligence is... the capacity to keep going despite setbacks. When the going gets tough, what sustains us, allows us to persist despite frustration, fear, or even failure? This kind of motivation bears a strong resemblance to what others have called resilience." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Empathy is the bridge from the emotional to the social capacities. When we are self-aware - knowing what something feels like inside ourselves - we can begin to recognize and know what it feels like in another." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"In many instances, empathy requires not only self-awareness but also the second emotional intelligence we need to *manage* our own feelings and beliefs well enough to turn the volume down so that we can see and hear the feelings and beliefs of others." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [64]
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Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution Step 1: Calm Down; Agree to Solve the
Problem
COMMENT: "Telling someone to calm down is rarely effective. Even telling ourselves to calm down may not be enough. How do we... 'self-soothe'? We have to know that we're getting angry or afraid before we can calm that anger or soothe that fear?
This may sound simple, but recall how easy it is to find yourself escalating an argument that can become quite destructive before you even realize that you are angry. Once our anger or fear is triggered, we have only a momentary opportunity to soothe ourselves before the 'old brain', the reptilian brain, takes over and we are in fight-or-flight mode...
Once we are 'emotionally hijacked' we are no longer on the pathway of constructive problem solving. Creativity and critical thinking - the higher-order thinking skills needed to propose and evaluate new solutions - [become] frozen...
So learning how to recognize what we feel (self-awareness) and then quickly to identify a strategy for self-soothing (handling emotions) is essential to keeping our minds and hearts open to resolving the conflict that triggered our emotions." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution Step 2: No Name-Calling or Put-Downs
COMMENT: "If a child has succeeded in calming down, he may indeed be able to resist calling names... part of *managing emotions*, the ability to delay and control impulses... Authentic rspect arises from meaningful connection. When students feel connected to themselves, they can respect themselves - a precondition for respecting others. When students experience a genuine connection to others, they begin to feel empathy, respect, and sometimes even compassion." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution Step 3: Use "I" Messages to Express Your Feelings and Needs
COMMENT: "This step focuses on the skill set of effective communication: speaking authentically and with acknowledgment of personal responsibility...
When it comes to resolving a real conflict in the classroom, students cannot use I messages unless they can identify what they are feeling, have the vocabulary to express what they are feeling, and feel safe enough in the classroom to express a genuine feeling.
Classroom safety is critical to the student's ability not only to say the I message out loud but also to identify his feelings... In an atmosphere of disrespect or threat, a student may not even be able to know what he is feeling." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution Step 4: Listen To The Other Person Carefully
COMMENT: "There are many forms of listening.
There is *not listening*, when a conflict has so aroused the fight-or-flight chemistry that the brain keeps running an angry and defensive patter in the ind while the other person speaks.
There is *listening to find fault* in the other person's statement so we can pounce on her argument when we next get the floor.
Then there is *listening carefully* - with a care that begins with genuine attention, moves into the respectfulness of an open mind and heart, and culminates in understanding and empathy. Our students can engage in *empathic listening* when they have developed the ability to take the perspective of others." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
Emotional Intelligence & Conflict Resolution Step 5: Look for Solutions That Are Best for Both, and Choose the Best Solution
COMMENT: "Negotiators have taught us that a creative solution often arises when we attend to the genuine needs of the two people and not to the positions that appear to provoke intractable conflict.
Empathy is crucial to listening to and respecting the needs of the Other. Safety... is important here because inquiring into our needs and expressing our needs can cause us to feel vulnerable.
Finding a solution that works for two people in conflict also requires the participants to manage their feelings of frustration, impatience, disappointment, and fear that may come up along the way. The motivation that makes it possible to find a solution involves the ability to maintain hope and optimism despite setbacks. The social skills of effective communication, problem-solving, and sensitivity to others also contribute to the discovery of a fair and enduring solution." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
School Discipline
"Because 'we teach who we are,' teachers who invite personal sharing into their classroom also find it essential to nurture their own capacities to safely and appropriately give and receive vulnerable testimony about feelings, needs, and challenging issues." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [74]
"The capacity of the teacher to care deeply for students is the foundation of 'the teaching presence' and fosters the capacity of students to care deeply for one another. When students don't trust adults - a common phenomenon in today's society - they are not motivated to learn from us." - Jones & Compton, KWIO
"Students need to know their teachers care. If a CRE curriculum is implemented in a mechanical or halfhearted way - if teachers are not... modeling the principles and practices in the relationships their students witness - young people become cynical about conflict resolution and shut down their interest in learning about it." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [74]
"'I think that chemistry in a class is really important. If you don't like the people you are in a class with, then normally you are not going to like the subject at all until you get a better class. I consider everybody in the [CRE] class my friend, and so I feel honest and open when I talk to them in discussions... [which] bring us together.'" - Jones & Compton, KWIO [76]
"'[As a teacher] I decided to quit worrying [so much] about the tests because when I started looking at the kids, what I saw missing was their ability to function like human beings - not so much their academic ability, for they could learn rote facts... there was something missing, and that piece was building a community." - Jones & Compton [81]
"Although new teachers frequently voice a need for training in classroom management, very little time is spent in helping educators learn how t handle the behavior problems. Most educators are left to develop a crude system of rewards and punishment that varies widely from class to class." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [202]
School Discipline & Restorative Justice
"The central approach to school discipline in our society might be described as punitive discipline. Despite its widespread use, this approach is largely ineffective at addressing the concerns of students who have been harmed and developing empathy in those who havecaused harm." - Jones & Compton [199]
COMMENT: Today, we turn our attention to the impact of ideas of Restorative Justice on Conflict Resolution Education. It is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims, offenders, and involved third parties as well as the larger community, rather than satisfying abstract legal principles or emphasizing the doling out of punishment to offenders.
In this manner, all who are affected by a crime have an opportunity to get their needs met, both victims and perpetrators, which to our mind is an approach to re-Balancing that can be understood as a crucial turning point in the way humans perceive no only of crime but of "rights" and law in general.
It is crucial, once we have been victimized, that we are given the opportunity to re-calibrate our emotional landscape, especially our notions of safety and security. This is something that is often overlooked in a system that often seems to regard public safety as beginning and ending with separation of offenders from the general populace.
Further, this traditional way of looking at crime can tend to disregard the very real needs of the victim, and ignore the fact that crime never happens in a vacuum but is a result of very real psychological and sociological influences. Helping offenders make sense of their crime *as a victimization* rather than as a "broken rule" often humanizes all concerned, and goes a long way toward bringing the perpetrator to authentic and lasting rehabilitation.
As with the greater society, so with our schools. There is a lot of talk in the media of late about bullying, a very real issue in our schools. Without contextualizing bullying incidents within the type of framework offered by an emphasis on Restorative Justice, we risk missing an important opportunity to not only restore balance to our school communities but to truly humanize our young adults.
"Punitive discipline measures are those that use the strategies of *external controls* and *taking away* from the wrongdoer (for example, the right to attend school or participate in community life). Although these strategies may address the pressures of time, due process, and temporary safety concerns, they may inadvertently legitimize authoritarian behaviors and attitudes." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [200]
"Educators are implementing a variety of restorative discipline alternatives to traditional measures such as detention, suspension, expulsion, and police charges. Many school districts have found restorative justice to be a more effective means of addressing school and victim safety and transforming discipline into a learning opportunity." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [200]
"In schools using Restorative Justice, an offending student is given the opportunity to participate in a restorative discipline process as a means of repairing the harm done to those affected. These are voluntary for the parties & may be offered in lieu of punitive discipline measures, as a reentry process following traditional discipline, or in combination with reduced sanctions." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [200]
Restorative Justice: What harm was done, how can it be repaired, and who is responsible for this repair? Retributive Justice: What law was broken, who broke it, and how should they be punished?
Restorative Justice Tenet 1: Crime is defined not simply as a violation of law but, more important, as a violation of people
Restorative Justice Tenet 2: Offenders are to be held accountable not only to authorities but also directly to those they have harmed.
Restorative Justice Tenet 3: Victims and Communities are to be given a direct role in the process of seeking justice.
Restorative Justice Tenet 4: Justice should balance the needs of victims, offenders, Communities, and authorities where no single set of needs dominates the others.
Restorative Justice Tenet 5: Partnerships and common objectives among all stakeholders in a crime (justice agencies, Communities, and so on) are essential for optimal effectiveness.
"Some schools have elected to practice a form of victim-offender mediation - one of the early models of restorative justice. The entire staff is trained to facilitate these brief meetings between offending students and those affected. Rather than focusing on the rules violated... students are taught to focus on the harm done, repair that harm, and determine who should take responsibility." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [202]
"School communities that persist in being restorative will find that students' willingness to be held accountable increases over time, as the need to defend against blame and recrimination diminishes." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [205]
"The term 'reintegrative shaming' describes the key emotional dynamic at work in Restorative Justice. This is not the exclusionary form of shaming that says, 'You are a bad person,' but rather a collective condemnation of those behaviors that violate social mores, combined with a clear message of support and opportunity for reintegration of the wrongdoer back into the Community." - Jones & Compton, KIWO [206]
"When young children don't have to think they are in trouble and will be punished, but instead are asked to attend to harm they have caused, their defensiveness tends to fall away." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [207]
"At the high school level... it makes sense to partner with students wherever possible in building a restorative capacity within a school. In a community group conference, students can serve as members of the affected community, act as cofacilitators, and even be lead facilitators in mediations and community group conferences." - Jones & Compton, KWIO (207]
Bullying
Misconception About Bullying 1: Children Need To Solve Their Own Problems
COMMENT: "Students don't believe that reporting bullying to adults at school will make a difference; in fact, they believe that telling an adult will make matters worse... [However] solving the problem is often not possible in a bully conflict due to the significant power imbalance. For the same reason, it is usually not appropriate to refer bully conflicts to peer mediation. Bullies don't believe that they have to play by the rules... Even when adults intervene, they need to expect that bullies will try to use manipulation techniques on them as well." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [223]
Misconception About Bullying 2: Victims Should Stand Up To Bullies
"Although it is true that bullying can be stopped by standing up to the bully, this strategy is successful only if the victim can match the bully's power. In truth, most people who are victimized have been specifically targeted because of their inability to fight back successfully. Bullies are excited when their victims try to fight back. Telling a victim to stand up to a bully is likely to lead to another victory for the bully." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [223]
Misconception About Bullying 3: Girls Aren't Bullies
"People tend to think that only boys are bullies and that bullying involves only physical abuse. In fact, bullying is done by both boys and girls... Depriving students of positive social attachments is one of the cruelest things that can happen to a young person, especially if she is of middle school age... Adults must set the standard that it is appropriate to choose your own friends but that it is Not appropriate to embarrass or humiliate or to undermine others' ability to have friends and belong to peer groups." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [223]
Misconception About Bullying 4: Bullies Have Low Self-Esteem
"Bullies [tend to] have unusually little anxiety and insecurity... [while it is] the victims of bullies... [that tend to] suffer from low self-esteem. Bullies' self-esteem is overinflated. They are much more likely to suffer from narcissism. They see themselves as superior to others and place the highest value on emotional control. If adults lose control of their emotions when intervening with a bully, that is seen by the bully as a victory. The bully, in contrast, will maintain emotional control to the point of displaying an icy emotional flatness." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [224]
FAN: i find myself agreeing with all the previous 3 misconceptions, but i do not fully agree with this one. i am not saying that ALL bullies have low self esteem, but i find it impossible to believe that a lot don't.
INSTITUTE: We struggled with this one, too, Dustin! In our reading of the text (not entirely excerpted above) it seems as if Jones and Compton are concerned with the likelihood that many people *reduce* bullying behaviors to an inaccurate focus on only one element of the phenomenon rather than on its totality.
The quote also seems to read as an assessment of *presenting behaviors*, which may be the result of what is a bit of an occupational hazard for Conflict Resolution practitioners.
As an ethical and professional rule, we avoid examining underlying causes with our clients because we feel that such work is better suited to psychologists, psychiatrists, and counseling professionals. If in the course of a mediation, such issues do indeed present, we tend to break the mediation in order to examine therapeutic options, and only proceed with our side of things if both the client and the contracted therapist feel comfortable doing so.
In fact, focusing only on presenting behaviors is *exactly* all we should be doing, given that our work seeks primarily to facilitate harmonious interactions. We help others (who are intent upon doing so) learn to manage their listening and speaking in a manner that brings peace to all concerned. Understanding the "self" that a bully presents to the world (which, agreed, seems often to be a mask hiding serious emotional trauma) is crucial to understanding the nature in which to help parties reorganize their interactions in a way that is acceptable to all concerned.
Does this feel reasonable to you? Are there continued misgivings on your end or does this help synthesize our initially disparate perspectives?
Thanks so kindly for your comment. Trying to make better sense of it for you was invaluable to making better sense of it for ourselves!
Misconception About Bullying 5: Bullying Is A Character Trait
"Research shows that bullying is a learned pattern of behavior and can be unlearned. He demonstrated that bullying behavior can be interrupted and that students who bully can learn healthier ways of interacting with others." - Jones & Compton, KWIO [224]
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Strong & Gethin: Buddism's Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path
(Originally posted to the Facebook feed on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 949p)
The First Noble Truth: "That life in all the realms of birth is, by definition, ultimately unsatisfactory, suffering (dukha)." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
It is important, from a Buddhist perspective, to recognize that existence is a collection of events over which we have no ultimate control. As we will see, wanting to do this is the cause of much turmoil.
From a Communication perspective, it is important to recognize that Conflict usually arises from this very same collection of events, and from our desire to have them unfold in a manner of our choosing.
Imagine if everything always went exactly as you wanted it to go. Think about the huge amount of other events that would have to unfold "*perfectly* in order to make this happen, and about all the other folks who would have to give up their own wants and needs for this to occur.
Recognizing that things aren't ever likely to go *exactly* your way, and that when things do (for the most part) work out, that this is a pretty lucky turn of events, is the first step toward learning how to manage unpleasant conflicts.
Ultimately, the point is not to be surprised when things don't unfold like you want. This is *actually* pretty normal. Take a deep breath, keep your cool, and smile at the universe reminding you just how random and miraculous it is (and how miraculous *you* are, for that matter). Then, recognize the conflict as a chance to flex your Resolution muscles and Engage your Conflict Partner.
The Second Noble Truth: "That there is a reason for suffering, an origination of it, which is connected to our ongoing desire, a thirst that we cannot assuage, a clinging to posessions, to persons, to life itself." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
Once we've discovered the First Noble Truth that chances are astronomical that events will always unfold as we'd like them to, we can turn our attention to this next Truth, that the reason this causes suffering is that we still foolishly expect that they will, and are somehow surprised when they don't.
The Second Noble Truth suggests that this clinging to Desire, this ultimate form of selfishness, lies at the heart of all of our pain. As we will see, learning to live *in the moment,* to fore go the idea that we should expect ANYTHING but to be surprised, and to act accordingly, is the way out of pain and into peace.
From a Conflict Perspective, this approach can be extremely useful, as we receive negativity - either intended or unintended - with only bemusement and generosity of spirit. Why trouble ourselves with getting angry when things don't go our way, when our coworker doesn't respond as we'd like, or another driver cuts us off for instance (the idea goes), when things NEVER really go exactly our way in the first place.
There is a common thread running through all depictions of the Buddha, whether it be the austere meditator of more traditional forms of Buddhism, or the heftier Pure Land image that many of us are familiar with: he is always gazing upon the world with at least the hint of a smile, if not a full-faced grin. The idea seems to be that, first and foremost, and no matter what our condition or circumstances, it's ALL worth smiling at. The alternative, after all (a frown) is a pretty unpleasant experience to choose for ourselves, isn't it?
The Third Noble Truth: "That there is such a thing as freedom from or the cessation of… suffering, which will come with the rooting out (rather than the mere assuagement) of that ongoing thirst." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This Third Truth provides the bridge between the first two (that all life is suffering due to our selfish desire, and that expecting otherwise is the wrong path to peace) and the final Truth.
Here, we find the Buddha smiling past the hard ...facts he's shared thus far, and suggesting that there is no reason to fret, that there is a path beyond the suffering and foolish expectations. He is content here to simply affirm the fact of escape, as if we are being invited to recognize and ponder the validity of the concept: there is indeed a path to peace. It is a most hopeful Truth.
In regards to Conflict, it can often seem that our ongoing, chronic disputes and dysfunctional relationships with our Others are inescapable. We feel mired in a cycle of aggression and struggle, often with those we love the most, or with coworkers with whom we spend the majority of our time. Recognizing that (like any other skill) managing and transforming conflict is possible, and can be learned, is an extremely important first step in moving toward peace.
With a nod to the Buddha, we invite you to live with this thought, to embrace the idea that there is a better, more functional approach to relating to Others. Further, like the Four Noble Truths, Conflict skills are not methods by which to control the world around you, or control those Others with whom you are dysfunctionally engaged. Instead, they are skills for learning to control your own responses, to manage your mindsets and your communications so as to minimize the negative effects of conflict and to arrive more rapidly at the goal of all disputes: Resolution.
"That the way to [root out the ongoing thirst which causes suffering] is to practice the... Noble Eightfold Path." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This, then, was the final of the Buddha's primary thoughts on how to live a functional life: to follow the path of Compassion outlined by these eight approaches:
Right Views
Right Intention
Right Effort
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Speech
Right Mindfulness
Right Meditation
We'll spend the forthcoming eight research posts unpacking these ideas a bit more in order to relate them to Conflict Resolution and Community, but we'd like to pause now and point out the following: that the emphasis here, the primary takeaway, is that all happiness and peace begins and ends with the Self, that no Other can ever ultimately provide what we truly seek: only we can do that, only we can escape suffering, and only as a result of our own choices. Further, from this perspective, Self can only honestly equal Other if we know this.
For the Buddha, once the Self has developed their perspectives and actions in such a way as to align with the compassion and generosity of spirit that leads away from selfish desires and delusional "control" thinking, one will discover true tranquility, embody it, and be able to almost effortlessly share this tranquility with the world, with all Others. The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community.
Rupert Gethin
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 1: Right View.
COMMENT:
We stated before that "The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community."
In returning to examine each element of this recip......e, we begin with the Buddha's admonition to remember the Truth of Suffering described by the Four Noble Truths, which boils down for our purposes to the idea that believing in a reality that will bend to our will and desires at every turn is ultimately delusional.
Instead, the idea is to let go, to understand that reality is continuously unfolding due to any number of dependent variables, what Buddhism refers to as pratitya samutpada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratitya_samutpada
This means that when a conflict with the world arises, when events unfold like we *don't* want them to, when we are at odds with any Other in any given moment, that this is actually much closer to reality *as it is* and so shouldn't be cause for concern or alarm. Instead, we should employ our communication skills in order to partner with our Other and return to communion, harmony, and peace.
This, then, would be "Right View" as incorporated into a mind centered on Conflict Resolution and Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 2: Right Intention.
COMMENT:
When Right Intention is coupled with Right View, we see the "Wisdom" or prajna section of the Eightfold Path completed. Right Intention has to do with ideas of desirelessness, friendliness, and compassion. These combined result in a Spirit of Generosity that sets the stage for the remainder of the Path, which explores ideas of Conduct/Communication and the Wisdom of Self-Awareness.
However, The Path should not be considered to be 8 increasing steps toward nirvana, and should instead be viewed as operating in tandem, unfolding together in a gradual transformation of consciousness that arrives at the cessation of suffering.
When channeled through ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community, Right Intention can be considered paramount in learning to develop the type of mind-set that contributes to diminishing negative interaction. To remain at Peace, and to bring others there as well, one's intentions *must* be centered on Peace, in order that dysfunctional influences from Others don't lead us astray.
When our intention is to remain in Communion, to discover a means by which to help Others join us there, and to align with those higher aspects of Self that we describe as Ideals (Honesty, Compassion, Generosity, Trustworthiness, Grace, etc.), then the work is well underway in developing, giving birth to, and sustaining Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 3: Right Speech.
COMMENT:
Communication is central to numerous theologies throughout various world traditions, and Buddhism is no exception. With Right Speech, we arrive at the section of the Eightfold Path that concerns actions and conduct, particularly the idea of...... refraining from false, divisive, hurtful, or idle speech (gossip).
The implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be readily apparent. Minding the manner in which we express ourselves to the world is the very definition of nonviolent communication, and so avoiding lies, demonization of the Other, causing of pain, and peddling of subjective perspectives as truths is a crucial thing to keep in mind.
This isn't to say that we won't engage in such behaviors, especially as we first begin attempting to reorient our approach to communication. We *will* do these things, likely for the rest of our lives, to some extent. Nobody's perfect.
The point is to begin paying attention to both our intentions as well as to the results of our actions. More importantly, perhaps, it is about holding ourselves accountable to the Self that we want to be as opposed to the Self that we might accidentally create through our misconduct, the Self that Others often see more clearly.
In Conflict Resolution theory, this is described as the difference between our *espoused theory* of who we are and our *actual* Self. Incorporating Right Speech into our perspective means incorporating a focus on the nature of our words and the effect they have on Others, and is an extremely important first step in creating true Community for our Selves and all Others with whom we Commune.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 4: Right Action.
COMMENT:
With Right Action, we move beyond Intention (the source of Action), and arrive at the idea of developing mindfulness around the nature and results of our choices.
At the heart of this portion of the Eightfold Path we discover the precept against harming living beings, which, like awareness around Intention, easily translates to ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community.
Indeed, this principle may come closest to drawing our attention to the manner in which we relate to Others, and so encourages us to focus on the manner in which we create reality for *everyone* (including our Selves) through our choices and actions.
It is important to recognize here that this is not quite the traditional Golden Rule approach of doing unto others as we'd have them do to us. Right Action means that we refrain from causing pain, period. The subtle difference here is important, because definitions of pain and sorrow differ from person to person. Hence, the enlightened being recognizes the need to develop an acute awareness of their Other's definitions and assessments of reality, and to respond accordingly.
Techniques in Nonviolent Communication and Reflective Listening go a long way toward actualizing this awareness, and toward inviting our Other to join us in a shared understanding of "what is really happening."
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 5: Right Livelihood.
COMMENT:
This fifth precept remains in the section of the Eightfold Path that deals with conduct. While there can be many interpretations regarding this part of the Path, we at The Institute choose to focus on the idea that it be regarded as a summation of Right Speech and Right Action.
Given the interconnectedness and interdependence that Buddhism regards as the nature of reality, a cursory examination of the global marketplace, and the numerous factors that play a role in determining one's chosen profession (socioeconomic, educational, and geographical, to name just a few), extrapolating this precept as far as it *can* go can be problematic to say the least.
In the vanijja sutta, the Buddha said to refrain from dealing in weapons, humans, meat, intoxicants, and poison. One would be hard-pressed (and very lucky) to discover a profession that doesn't, at some point in the process, contribute to environmental degradation or non-fair-trade practices. While we heartily endorse approaches to doing business that fall closer in line with ethical standards, we recognize the extent of the nature of economic activity as it exists right now on a global scale, and must prefer a more simplistic interpretation of Right Livelihood as it relates to conflict resolution and community.
To that end, we at The Institute choose to focus on those aspects of Right Livelihood that contribute to a peaceful and productive workplace. We encourage Conflict Resolution training for all new hires (and re-training for long-standing employees), regular and facilitated opportunities to communicate as a staff both intra- and inter-departmentally, and the establishment of an Ombuds office on site (or even better, via a neutral third party) who can mediate conflicts as they arise. In focusing one's org and one's individual efforts on communicating effectively and compassionately with one's coworkers, one contributes to the type of environment that can define Right Livelihood in *any* profession.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 6: Right Effort.
COMMENT:
This precept of the Eightfold Path closes out the section on conduct, and focuses on making sense of what is functional and dysfunctional, then making every effort to reside in the former and to abandon the latter.
From a Conflict Resolution perspective, this has to do with training the Self to recognize those triggers that give rise to Anger, so we can avoid it and respond to these triggers more functionally. It is also important to stay in touch with our emotional state at any given moment in order to quickly step away from Anger (or any other dysfunctional emotional states or actions) and toward Peace.
Finally, being able to recognize a brewing conflict, or the factors which lead to negative interactions (such as lack of agency and lack of authenticity in communication), and then taking measures to alleviate the associated frustrations is crucial. Learning to be constructively assertive, listen ardently, and brainstorm various options for resolution is a vital first step toward living a life marked by Right Conduct.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 7: Right Mindfulness.
COMMENT:
With this 7th element of the Path, we enter into the "meditation" section of the Eight precepts. Along with the last portion of the path, Right Concentration, Mindfulness can be considered a collection and implementation of every other aspect of the Path: Right View, Intention, Speech, Action, Livelihood, and Effort.
Mindfulness is the practice of remaining ardent, alert, and aware of the habits and moment-to-moment experience of body and mind. It is the idea that we are constantly shedding the selfishness, greed, and distress associated with our subjective interpretation of the world as good or bad, or as we want it to be, and instead embracing the world "as it is," in its fullness and truth.
From a Conflict Resolution and Community perspective, this expresses as a welcoming embrace of any Anger or Negativity that our Other brings to us, seeing it as an opportunity to implement our skills for Peace rather than as an excuse to engage in Aggression. It also means being present to our own missteps in Communication, so that we can more quickly make amends and repair any damage we've made to the idea that we are all interdependent, and that our Peace is everyone else's Peace as well. It is being present at every turn to enact and engage in Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 8: Right Concentration.
COMMENT:
This final portion of the path has to do with maintaining a purified, wholesome, conscious awareness, a single-pointedness of attention that strives to elevate the mind to a higher state in and through devoted presence with the object of one's focus.
Given that among the most important skills in learning to manage and resolve conflicts is active, ardent listening, the implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be clear.
Another idea arising from Right Concentration, perhaps more significant, is the notion that one's conscious awareness and unified mind might always choose Peace as their object of focus. Learning to train one's thoughts so that they are discovering and enacting tranquility in every moment can be a tall order, but is far from impossible. Indeed, defining and controlling one's mindset and frame of reference is always the first proving ground for learning how to be a successful Resolver, and for translating *every* encounter into one marked by joy and grace.
The First Noble Truth: "That life in all the realms of birth is, by definition, ultimately unsatisfactory, suffering (dukha)." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
It is important, from a Buddhist perspective, to recognize that existence is a collection of events over which we have no ultimate control. As we will see, wanting to do this is the cause of much turmoil.
From a Communication perspective, it is important to recognize that Conflict usually arises from this very same collection of events, and from our desire to have them unfold in a manner of our choosing.
Imagine if everything always went exactly as you wanted it to go. Think about the huge amount of other events that would have to unfold "*perfectly* in order to make this happen, and about all the other folks who would have to give up their own wants and needs for this to occur.
Recognizing that things aren't ever likely to go *exactly* your way, and that when things do (for the most part) work out, that this is a pretty lucky turn of events, is the first step toward learning how to manage unpleasant conflicts.
Ultimately, the point is not to be surprised when things don't unfold like you want. This is *actually* pretty normal. Take a deep breath, keep your cool, and smile at the universe reminding you just how random and miraculous it is (and how miraculous *you* are, for that matter). Then, recognize the conflict as a chance to flex your Resolution muscles and Engage your Conflict Partner.
The Second Noble Truth: "That there is a reason for suffering, an origination of it, which is connected to our ongoing desire, a thirst that we cannot assuage, a clinging to posessions, to persons, to life itself." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
Once we've discovered the First Noble Truth that chances are astronomical that events will always unfold as we'd like them to, we can turn our attention to this next Truth, that the reason this causes suffering is that we still foolishly expect that they will, and are somehow surprised when they don't.
The Second Noble Truth suggests that this clinging to Desire, this ultimate form of selfishness, lies at the heart of all of our pain. As we will see, learning to live *in the moment,* to fore go the idea that we should expect ANYTHING but to be surprised, and to act accordingly, is the way out of pain and into peace.
From a Conflict Perspective, this approach can be extremely useful, as we receive negativity - either intended or unintended - with only bemusement and generosity of spirit. Why trouble ourselves with getting angry when things don't go our way, when our coworker doesn't respond as we'd like, or another driver cuts us off for instance (the idea goes), when things NEVER really go exactly our way in the first place.
There is a common thread running through all depictions of the Buddha, whether it be the austere meditator of more traditional forms of Buddhism, or the heftier Pure Land image that many of us are familiar with: he is always gazing upon the world with at least the hint of a smile, if not a full-faced grin. The idea seems to be that, first and foremost, and no matter what our condition or circumstances, it's ALL worth smiling at. The alternative, after all (a frown) is a pretty unpleasant experience to choose for ourselves, isn't it?
The Third Noble Truth: "That there is such a thing as freedom from or the cessation of… suffering, which will come with the rooting out (rather than the mere assuagement) of that ongoing thirst." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This Third Truth provides the bridge between the first two (that all life is suffering due to our selfish desire, and that expecting otherwise is the wrong path to peace) and the final Truth.
Here, we find the Buddha smiling past the hard ...facts he's shared thus far, and suggesting that there is no reason to fret, that there is a path beyond the suffering and foolish expectations. He is content here to simply affirm the fact of escape, as if we are being invited to recognize and ponder the validity of the concept: there is indeed a path to peace. It is a most hopeful Truth.
In regards to Conflict, it can often seem that our ongoing, chronic disputes and dysfunctional relationships with our Others are inescapable. We feel mired in a cycle of aggression and struggle, often with those we love the most, or with coworkers with whom we spend the majority of our time. Recognizing that (like any other skill) managing and transforming conflict is possible, and can be learned, is an extremely important first step in moving toward peace.
With a nod to the Buddha, we invite you to live with this thought, to embrace the idea that there is a better, more functional approach to relating to Others. Further, like the Four Noble Truths, Conflict skills are not methods by which to control the world around you, or control those Others with whom you are dysfunctionally engaged. Instead, they are skills for learning to control your own responses, to manage your mindsets and your communications so as to minimize the negative effects of conflict and to arrive more rapidly at the goal of all disputes: Resolution.
"That the way to [root out the ongoing thirst which causes suffering] is to practice the... Noble Eightfold Path." - John S. Strong, TEOB
COMMENT:
This, then, was the final of the Buddha's primary thoughts on how to live a functional life: to follow the path of Compassion outlined by these eight approaches:
Right Views
Right Intention
Right Effort
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Speech
Right Mindfulness
Right Meditation
We'll spend the forthcoming eight research posts unpacking these ideas a bit more in order to relate them to Conflict Resolution and Community, but we'd like to pause now and point out the following: that the emphasis here, the primary takeaway, is that all happiness and peace begins and ends with the Self, that no Other can ever ultimately provide what we truly seek: only we can do that, only we can escape suffering, and only as a result of our own choices. Further, from this perspective, Self can only honestly equal Other if we know this.
For the Buddha, once the Self has developed their perspectives and actions in such a way as to align with the compassion and generosity of spirit that leads away from selfish desires and delusional "control" thinking, one will discover true tranquility, embody it, and be able to almost effortlessly share this tranquility with the world, with all Others. The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community.
Rupert Gethin
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 1: Right View.
COMMENT:
We stated before that "The Noble Eightfold Path is a recipe for communion, resolution, and peace, and so is an extremely useful guideline for those seeking to build and maintain Community."
In returning to examine each element of this recip......e, we begin with the Buddha's admonition to remember the Truth of Suffering described by the Four Noble Truths, which boils down for our purposes to the idea that believing in a reality that will bend to our will and desires at every turn is ultimately delusional.
Instead, the idea is to let go, to understand that reality is continuously unfolding due to any number of dependent variables, what Buddhism refers to as pratitya samutpada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratitya_samutpada
This means that when a conflict with the world arises, when events unfold like we *don't* want them to, when we are at odds with any Other in any given moment, that this is actually much closer to reality *as it is* and so shouldn't be cause for concern or alarm. Instead, we should employ our communication skills in order to partner with our Other and return to communion, harmony, and peace.
This, then, would be "Right View" as incorporated into a mind centered on Conflict Resolution and Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 2: Right Intention.
COMMENT:
When Right Intention is coupled with Right View, we see the "Wisdom" or prajna section of the Eightfold Path completed. Right Intention has to do with ideas of desirelessness, friendliness, and compassion. These combined result in a Spirit of Generosity that sets the stage for the remainder of the Path, which explores ideas of Conduct/Communication and the Wisdom of Self-Awareness.
However, The Path should not be considered to be 8 increasing steps toward nirvana, and should instead be viewed as operating in tandem, unfolding together in a gradual transformation of consciousness that arrives at the cessation of suffering.
When channeled through ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community, Right Intention can be considered paramount in learning to develop the type of mind-set that contributes to diminishing negative interaction. To remain at Peace, and to bring others there as well, one's intentions *must* be centered on Peace, in order that dysfunctional influences from Others don't lead us astray.
When our intention is to remain in Communion, to discover a means by which to help Others join us there, and to align with those higher aspects of Self that we describe as Ideals (Honesty, Compassion, Generosity, Trustworthiness, Grace, etc.), then the work is well underway in developing, giving birth to, and sustaining Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 3: Right Speech.
COMMENT:
Communication is central to numerous theologies throughout various world traditions, and Buddhism is no exception. With Right Speech, we arrive at the section of the Eightfold Path that concerns actions and conduct, particularly the idea of...... refraining from false, divisive, hurtful, or idle speech (gossip).
The implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be readily apparent. Minding the manner in which we express ourselves to the world is the very definition of nonviolent communication, and so avoiding lies, demonization of the Other, causing of pain, and peddling of subjective perspectives as truths is a crucial thing to keep in mind.
This isn't to say that we won't engage in such behaviors, especially as we first begin attempting to reorient our approach to communication. We *will* do these things, likely for the rest of our lives, to some extent. Nobody's perfect.
The point is to begin paying attention to both our intentions as well as to the results of our actions. More importantly, perhaps, it is about holding ourselves accountable to the Self that we want to be as opposed to the Self that we might accidentally create through our misconduct, the Self that Others often see more clearly.
In Conflict Resolution theory, this is described as the difference between our *espoused theory* of who we are and our *actual* Self. Incorporating Right Speech into our perspective means incorporating a focus on the nature of our words and the effect they have on Others, and is an extremely important first step in creating true Community for our Selves and all Others with whom we Commune.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 4: Right Action.
COMMENT:
With Right Action, we move beyond Intention (the source of Action), and arrive at the idea of developing mindfulness around the nature and results of our choices.
At the heart of this portion of the Eightfold Path we discover the precept against harming living beings, which, like awareness around Intention, easily translates to ideas of Conflict Resolution and Community.
Indeed, this principle may come closest to drawing our attention to the manner in which we relate to Others, and so encourages us to focus on the manner in which we create reality for *everyone* (including our Selves) through our choices and actions.
It is important to recognize here that this is not quite the traditional Golden Rule approach of doing unto others as we'd have them do to us. Right Action means that we refrain from causing pain, period. The subtle difference here is important, because definitions of pain and sorrow differ from person to person. Hence, the enlightened being recognizes the need to develop an acute awareness of their Other's definitions and assessments of reality, and to respond accordingly.
Techniques in Nonviolent Communication and Reflective Listening go a long way toward actualizing this awareness, and toward inviting our Other to join us in a shared understanding of "what is really happening."
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 5: Right Livelihood.
COMMENT:
This fifth precept remains in the section of the Eightfold Path that deals with conduct. While there can be many interpretations regarding this part of the Path, we at The Institute choose to focus on the idea that it be regarded as a summation of Right Speech and Right Action.
Given the interconnectedness and interdependence that Buddhism regards as the nature of reality, a cursory examination of the global marketplace, and the numerous factors that play a role in determining one's chosen profession (socioeconomic, educational, and geographical, to name just a few), extrapolating this precept as far as it *can* go can be problematic to say the least.
In the vanijja sutta, the Buddha said to refrain from dealing in weapons, humans, meat, intoxicants, and poison. One would be hard-pressed (and very lucky) to discover a profession that doesn't, at some point in the process, contribute to environmental degradation or non-fair-trade practices. While we heartily endorse approaches to doing business that fall closer in line with ethical standards, we recognize the extent of the nature of economic activity as it exists right now on a global scale, and must prefer a more simplistic interpretation of Right Livelihood as it relates to conflict resolution and community.
To that end, we at The Institute choose to focus on those aspects of Right Livelihood that contribute to a peaceful and productive workplace. We encourage Conflict Resolution training for all new hires (and re-training for long-standing employees), regular and facilitated opportunities to communicate as a staff both intra- and inter-departmentally, and the establishment of an Ombuds office on site (or even better, via a neutral third party) who can mediate conflicts as they arise. In focusing one's org and one's individual efforts on communicating effectively and compassionately with one's coworkers, one contributes to the type of environment that can define Right Livelihood in *any* profession.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 6: Right Effort.
COMMENT:
This precept of the Eightfold Path closes out the section on conduct, and focuses on making sense of what is functional and dysfunctional, then making every effort to reside in the former and to abandon the latter.
From a Conflict Resolution perspective, this has to do with training the Self to recognize those triggers that give rise to Anger, so we can avoid it and respond to these triggers more functionally. It is also important to stay in touch with our emotional state at any given moment in order to quickly step away from Anger (or any other dysfunctional emotional states or actions) and toward Peace.
Finally, being able to recognize a brewing conflict, or the factors which lead to negative interactions (such as lack of agency and lack of authenticity in communication), and then taking measures to alleviate the associated frustrations is crucial. Learning to be constructively assertive, listen ardently, and brainstorm various options for resolution is a vital first step toward living a life marked by Right Conduct.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 7: Right Mindfulness.
COMMENT:
With this 7th element of the Path, we enter into the "meditation" section of the Eight precepts. Along with the last portion of the path, Right Concentration, Mindfulness can be considered a collection and implementation of every other aspect of the Path: Right View, Intention, Speech, Action, Livelihood, and Effort.
Mindfulness is the practice of remaining ardent, alert, and aware of the habits and moment-to-moment experience of body and mind. It is the idea that we are constantly shedding the selfishness, greed, and distress associated with our subjective interpretation of the world as good or bad, or as we want it to be, and instead embracing the world "as it is," in its fullness and truth.
From a Conflict Resolution and Community perspective, this expresses as a welcoming embrace of any Anger or Negativity that our Other brings to us, seeing it as an opportunity to implement our skills for Peace rather than as an excuse to engage in Aggression. It also means being present to our own missteps in Communication, so that we can more quickly make amends and repair any damage we've made to the idea that we are all interdependent, and that our Peace is everyone else's Peace as well. It is being present at every turn to enact and engage in Community.
The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, Part 8: Right Concentration.
COMMENT:
This final portion of the path has to do with maintaining a purified, wholesome, conscious awareness, a single-pointedness of attention that strives to elevate the mind to a higher state in and through devoted presence with the object of one's focus.
Given that among the most important skills in learning to manage and resolve conflicts is active, ardent listening, the implications for Conflict Resolution and Community should be clear.
Another idea arising from Right Concentration, perhaps more significant, is the notion that one's conscious awareness and unified mind might always choose Peace as their object of focus. Learning to train one's thoughts so that they are discovering and enacting tranquility in every moment can be a tall order, but is far from impossible. Indeed, defining and controlling one's mindset and frame of reference is always the first proving ground for learning how to be a successful Resolver, and for translating *every* encounter into one marked by joy and grace.
Dirty Laundry
(Originally posted to the Facebook Feed on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 840a)
Here's a fun story we've seen floating about on the internet. Many thanks to Institute friend Tara for first bringing it to our attention.
===========
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, the wife saw their neighbor through the kitchen window, hanging laundry on the clothesline.
“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
After that, every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
Some time later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line outside and remarked to her husband, "Look, she finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her."
The husband smiled, then responded. "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows," he said.
And so it is with life. What we see when looking at others depends on the purity of the window through which we view them.
Here's a fun story we've seen floating about on the internet. Many thanks to Institute friend Tara for first bringing it to our attention.
===========
A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, the wife saw their neighbor through the kitchen window, hanging laundry on the clothesline.
“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
After that, every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
Some time later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line outside and remarked to her husband, "Look, she finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her."
The husband smiled, then responded. "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows," he said.
And so it is with life. What we see when looking at others depends on the purity of the window through which we view them.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
foreword: forward
With these words, as with all of my work, I aim for nothing less than the transformation of global consciousness. Recognizing that this is a very tall order, I've decided to start with you, with teaching you how to become a Resolver as best I know how. In fact, this is the only place that I can start, because the transformation of global consciousness can only occur one person at a time, one link at a time, in what I hope will be an ever-increasing, momentum-gathering giant leap forward, of which I hope to be (and hope you will be) a very small, but very significant, part.
All major transformations for our species have begun this way, in the mind of one human and then transferred piece by piece, person by person, heart by heart, until they simply became "the way things are." In her book The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong describes the relatively short period of extreme change (only a couple of hundred years) that took place during what she calls the Axial Age, and which gave birth to numerous religious traditions that continue to influence minds today, including Judaism (which paved the way for Christianity and Islam), Hinduism, and Buddhism. Let's add here other ideas throughout the course of human history that have marked significant shifts, born of the musings of folks such as Plato, Virgil, Shakespeare, Guttenberg, Linnaeus, Jefferson, Lincoln, Salk, Stanton, and Einstein. I'll stress here that these are only a tiny few of the minds that have revolutionized everything, and brought all of humanity forward to this moment fairly successfully, brought us to this space in time that finds, among other things, me writing and you reading.
Now to be clear, I hardly confuse myself with any of the names listed above. But I do recognize that I'm standing on the shoulders of these giants, and some other giants of whom you may have not yet heard but who I think will end up being equally significant to our species, folks like Alfred North Whitehead, Emile Durkheim, and Martin Buber (to name only a few, people you'll learn more about in these pages). I am deeply indebted to these and all of the other thinkers listed above, as are you, I believe you'll find, if you stop and consider them for a moment. I don't think it can be denied that we owe them for all the possibilities that they strove for, all the hope that they poured into the world by pursuing perfection, grace, and understanding, for leaving the world better than they found it, for us. Indeed, we owe them our very selves. So I think that we also owe them the act that is picking up the standard where it fell from their hands and trudging forward as far as we can go in the direction they were pointing. We owe them tomorrow.
There are two extremely important names that I left off of the above list that I'd like you to think about now, because it is these two gentlemen who we will, more than anyone, be following as we make our way together in learning about both Conflict Resolution and Community. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as The Mahatma, "the great-souled one") and The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are men who changed everything, for everyone, and they did it just this last century, laying the groundwork for a new human path unlike anyone before them had ever done. The history of human interaction has always been marked by conflict, by struggle, by war, by the idea that in order to settle differences, physical violence and aggression were often not only necessary, but normal. It has always been "the way things are."
This is no longer the case.
It can be said that Gandhi and King waged the only truly successful revolutions in human history, if success is measured in terms of the means by which they were striving rather than by the end which they had in mind. These two men stood against injustice and oppression without employing the usual tools of these approaches to social control. They avoided lifting a single hand in aggression, and ultimately arrived via these means at the end they sought. Thanks to the work these truly gentle men did in responding to violence not with swords but with words, with nonviolent acts, with compassion, grace, and fortitude, we have two nearly perfect examples of what it means to interact differently as humans, to interact from a perspective that incorporates peace, respect, and dignity as "normal" and eschews violence and all other forms of aggression as (at the very best) woefully misguided, or (at the very worst) as harbingers of doom.
Today, we also have another thing which folks in the past who were trying to improve upon our course had no access to: we have the capacity for instantaneous communication and preservation of knowledge delivered via the internet and telecommunications. We have remembered, preserved, and built upon Gandhi's and King's work because in a lot of ways we have had no other choice: the memory of their accomplishments is freely accessible and openly available to anyone with an internet connection or a library card. We cannot gaze upon the image of either of these two men without thinking about Compassion (or without knowing fairly clearly what that idea means), and all humans who have heard their story are party to this experience. In other words, we have our standard-bearers; they have not fallen. We must only choose to follow.
This is where you come in. To my mind, the Global Transformation I spoke of above has to be an inner transformation. If we are to truly follow in the path of Gandhi and King, then the harsh reality is that we'll have to look at ourselves and root out the violence and aggression therein: this would seem most helpful and most useful, and would play a significant role in simmering down the boil that many would say characterizes human reality these days. It isn't violence and aggression over there that is the problem (although it is indeed a problem) - it's the violence and aggression right here that diminishes our capacity to believe in peace, in one another, and in ourselves. And now, for the first time in human history, we have the opportunity and the means by which to join with others in fashioning a Community of Resolvers that brings the knowledge and sensibilities born of these great thinkers to every other community to which we belong. Indeed, nonviolence is no longer only a political tool, it is a way of being, and the success or failure of this way of being is in our hands, and no one else's.
And this, dear reader, is the reason I described the path to peace as a "harsh reality." If you truly want to be at peace with your Self and with Others, then it's up to you. You'll likely have to take some hard looks at your own actions, intentions, and choices. Conflict isn't "out there" somewhere, in our coworkers or life-partners or kids, or in the strangers at the mall or on the freeway. It's within, in our responses to them. Like Gandhi and King, you'll have to really know this, and be ready to instantly forgive and to take responsibility for Resolution, even when you didn't "start" the conflict. In short, you'll have to let their mission guide you, and not your ego. If you think you're up to this task, if you're serious about becoming a Resolver, if you agree with me that there are few things more empowering, enlightening, or hopeful than learning how to bring everyone - especially ourselves - that elusive peace which we all seek, then by all means: please join me in turning the page.
- Michael Bush
Founder / Director
All major transformations for our species have begun this way, in the mind of one human and then transferred piece by piece, person by person, heart by heart, until they simply became "the way things are." In her book The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong describes the relatively short period of extreme change (only a couple of hundred years) that took place during what she calls the Axial Age, and which gave birth to numerous religious traditions that continue to influence minds today, including Judaism (which paved the way for Christianity and Islam), Hinduism, and Buddhism. Let's add here other ideas throughout the course of human history that have marked significant shifts, born of the musings of folks such as Plato, Virgil, Shakespeare, Guttenberg, Linnaeus, Jefferson, Lincoln, Salk, Stanton, and Einstein. I'll stress here that these are only a tiny few of the minds that have revolutionized everything, and brought all of humanity forward to this moment fairly successfully, brought us to this space in time that finds, among other things, me writing and you reading.
Now to be clear, I hardly confuse myself with any of the names listed above. But I do recognize that I'm standing on the shoulders of these giants, and some other giants of whom you may have not yet heard but who I think will end up being equally significant to our species, folks like Alfred North Whitehead, Emile Durkheim, and Martin Buber (to name only a few, people you'll learn more about in these pages). I am deeply indebted to these and all of the other thinkers listed above, as are you, I believe you'll find, if you stop and consider them for a moment. I don't think it can be denied that we owe them for all the possibilities that they strove for, all the hope that they poured into the world by pursuing perfection, grace, and understanding, for leaving the world better than they found it, for us. Indeed, we owe them our very selves. So I think that we also owe them the act that is picking up the standard where it fell from their hands and trudging forward as far as we can go in the direction they were pointing. We owe them tomorrow.
There are two extremely important names that I left off of the above list that I'd like you to think about now, because it is these two gentlemen who we will, more than anyone, be following as we make our way together in learning about both Conflict Resolution and Community. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (also known as The Mahatma, "the great-souled one") and The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are men who changed everything, for everyone, and they did it just this last century, laying the groundwork for a new human path unlike anyone before them had ever done. The history of human interaction has always been marked by conflict, by struggle, by war, by the idea that in order to settle differences, physical violence and aggression were often not only necessary, but normal. It has always been "the way things are."
This is no longer the case.
It can be said that Gandhi and King waged the only truly successful revolutions in human history, if success is measured in terms of the means by which they were striving rather than by the end which they had in mind. These two men stood against injustice and oppression without employing the usual tools of these approaches to social control. They avoided lifting a single hand in aggression, and ultimately arrived via these means at the end they sought. Thanks to the work these truly gentle men did in responding to violence not with swords but with words, with nonviolent acts, with compassion, grace, and fortitude, we have two nearly perfect examples of what it means to interact differently as humans, to interact from a perspective that incorporates peace, respect, and dignity as "normal" and eschews violence and all other forms of aggression as (at the very best) woefully misguided, or (at the very worst) as harbingers of doom.
Today, we also have another thing which folks in the past who were trying to improve upon our course had no access to: we have the capacity for instantaneous communication and preservation of knowledge delivered via the internet and telecommunications. We have remembered, preserved, and built upon Gandhi's and King's work because in a lot of ways we have had no other choice: the memory of their accomplishments is freely accessible and openly available to anyone with an internet connection or a library card. We cannot gaze upon the image of either of these two men without thinking about Compassion (or without knowing fairly clearly what that idea means), and all humans who have heard their story are party to this experience. In other words, we have our standard-bearers; they have not fallen. We must only choose to follow.
This is where you come in. To my mind, the Global Transformation I spoke of above has to be an inner transformation. If we are to truly follow in the path of Gandhi and King, then the harsh reality is that we'll have to look at ourselves and root out the violence and aggression therein: this would seem most helpful and most useful, and would play a significant role in simmering down the boil that many would say characterizes human reality these days. It isn't violence and aggression over there that is the problem (although it is indeed a problem) - it's the violence and aggression right here that diminishes our capacity to believe in peace, in one another, and in ourselves. And now, for the first time in human history, we have the opportunity and the means by which to join with others in fashioning a Community of Resolvers that brings the knowledge and sensibilities born of these great thinkers to every other community to which we belong. Indeed, nonviolence is no longer only a political tool, it is a way of being, and the success or failure of this way of being is in our hands, and no one else's.
And this, dear reader, is the reason I described the path to peace as a "harsh reality." If you truly want to be at peace with your Self and with Others, then it's up to you. You'll likely have to take some hard looks at your own actions, intentions, and choices. Conflict isn't "out there" somewhere, in our coworkers or life-partners or kids, or in the strangers at the mall or on the freeway. It's within, in our responses to them. Like Gandhi and King, you'll have to really know this, and be ready to instantly forgive and to take responsibility for Resolution, even when you didn't "start" the conflict. In short, you'll have to let their mission guide you, and not your ego. If you think you're up to this task, if you're serious about becoming a Resolver, if you agree with me that there are few things more empowering, enlightening, or hopeful than learning how to bring everyone - especially ourselves - that elusive peace which we all seek, then by all means: please join me in turning the page.
- Michael Bush
Founder / Director
Sunday, December 5, 2010
20th Annual Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast
I recently received the surprising and humbling honor of being asked to join the Organizing Committee for the 20th Annual California Conference for Equality & Justice Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast. The Breakfast is a long-standing and wonderful tradition in the city of Long Beach, and brings together folks from numerous religious and cultural backgrounds in an effort to break boundaries by breaking bread together, all while listening to the thoughts of some of our nation’s most inspiring leaders in the quest for social justice and the advancement of community.
I was very grateful to be in attendance at last year’s Breakfast. Keynote speaker and Claremont Graduate University President Emeritus John D. Maguire spoke about working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as an original Freedom Rider, and called participants to a reevaluation of the methods and process of social activism as they relate to King’s idea of a Beloved Community. This year, we are to be blessed by the words of Jesuit Roman Catholic Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. His organization is a vital link in the ex-gang-member rehabilitation chain in Los Angeles, and his twenty years serving and working with this woefully underserved sector of our community has saved countless lives. Some of my own students have been routed through the programs at Homeboy, so this year’s Breakfast holds added value for me.
In these often divisive times, it is sincerely an honor to be a part of an event that is as important as the Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast. Nothing can do more to erode the falsehoods that keep us separated than the simple act that is the willingness to see past them and commune with Others in an honest, earnest approach toward understanding and community. The ideas of inter-relatedness and interdependence are founding tenets of The Institute’s work, and this event is a vital opportunity to rediscover the unifying values that all humans share, and to celebrate the Oneness found in diversity and difference. I invite you to consider attending, and so to join me in discovering your Self in an Other.
Michael Bush
Founder/Director
I was very grateful to be in attendance at last year’s Breakfast. Keynote speaker and Claremont Graduate University President Emeritus John D. Maguire spoke about working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as an original Freedom Rider, and called participants to a reevaluation of the methods and process of social activism as they relate to King’s idea of a Beloved Community. This year, we are to be blessed by the words of Jesuit Roman Catholic Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. His organization is a vital link in the ex-gang-member rehabilitation chain in Los Angeles, and his twenty years serving and working with this woefully underserved sector of our community has saved countless lives. Some of my own students have been routed through the programs at Homeboy, so this year’s Breakfast holds added value for me.
In these often divisive times, it is sincerely an honor to be a part of an event that is as important as the Interfaith/Intercultural Breakfast. Nothing can do more to erode the falsehoods that keep us separated than the simple act that is the willingness to see past them and commune with Others in an honest, earnest approach toward understanding and community. The ideas of inter-relatedness and interdependence are founding tenets of The Institute’s work, and this event is a vital opportunity to rediscover the unifying values that all humans share, and to celebrate the Oneness found in diversity and difference. I invite you to consider attending, and so to join me in discovering your Self in an Other.
Michael Bush
Founder/Director
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Robert K. Merton: Bureaucratic Structure & Personality
Robert K. Merton
Complex Organizations
“With increasing bureaucratization, it becomes plain... [that we are] controlled by our social relations to the instruments of production. This can no longer seem only a tenet of Marxism, but a stubborn fact to be acknowledged by all... to work, one must have tools and equipment. And the tools and equipment are increasingly available only in bureaucracies, private or public.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
Tonight we begin a short venture into the ideas of American sociologist Robert Merton, who coined numerous pop and business culture concepts such as "role model," "unintended consequences," and "self-fulfilling prophecy."
Above, he embarks on a discussion of the manner in which we derive meaning in and through bureaucracies. As the systems which provide, to a lesser or greater extent, the means by which we survive, bureaucracies also indirectly provide meaning.
Since the fruits of our labor are not only bread and wine but dignity, self-respect, and self reliance, understanding the most functional manner in which to relate to these organizational systems so that they contribute to (rather than diminish) our meaning structures is of vital concern.
“The efficacy of social structure depends ultimately upon infusing group participants with appropriate attitudes and sentiments.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
We wanted to pause with Merton's opening statement (before he develops an important argument about confusing means with ends) because to stop and review here offers the opportunity to underscore an idea we consider crucial to the success of any group: without the proper attitudes regarding their org, constituents (and their community) will only succeed at failure.
In our work with groups, it has become increasingly clear that if group members don't share and ritually revive a common Idea, then the group perishes, if it ever indeed existed in the first place.
First and foremost must be a commitment to the Idea under which the group was formed, the Mission & Values Statement. Beyond that, however, and often more importantly, there must be a commitment to the nature in which group members will interact, what they will do when these interactions prove difficult, and how these commitments and processes serve the larger Mission.
Without these clear and continuously enacted commitments, group members will exist as disconnected, drifting spirits who occasionally bump against one another in an approximation of community.
However, understanding the Self in the Other (both the Other of the org and the Other of individual community members), and living *with and through* these Others as partners in self-fulfillment and actualization, a group will begin to approach realization as a united entity capable of pursuing and completing its Mission.
The first step, once folks have decided where they're headed, is to discover the unity in action and intention that will guide them along their path. Constructing cyclical opportunities to reinvigorate and re-experience this unity in and through the Mission and each Other is the next (and only other) step. Everything else? A cakewalk.
“Emphasis on appropriate attitudes can lead to "a transference of the sentiments from the *aims* of the organization onto the particular details of behavior required by the rules. Adherence to the rules, originally conceived as a means, becomes... an end-in-itself. There occurs the... *displacement of goals* whereby an ...instrumental value becomes a terminal value." - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
When an Org rigidly delineates expectations about the proper method by which goals of the org are to be achieved, the beginnings of entropy and dissolution become present. The constituent becomes shackled to a particular way of doing things, and creativity and possibility take a back seat.
Even worse, in most cases the job description becomes the means by which the constituent is judged, and by which she judges herself. No longer are she (or the Org itself!) concerned with the original intended results, but merely with the measurable approach that has been agreed upon for arriving at these goals. The means have become an end.
We can all think of the coworker who completes their responsibilities adequately, who jumps through the required hoops satisfactorily, but who never seems to be able or willing to discover better ways to do so, or to be concerned with the ultimate goals of the Org. "Hey, I'm just doing my job," is the common refrain, "That's somebody else's department," or "They don't pay me to worry about that." In our schools, it is when a student asks, "How many paragraphs?" rather than "How can I improve on my knowledge or skills in the given area?"
Freeing both Org Leaders and constituents from the shackles of SOP is a start in avoiding these pitfalls. To be sure, clear goals should be set and communicated, and fallback guidelines as to how to arrive are important. But allowing constituents the power and freedom to choose their own path, to contribute *of themselves* to the success of the Org, is imperative. The work and the goals of the organization become their own, and not just a set of mechanized processes that almost anyone can do in return for their daily bread.
“The bureaucrat's official life is planned in terms of a graded career of promotion by seniority, pensions, & incremental salaries, all... designed to provide incentives for disciplined action and conformity to official regulations... these devices which increase conformance also lead to an overconcern w/ strict adherence to regulations which induces timidity, conservatism, and technicism.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
Above, Merton continues his exploration of structural sources of overconformity, the kind of "trained incapacity" which can stifle an organization and its constituents. In explaining further, he writes:
"(1) An effective bureaucracy demands reliability of response and devotion to regulations. (2) Such devotion to rules leads to their transformation into absolutes; they are no longer conceived as relative to a set of purposes. (3) This interferes with ready adaptation under special conditions not clearly envisaged by those who drew up the general rules. (4) Thus, the very elements which conduce toward efficiency in general produce inefficiency in specific instances. Full realization of the inadequacy is seldom attained by members of the group who have not divorced themselves from the meanings which the rules have for them."
The Institute interprets Merton's thoughts as being indicative of some organizational considerations and approaches that we both embrace and advocate for:
(1) Constituents making suggestions or asking questions regarding the Process of the org should be given an opportunity to be heard, and given agency to effect change where these explorations bear fruit.
(2) Avenues by which to do so safely and openly should be scheduled regularly within each Org Hub, as well as *across* all Hubs.
(3) In order to facilitate this, Org Leaders should embrace an approach marked by openness and possibility.
“The impersonal treatment of affairs which are at times of great personal significance to the client gives rise to the charge of 'arrogance' and 'haughtiness' of the bureaucrat.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
In other words, the customer isn't *always* right, but they should always be listened and responded to effectively, employing techniques from Conflict Resolution and Nonviolent Communication.
A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations, edited by Amitai Etzioni
Complex Organizations
“With increasing bureaucratization, it becomes plain... [that we are] controlled by our social relations to the instruments of production. This can no longer seem only a tenet of Marxism, but a stubborn fact to be acknowledged by all... to work, one must have tools and equipment. And the tools and equipment are increasingly available only in bureaucracies, private or public.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
Tonight we begin a short venture into the ideas of American sociologist Robert Merton, who coined numerous pop and business culture concepts such as "role model," "unintended consequences," and "self-fulfilling prophecy."
Above, he embarks on a discussion of the manner in which we derive meaning in and through bureaucracies. As the systems which provide, to a lesser or greater extent, the means by which we survive, bureaucracies also indirectly provide meaning.
Since the fruits of our labor are not only bread and wine but dignity, self-respect, and self reliance, understanding the most functional manner in which to relate to these organizational systems so that they contribute to (rather than diminish) our meaning structures is of vital concern.
“The efficacy of social structure depends ultimately upon infusing group participants with appropriate attitudes and sentiments.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
We wanted to pause with Merton's opening statement (before he develops an important argument about confusing means with ends) because to stop and review here offers the opportunity to underscore an idea we consider crucial to the success of any group: without the proper attitudes regarding their org, constituents (and their community) will only succeed at failure.
In our work with groups, it has become increasingly clear that if group members don't share and ritually revive a common Idea, then the group perishes, if it ever indeed existed in the first place.
First and foremost must be a commitment to the Idea under which the group was formed, the Mission & Values Statement. Beyond that, however, and often more importantly, there must be a commitment to the nature in which group members will interact, what they will do when these interactions prove difficult, and how these commitments and processes serve the larger Mission.
Without these clear and continuously enacted commitments, group members will exist as disconnected, drifting spirits who occasionally bump against one another in an approximation of community.
However, understanding the Self in the Other (both the Other of the org and the Other of individual community members), and living *with and through* these Others as partners in self-fulfillment and actualization, a group will begin to approach realization as a united entity capable of pursuing and completing its Mission.
The first step, once folks have decided where they're headed, is to discover the unity in action and intention that will guide them along their path. Constructing cyclical opportunities to reinvigorate and re-experience this unity in and through the Mission and each Other is the next (and only other) step. Everything else? A cakewalk.
“Emphasis on appropriate attitudes can lead to "a transference of the sentiments from the *aims* of the organization onto the particular details of behavior required by the rules. Adherence to the rules, originally conceived as a means, becomes... an end-in-itself. There occurs the... *displacement of goals* whereby an ...instrumental value becomes a terminal value." - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
When an Org rigidly delineates expectations about the proper method by which goals of the org are to be achieved, the beginnings of entropy and dissolution become present. The constituent becomes shackled to a particular way of doing things, and creativity and possibility take a back seat.
Even worse, in most cases the job description becomes the means by which the constituent is judged, and by which she judges herself. No longer are she (or the Org itself!) concerned with the original intended results, but merely with the measurable approach that has been agreed upon for arriving at these goals. The means have become an end.
We can all think of the coworker who completes their responsibilities adequately, who jumps through the required hoops satisfactorily, but who never seems to be able or willing to discover better ways to do so, or to be concerned with the ultimate goals of the Org. "Hey, I'm just doing my job," is the common refrain, "That's somebody else's department," or "They don't pay me to worry about that." In our schools, it is when a student asks, "How many paragraphs?" rather than "How can I improve on my knowledge or skills in the given area?"
Freeing both Org Leaders and constituents from the shackles of SOP is a start in avoiding these pitfalls. To be sure, clear goals should be set and communicated, and fallback guidelines as to how to arrive are important. But allowing constituents the power and freedom to choose their own path, to contribute *of themselves* to the success of the Org, is imperative. The work and the goals of the organization become their own, and not just a set of mechanized processes that almost anyone can do in return for their daily bread.
“The bureaucrat's official life is planned in terms of a graded career of promotion by seniority, pensions, & incremental salaries, all... designed to provide incentives for disciplined action and conformity to official regulations... these devices which increase conformance also lead to an overconcern w/ strict adherence to regulations which induces timidity, conservatism, and technicism.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
Above, Merton continues his exploration of structural sources of overconformity, the kind of "trained incapacity" which can stifle an organization and its constituents. In explaining further, he writes:
"(1) An effective bureaucracy demands reliability of response and devotion to regulations. (2) Such devotion to rules leads to their transformation into absolutes; they are no longer conceived as relative to a set of purposes. (3) This interferes with ready adaptation under special conditions not clearly envisaged by those who drew up the general rules. (4) Thus, the very elements which conduce toward efficiency in general produce inefficiency in specific instances. Full realization of the inadequacy is seldom attained by members of the group who have not divorced themselves from the meanings which the rules have for them."
The Institute interprets Merton's thoughts as being indicative of some organizational considerations and approaches that we both embrace and advocate for:
(1) Constituents making suggestions or asking questions regarding the Process of the org should be given an opportunity to be heard, and given agency to effect change where these explorations bear fruit.
(2) Avenues by which to do so safely and openly should be scheduled regularly within each Org Hub, as well as *across* all Hubs.
(3) In order to facilitate this, Org Leaders should embrace an approach marked by openness and possibility.
“The impersonal treatment of affairs which are at times of great personal significance to the client gives rise to the charge of 'arrogance' and 'haughtiness' of the bureaucrat.” - Robert K. Merton, SRCO
COMMENT:
In other words, the customer isn't *always* right, but they should always be listened and responded to effectively, employing techniques from Conflict Resolution and Nonviolent Communication.
A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations, edited by Amitai Etzioni
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Talcott Parsons: A Sociological Approach to Theory of Organizations, SRCO
“... the focus of [an organization's] value system must be the legitimation of [its primary] goal in terms of the functional significance of its attainment for the superordinate system, and secondly the legitimation of the primacy of this goal over other possible interests and values of the organization and its members.” - Talcott Parsons, SRCO
COMMENT:
The set of values governing an org's direction must be linked to the overall goal of the system if either are to be successful in uniting constituents within the type of community that remains sound and cohesive.
Further, *both* must find so...me purchase within the context of the larger system within which they operate to be ultimately successful, else the larger system will have no cause to incorporate the org (nor its values and goals) into the grander pattern necessary to sustain it.
At odds with this necessity are the more unique necessities of org members: even if their ultimate values are legitimated by the group, if other individual values, needs, and goals are not met then the group will suffer from high turnover and the malaise of disinterested and dissatisfied members.
The Org Leader recognizes that connecting as many needs as possible to System Values and Goals is a step in the direction of true community. Further, it is imperative that the Org Leader learn to adapt to and account for those needs that *aren't* being met, in order to allow for their healthy and functional expression elsewhere.
No one wants to sacrifice their time, needs, and even wants more often than not: asking constituents to forego their own goals in the name of those of the larger Group will too often send them in search of another org more in line with their value system, and leave the Org weaker.
“It is reasonable to postulate an inherent centrifugal tendency of subunits of the organization [to drift from the pull of their org]. The organization must... be ready to take measures [to counteract this pull using] any 1 or a combination of 3 fundamental forms: 1) coercion... 2) inducement... and 3) therapy.” - Talcott Parsons, SRCO
COMMENT:
It is indeed, as Parsons suggests, generally the case that individual interests will sooner or later pull a constituent away from their organization: this is to be expected, and even celebrated by those Org Leaders who recognize that the la...rger system of human contact and cooperation is driven by these impulses rather than marred by them.
The best and only means by which to attempt to preserve organizational cohesion is, as stated below, that approach which incorporates as many individual interests into the larger organizational context as possible while remaining true to org goals and values.
To this end, we tend to eschew Parsons' first measure above, "coercion," as a perversion of what is and should be the intent of all gatherings: to commune. That said, it can be a useful tactic for those neither concerned with Community or with Conflict Resolution.
His second suggestion, "inducement," comes closer to the kind of approach that we at The Institute would embrace, given that it seeks to "sweeten the deal," to encourage and elicit organizational devotion by dangling desires before the constituent: more power, more money, greater responsibilities or title, etc.
It is his third suggestion, however, that we find to be the most fruitful approach. His use of the word "therapy" appears to be his generation's expression of the idea of what we would describe as "genuine dialogue." While "inducement" can go a long way in preserving org constituency, it often misses the mark because it fails to accurately ascertain what it is that any org member *really wants* - at best, if offers an approximation.
By engaging in, encouraging, and consistently making room and time for ongoing, authentic explorations of org member wishes and hopes, the Org Leader can discover what truly drives org members, and so can determine the heart of their Org Identity. In doing so, the Org finds itself more *real* and so more capable of being "in reality," more effective and cohesive.
Indeed, as org members continue to discover *themselves* within the organization, the organization continues to find success and growth.
A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations
COMMENT:
The set of values governing an org's direction must be linked to the overall goal of the system if either are to be successful in uniting constituents within the type of community that remains sound and cohesive.
Further, *both* must find so...me purchase within the context of the larger system within which they operate to be ultimately successful, else the larger system will have no cause to incorporate the org (nor its values and goals) into the grander pattern necessary to sustain it.
At odds with this necessity are the more unique necessities of org members: even if their ultimate values are legitimated by the group, if other individual values, needs, and goals are not met then the group will suffer from high turnover and the malaise of disinterested and dissatisfied members.
The Org Leader recognizes that connecting as many needs as possible to System Values and Goals is a step in the direction of true community. Further, it is imperative that the Org Leader learn to adapt to and account for those needs that *aren't* being met, in order to allow for their healthy and functional expression elsewhere.
No one wants to sacrifice their time, needs, and even wants more often than not: asking constituents to forego their own goals in the name of those of the larger Group will too often send them in search of another org more in line with their value system, and leave the Org weaker.
“It is reasonable to postulate an inherent centrifugal tendency of subunits of the organization [to drift from the pull of their org]. The organization must... be ready to take measures [to counteract this pull using] any 1 or a combination of 3 fundamental forms: 1) coercion... 2) inducement... and 3) therapy.” - Talcott Parsons, SRCO
COMMENT:
It is indeed, as Parsons suggests, generally the case that individual interests will sooner or later pull a constituent away from their organization: this is to be expected, and even celebrated by those Org Leaders who recognize that the la...rger system of human contact and cooperation is driven by these impulses rather than marred by them.
The best and only means by which to attempt to preserve organizational cohesion is, as stated below, that approach which incorporates as many individual interests into the larger organizational context as possible while remaining true to org goals and values.
To this end, we tend to eschew Parsons' first measure above, "coercion," as a perversion of what is and should be the intent of all gatherings: to commune. That said, it can be a useful tactic for those neither concerned with Community or with Conflict Resolution.
His second suggestion, "inducement," comes closer to the kind of approach that we at The Institute would embrace, given that it seeks to "sweeten the deal," to encourage and elicit organizational devotion by dangling desires before the constituent: more power, more money, greater responsibilities or title, etc.
It is his third suggestion, however, that we find to be the most fruitful approach. His use of the word "therapy" appears to be his generation's expression of the idea of what we would describe as "genuine dialogue." While "inducement" can go a long way in preserving org constituency, it often misses the mark because it fails to accurately ascertain what it is that any org member *really wants* - at best, if offers an approximation.
By engaging in, encouraging, and consistently making room and time for ongoing, authentic explorations of org member wishes and hopes, the Org Leader can discover what truly drives org members, and so can determine the heart of their Org Identity. In doing so, the Org finds itself more *real* and so more capable of being "in reality," more effective and cohesive.
Indeed, as org members continue to discover *themselves* within the organization, the organization continues to find success and growth.
A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations
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