Earlier in 2011 we reviewed the article by Margaret J. Wheatlry entitled "Willing to Be Disturbed" from Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future (Berrett-Koshler, 2002).
The essential question was: Are you able to experience the full impact of the opinions of others, and hear their concerns, even if you are inclined to prejudice and presupposition (which we all are)? Can you abandon certainty to grow and work together with others to obtain changes and cooperation in a future that you do not design, alone? But we felt the main question for us, in general was: Can you really listen?
The opportunity to be the one who listens comes and goes many times a day for some.
Listening moves us closer. Listening presents the opportunity to incorporate knowledge that we may have failed to realize that we do not yet have. Listening can allow us to keep abrest of a world that's rapidly changing, and have understanding, lest we be taking by surprise, when great changes come.
We generally disagreed with there being an advantage to letting go of concrete knowledge, and confidence in that knowledge. We also collectively agreed that it is dangerous to treat our spiritual knowledge as though it us currency to be traded for any value, including social harmony.
Everyone looked at this question and was compelled to look deeper and ask "Will I pay attention even when the knowledge is troubling, and my precepts are shaken?"
With some limits, we do need one another. I think this article found some 70-80% agreement in the group. Thank you, Charlene, for facilitating this session.
One fun excursion that illustrates the potential value of the challenge of listening, and making room for the yet unknown, is found in advocacy for the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program.
ReplyDeleteWe are often persuaded by the pragmatic opposition of real listening, to the extent that we may not even consider the positives.
While I do not object to the strong belief that no extraterrestrial life exists, it is demonstrable that this is not actually knowledge, but rather a conclusion driven by what seems to be related, assertion-replete knowledge.
In this interesting video Dr. Jill Tarter discusses the Fermi Paradox, and the influence of a strong conclusion on the process of investigation and exploration.
http://www.space.com/9776-seti-fermi-paradox.html
SETI faces considerable challenges in support and continuation.
How much understanding of even more practical and vital matters are we denied because strong conclusions have hobbled and postponed our examination of things that challenge our prejudice?