Living Between Polarities

Living between polaritiesThe dialogue across group process and individual freedom

Introduction

The healthy social life is found

When in the mirror of each human soul

The whole community is shaped,

And when in the community

Lives the strength of each human soul.

This poem from Rudolf Steiner (1993) expresses in just a few

words the profound relation between the social life and each individ-

ual. As if each human being could always carry the whole community

in his soul, and at the same time, in freedom, offer his own and

unique strength within the community. This is a paradox of singular-

ity inside plurality. The challenge I face here is how to tie it together.

My focus on this research is about the relation between group’s

problems and individual’s concerns. Working the last fourteen years

with group facilitation, and sharing the same workspace during a lot

of time with people far more capable than myself, enables me to

make some considerations. My perception over the large majority of

the work I have done, has a common pattern: due to the current busi-

ness speed and superficial relationships in the workplace, there is a

lack of dialogue between teammates. This absence of dialogue and

support usually establishes a burdensome situation to be carried

along by just a few people in the group. This is the scenario where

usually I am called to work on. The work is to assist and encourage

people to find a common ground, get aware of the problems, discover

the common goal and finally address needs and obligations.

My approach has always been based on the perspective of the

organization, the main sponsor of the job. However, this situation can

be observed in two perspectives: one is related to the whole group,

and the other belongs just to the individual. The question on this

point is: Does the work with the group open space for individual con-

cerns, or to deepening the research of personal worldview, feelings

and goals? My actual answer is no. By many reasons, but mainly be-

cause in the organizational field the current rhythm favors the group’s

priority to prevail over personal needs, and therefore diminishing indi-

vidual freedom.

This research attempts to show one way to enhance the group

process by encouraging individual’s inner research. To make it possi-

ble, I will relate and combine two different approaches: the Dynamic

Judgment Formation model (Bos, 2010) and the Contemplative Prac-

tices (Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, 2008). My core be-

lief is: to achieve better results as a group, is essential to understand

and strengthen the qualities of the individual human soul.

Archetypes and Soul Qualities.

For Pythagoras, born in 572 BCE, number is the essence of the

created universe. Number is Being. Number is a universal archetype

from which all things originate and which is in all things. More

specifically, everything is composed of the elements of number. In

Pythagorean thought, the unit or one corresponds to the source, and

does not have interval or dimension. The number two represents

opinion, and divide the phenomena of the universe (Phelps, 2009).

Allan Kaplan (2005) talks about polarities and the integration

between the opposites. In a polar view the limited and unlimited, odd

and even, unity and multiplicity, right and left, male and female, light

and darkness, day and night, and so on. The number three appears in

myths and legends since antiquity. The structure of the universe has

expansion, contraction and stagnation and the structure of time has

past, present and future. The figure three in polarity introduces an el-

ement that mediates the other two parts carrying a balance. The

Greeks used the lemniscate as a symbol of this image, our 8, or the

infinity symbol in mathematics. The Chinese use the Yin and Yang in

the same way; two polarities, one above, one below and in the mid-

dle, at the junction of the two, the equilibrium. The human body is di-

vided in three main parts: head, trunk and limbs. The human being in

the oldest ways is represented by the body, soul and spirit. After the

scientific revolution, the Western culture reduced this view, combin-

ing spirit with soul, creating a strong polarity: matter (body) and

spirit.

Rudolf Steiner (1966) distinguished the human soul qualities

also in three: the think, feel and will. He called this archetype the

Threefoldness, specifically relating the polarity between Thinking and

Willing, and the balance through Feeling. The next paragraph aims to

describe the qualities into details.

The quality of think refers to the rationality, the logic and mani-

fests in thoughts, images and mental representations from the ex-

ternal world. The quality of will refers to our capacity of transforming

the external world. The quality of feel refers to the sensible rela-

tion between the inner world with the external world, and mani-

fests in emotions, oscillating between sympathy and antipathy. The

act of thinking is very related to the past, with the known concepts,

ideas and patterns. It is the cooler of the qualities, and in fact, our

body expends a lot of energy to keep the brain at lower temperatures

than the rest of the body. In contrast, the Willing is hot, agitated, in-

tuitive and sometimes unconsciously. Our will drives us into the fu-

ture. Our muscles work better in any physical activity when properly

warmed up. The Feeling quality can be warm or cold, be abstract or

logical. We feel the emotion in the present, even when we remember

a scene from the past, or imagine a scene in the future. Feelings are

extremely fickle and can change instantly.

For Rudolf Steiner (1904), the evolved Soul will have the three

qualities consciously aligned and integrated. One example to get the

picture of the soul qualities is a sculpture process, in this particular

sequence:

In the beginning, the sculpture happens in the artist’s mind as

a thought. It is an imagination process, and it is unlimited, boundless.

As an idea, it can be done and redone countless times, until it’s per-

fected. One artist can actually see the sculpture clearly in his mind,

despite the marble block being just a brutal, heavy and unpolished

piece of rock. At some point, the artist feel the inspiration to do it. It

comes from the heart, warming up the body. Emotions create mean-

ing to get into action. This warmth seems to expand from the heart,

connecting brain to limbs, and then awakening the will. Finally, the

artist is in action. In full motion, sweating to break the rock, seeking

the perfect sculpture clearly seen in his mind. The speed of thought

now faces the weight of the hammer and chisel. The body knows the

strength needed for each artist’s movements. Hands and arms have

precision, not by mental calculations, but totally guided by physical

intuition. In this example, at the beginning there is a sculpture in

spirit, made by imagination. At the end, the sculpture in stone, made

by willpower. In between, the purpose and the process of doing it,

with highs and lows, moments of pain and moments of joy.

Individual decision making

As individuals and adults responsible for our lives, we all need

to make decisions all the time. Decisions are made over simple

choices (e.g. Do I want to eat ham or cheese?) or over complex situa-

tions (e.g. - Should I marry her?).

Decision making is a learning process, and takes a life to evolve

(Houten, 2005). The starting base for this process is inherited during

the childhood and youth. During the first 21 years of life the human

being receives, and more or less ‘accept’, the concepts of family, so-

cial values and community’s culture. All these information and knowl-

edge come by formal and informal education. The individual is not

conscious of all his concepts every time, even so this 'set of rules' al-

ways drives the decision making.

At some point, and it depends for each individual, questions

arise. The doubt is the core of the learning process. Doubt estab-

lishes a question that moves the individual to the future. Decision

making is in its essence a question, asking for an answer. Basic ques-

tions just get simple answers, or basic information. Existential issues

leads the individual to look for deep answers. This process creates

awareness about individual’s own values and builds a clear world-

view. An appropriate work over a profound question is a rich learning

process, and builds meaningful knowledge.

Group decision making

Dr. Alexander ‘Lex’ Bos developed his doctoral thesis, titled

“Judgement-formation in groups”, published in Wageningen in 1974.

The NPI - Institute for Organizational Development, in Zeist, the

Netherlands, provided the resources to write the thesis. His work is a

solid base for other researchers and educators.

“ When people talk with each other, they usually exchange

opinions. They think something about everything, something

is thought as either right or wrong, something is beautiful or

just ugly, something is fitting or wholly unsuitable. More of-

ten than not, they also have their views on what should be

done and by whom to solve problems. All these opinions

have formed the reality in which we now live and will also

determine the world of tomorrow.” (Houten, 2000, p. 177)

The model developed by Lex Bos was later called Dynamic

Judgement Formation (Bos, 2010). It describes a way to facilitate

groups in transforming individual opinions on a group decision. This

work builds trust, group awareness and courage to change. I have

personally used this model in organization development during the

last five years, helping corporate groups to solve problems and walk

towards their goals. On this paper, I will briefly describe the process

in a didactical and simplified form. The first diagram below with the

lemniscate is a helpful overview to follow the phases in this se-

quence: Starting Question (Feelings), Path of Knowledge (Thinking,

Facts and Concepts), Path of Choice (Willing, Goals and Means),

Transformed Question (Review of the question and feelings). Actu-

ally, the process is fluid, and it can jump from one path to another,

without loosing the meaning or purpose. As a group facilitator, I tend

to first explain and then follow this sequence above, allowing some

dialogue between the paths when needed.

A question or concern brought by the group or the leader in

charge starts the process. Sometimes it is a clear question, some-

times it is just a vague concern or a hassle. Each individual has feel-

ings about this question or problem. Asking and listening to these

feelings builds the starting point to go through what Lex Bos name

the “Path of Knowledge”, pervaded by the think quality and memory

about the past. This path goes first to the Facts, exploring what hap-

pened. It is crucial to isolate and talk just about the facts, without

judgments or misperceptions. Usually it is a puzzle, and each individ-

ual has one piece of it. The work on this phase is to tie the pieces to-

gether.

The second phase of the Path of Knowledge is to explore the

Concepts. This is about how each individual perceives the facts. The

same situation can be seen in different ways, due to the individual’s

background, culture and worldview, what Bos called Concepts. In

most of the times, the Path of Knowledge is a kind of “lens cleaning”.

This path helps to understand why there are diverging positions, and

doing so, aligns the group’s mindset around the question or problem.

The Path of Choice is pervaded by the will quality and aspira-

tions for the future. The key question is: what is the desired outcome

or goal? The first step on this path is featured by uniting the group

around commonalities. Having this solid anchor, the second step is to

figure out the means, and is about how to achieve the goal. Usually

this time is a fruitful brainstorm for options, different ways and varia-

tions. The key point to avoid struggles about the means, is to have a

clear target: the goal agreed with the whole group.

The two clear landmarks are the phases Concepts and Goal.

Helping the group find a common mindset and/or a common out-

come, in most of the cases solves the initial problem. But, the results

of the Dynamic Judgment Formation are unpredictable. It is an explo-

ration and learning process, and it can lead to a decision, or it may

also ends a problem just through group awareness. Sometimes, not

rarely, the initial question changes, and the right problem emerges to

be properly addressed.

Contemplative Practices

According to Arthur Zajonc (2008), the Contemplative Peda-

gogy makes conscious use of a wide range of practices for two essen-

tial ends: the cultivation of attention and emotional balance; the de-

velopment of faculties required for insight and creativity. The con-

templative exercises strengthens the attention, a crucial ability to

learn and evolve. The work on the inner attention, towards our feel-

ings and deep connection with our essence, improves the external at-

tention and the emotional balance.

I will describe in this paper two contemplative exercises to

achieve presence, emotional balance, and create openness at the in-

dividual and group levels. The first exercise, named Afterimage and

Four Part Bell Sound, is about sustained attention and the cultivation

of the so-called “afterimage.”

Four Part Bell Sound & Afterimage (Zajonc, 2008, p. 45)

This exercise has four parts, using the bell sound as the object

of concentration. The first two parts focus on concentration on the

bell sound, an outer experience; the second two parts are the prac-

tice of open attention. This polarity is archetypal in most traditions as

described on this paper. The experience offers a rhythmic transition-

ing from focused attention to a single sound and the open attention,

letting go the sound and getting aware of what can come. It is a way

to become open to the unexpected.

Focused awareness

1. The bell sound. Listen with full attention to the bell sound

and only to the bell sound. Note the tone qualities and duration. Sense

how it fades away into silence. Listen a second and third time. Bring

your attention back and back again to the sound of the bell.

2. Memory of the bell sound. After the bell sound has com-

pletely finished, you are able to sound the bell inwardly from memory.

Sound it inwardly, hear in your memory the sound of the bell. Try to

sound exactly as you heard it physically. Keep your attention focused

on the bell sound alone. Feel it as well as hear it.

Open attention

3. Inviting silence or the Void. Having attended fully to the

bell sound, shift your attention, turn it inside-out. Before you were fo-

cused on a single impression. Release your attention, allow it to open

out, becoming spacious and expansive. Allow the Void to arise in you.

Pure open attention. Welcome whatever appears.

4. The afterimage. Perhaps nothing emerges in the spacious

field of attention you hold, and that is fine. Perhaps something deli-

cate and fleeting shows itself. In the open field of your attention you

may sense a qualitative change: it is denser, lighter, fuller, more ac-

tive, quieter, a color, warmth... Welcome whatever appears. In many

traditions this is called “the afterimage”. Without grasping, allow it a

place in your open awareness.

“All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws

analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only excep-

tion. Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there

is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this

void.” Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace

The diagram below can illustrate the poles of the above exer-

cise. The figure eight or lemniscate indicates the movement of our

awareness from one pole of attention to the other pole of openness.

The second practice, named Individual and Interactive Contem-

plation, is an individual exercise combined with a group conversa-

tion. It builds trust and respect, enabling the group to create new

ground. It goes from one person’s perspective to a whole new way to

approach the subject of the contemplation.

Individual and Interactive Contemplation (Sable, 2008, p.

49)

The subject of contemplation can be a question, dilemma, or

some kind of assertion that the group wishes or need to explore to-

gether. The two parts consists in individual contemplation and inter-

active contemplation.

Instructions for individual contemplation:

1. Find the present moment. Calm the mind by resting atten-

tion on your breathing for a few minutes. The point is to bring aware-

ness to the present. If thoughts arise, notice that you are thinking

and simply come to the present moment by returning your attention

to the breath.

2. Hold the contemplation. When you feel ready, bring up

the contemplation in the form of words. Hold the thought or question

as the focus of your attention. When you recognize you are dis-

tracted, come back to the contemplation.

3. Open to the meaning beneath the words. Don’t try to an-

swer or respond to the contemplation right away. Let the question or

statement sit in front of you for at least two or three minutes. You

can repeat the contemplation over if you wish. Pay close attention to

your entire experience.; let your attention include what is happening

in your body. Pay attention to whole space of the present moment. If

there is a felt sense before thoughts form, welcome that just that as it

is. (The felt sense is a kind of pre-verbal knowing, or almost knowing,

at the edge of your familiar experience.) It’s important here to allow

your attention to penetrate underneath habitual, quick responses.

Become familiar with that meaning as it penetrates. The meaning

may come with images, sensations, or seemingly unrelated thoughts.

If you feel your attention drifting too far away, recall the original

words of the contemplation. As the full meaning of the words begins

to penetrate, rest in the meaning beneath the words.

4. Find fresh language that fits the moment. Now let your

response come in fresh words that reflect your full, present experi-

ence of the contemplation. Don’t write anything yet. Don’t rush, be

patient and wait for words that fit best. Then ask yourself, “Is that

all? Can you see it another way?” Write down your initial response

without a lot of editing. Once you start writing, let it be “first thought,

best thought.” Write no more than a page.

Instructions for interactive contemplation in group work:

1. Self-aware Listening. One person volunteers to read their

response to the contemplation. Others listen. Listening has two as-

pects: 1) Note the tendency to agree or disagree with what is said,

and in so doing notice your judgments and assumptions. 2) Try to lis-

ten openly, beyond your judgments and assumptions, and be pre-

pared to paraphrase or reflect back to the person what you have un-

derstood.

2. Reflecting. A second person offers their understanding by

paraphrasing or reflecting back what has been said, trying to communi-

cate just what the person said, without adding or interpreting their

meaning. The first person confirms, corrects, or fills in what was miss-

ing.

3. Inquiry. Anyone in the circle can ask questions to clarify

what the first person meant. The point here is get at what the person

meant, not to persuade them to a different point of view or add to it

yet. Once the first person and the group agree that the meaning of

the first person’s response is clear (or as clear as its going to get),

then the process is repeated with each person in the group.

4. Creative Dialogue. At the end of the inquiry, a facilitator or

someone in the group who volunteers can then identify points of con-

vergence, by identifying common ground, and points of divergence

by respecting genuine differences. Is then possible for something

new to emerge. With the trust and respect created, the group may

create new ground by allowing the coemergence of the collective ex-

perience - not one’s person’s perspective, but a whole new way to ap-

proach the subject of the contemplation.

Conclusion

In my perspective, the Dynamic Judgment Formation (Bos,

2010) is a decision making process with strong emphasis on explo-

ration and collaborative learning along the dynamic. The exploration

is a dialogue between polarities: Past and Future, Facts and Con-

cepts, Goals and Means. The feeling is the compass to navigate

through the phases, not just following the two described paths. Only

the feeling can judge the quality of the process and it is also the ulti-

mate ‘referee’ on the result. At the end is essential to revisit the indi-

vidual’s feelings. Usually they change along the phases in a good

way. Understanding, relief and peace are common words at the eval-

uation in the very end. The original title of the paper in dutch is

‘Urteilsbildung: Ein Weg zu innerlicher Freiheit’, translated into eng-

lish means ‘Discernment - A Path to inward Freedom’.

As posed by Daniel Barbezat (Barbezat, 2014), “Contempla-

tive practices are particularly effective in the areas of emotional

regulation and intra- and interpersonal connection. An increasing

amount of evidence has shown that emotional awareness and regula-

tion are essential for well-being and positive, even strategic, decision

making. While the contemplative practices can hone attention, stimu-

late a deeper understanding of the material, and develop social con-

nectivity, they also allow students to explore personal meaning, per-

haps the least well-defined yet most important result.”

My proposal to enhance the group process is to build upon the

Dynamic Judgment Formation with the Contemplative Practices. This

combination will open the space for individual’s inner research, and

doing so, it will raise both processes to a higher level. Not just

achieve better results as a group, but also to build self awareness

and give a chance to properly address individual needs.

This combined process is summarized on the diagram below,

and shows the Contemplative Practices insertions in the Dynamic

Judgment Formation.

1. Bell sound and afterimage. The first contemplative prac-

tice described in this paper, named Afterimage and Four Part Bell

Sound, is an inner experience of the whole archetype of the Dynamic

Judgment Formation without specific content. It is an excellent prac-

tice to awaken the soul qualities, preparing the individuals for the

process of inward and outward exploration to come. It will be done at

the very beginning of the group process.

The process follows the sequence 2. Question, 3. Facts, 4. Con-

cepts, completing the Path of Knowledge as described earlier. Then is

the moment to the next contemplative practice insertion: to get out of

the group process, and visit the inner consciousness to settle percep-

tions and deal with unsolved concepts, and then coming back to the

group process:

5a. Individual contemplation. This second exercise, after ex-

ploring the Facts and Concepts, will help the individuals to conclude

and internally settle what was discussed earlier. The subject of con-

templation to be hold is: What is the actual question? The purpose

during this phase is to check if the Path of Knowledge (the Past) is

clear, organized and in accordance to inner principles and values.

5b. Interactive contemplation. During the interaction, if un-

solved concepts still exist, this is the space to seek understanding

and if needed, to go deeper to build agreements. Otherwise, if the

question evolved over better understanding, it is time to open new

spaces and possibilities for the future.

The process follows to the Path of Choice: 6. Goals and 7.

Paths. These phases can be easier to go through with the common

ground built before, and enhanced by the individual and interactive

practices. Another relevant point: The Path of Knowledge is diametri-

cally opposed to the Path of Choice, since the first is about splitting

perceptions, and the second is about uniting desires, aspirations and

converging ways to achieve the goal together. The process ends at the

Individual and Interactive contemplation exercise:

8a. Individual contemplation. After building together the

Goal and Means, the individuals will again be invited to go inward

and access the current feelings. The subject of contemplation to be

hold is: How are you feeling now? The purpose during this phase is

to check if the Path of Choice (the Future) is clear, organized and in

accordance to inner principles and values.

8b. Interactive contemplation. During the interaction, if any

missing piece still exists, this is the space to offer it to the group.

Otherwise, if the question evolved over better decisions, it is time to

welcome good feelings and well being.

The purpose of the contemplative practices insertions over the

Dynamic Judgment Formation is to balance the development of both

the group and the individual. These three short periods give a chance

for unsolved individual questions to arise, and the opportunity to ad-

dress it properly with more conscious people. The continuity of the

question can take place within or outside the group. What matters

right now is the clarity which the group issues and their individual

counterparts were negotiated. This is one possibility I propose to live

healthy between polarities: establishing dialogue across group process

and individual freedom.

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