Art of Hosting Design -- From Engage Interact

April 22, 2009

From colleagues Tim Merry, Tatiana Glad and others. These questions are really strong and created breakthrough thinking for all involved.

Day One - Protection

What is sacred to me?

What am I protecting?

What time is it for me and my world? What do I wish to protect in myself and the world?

How does protection show up in hosting?

What is hosting protecting?

Day Two - Death and Hospicing

What is ready to die in me and my world?

What do we know about hosting death?

What are our questions about hosting graceful passage?

What beliefs hold me back from my full potential as a host and human?

Day Three - Hosting Emergence - the new

What is emerging here? What is emerging everywhere?

What is the new I commit to support in myself and life?

How do we host emergence?

How can we host space invaders?

Day Four - Bridging and Illuminating

How capable is humanity of dealing with intense and rapid change?

What do I want to share with others?

What is the path I am building as I walk it?

What is the bridge (in me and life) between the old and the new?

Open Heart

About six months ago I found myself very much in a need to simplify. Work was requireing much of me, my time, in a way that didn't feel right enough. A key relationship was really charged. I wanted so much to dive deeper into readings and learnings on energy. I was struggling to find enough of myself in my spiritual community. I was overcooked and in need of insight that was simple enough for me to hold. It came, in the form of three commitments that applied to each of these areas:

1. Be open in heart.
2. Be couragous in story.
3. Be clear in intent.

This open-heartedness is very alive for me this week. And as I think of it now, I recall several times where people have helped me to learn more of this.

There was the September Art of Hosting in Indiana at which one of the open space breakout groups harvested this: "an open heart is a safe space."

There was the November Art of Hositng in Pennsylvania at which the theme for the first day was open heartedness.

There were these recent words from Meg Wheatley and a group of friends, soul friends at I know Berkana Institute:

• we are companions for the journey as the world insists that our hearts crack open, not to break, but to grow
• broken-heartedness leads us out into the world where we can stand with people and offer our love
• in the end, all that matters is people standing together in the fullness of being human

These threads have lead me to something that feels important today...

• What would be different if we assumed that world does insist that our hearts crack open so that we can offer our love and stand together in the fullness of being human?
• Sometimes I don't see because my heart isn't open.
• Can we create and practice tools for opening our hearts?
• From this love, all becomes different, whole, healthy. Our work becomes our human being.

I'm thinking of this framing, feeling it, as I move into new client relations, designs of meetings, hosting of phone calls. I'm also thinking of it at home. This changes how I show up, what I invite, what I hope to create with others. It doesn't remove me / us from "work." It grounds us more deeply to animate and ground our "work."