The Art of Practice (part 1?)

I like this picture.

For the mere fact that the one who is sharing is at a 'lower' level and is sharing it as if offering a gift to a King.

For is that not the best way to share what we love the most?

So what does practice have to do with sharing?

From my humble experiences as serving as a tutor in the Ruhi Institute process, often times it is remarked that fuller understanding can be achieved upon practice.

And I have even almost preached this concept to quite a number of individuals.

Where if we do not apply what we have learnt, we will never fully understand what is actually written.

And the most common of acts in building capacity is that of sharing. But how do we share in a way which builds capacity and not impose our understanding on others?

I just came back from visiting another individual who is involved in accompanying others to build their capacity to serve from the study of the Bahai writings. She had been having some challenges in facilitating the discussion on the materials.

Upon visiting her, I had to do my own research on the material she was using. And I thank the Lord for the amount of re-discovery I had made through the materials.

For one thing, concepts which I had taken a mental note to remember before, I had forgotten, but upon sharing it with this individual, it is ingrained in my mind now.

I dare not profess that I have fully understood how practicing what we have learnt from the things we have read will increase our understanding but I dare say this:

The art of sharing (not imposing) brings forth such profound joy that I will go the extra mile (though after a long day at work) because nothing beats the feeling of having know that another person can now enjoy the benefits of ALSO understanding a certain topic to a higher level.

Perhaps, it is the implication of this which will hold more profound meaning.

Did they get it?

I am sure that is a question many of us ask ourselves when we are done trying to 'correct' or 'help' a person to better their ways.

So how DO we know if they got it?

I just got back from a visit to a family where we had a lovely chat about how they plan to bring their neighbourhood closer together...and then we went on to chat more about our work and really how we can make things better at work.

I found myself sharing quite a number of thoughts with them, at times it seemed like the right thing to do, yet at times it seemed as though I could come off as a 'know-it-all'. Though they were very lovely to accept everything I had to say with big smiles and nods.

So how DO we build capacity without coming out looking as a 'know-it-all'?

As I was reflecting on the way back, I think both these 'how' questions can be answered based on the coherence within ourselves. This is me trying to gain coherence between what I was thinking and what I had said:

Was I sharing my thoughts and ideas or was I partaking of a consultation where new ideas arose?

Did I know all of those things I said before I was there? Or did my thoughts on it refine further after that discussion we had?

Was their capacity built (did they get it)? or was OUR capacity built (did WE get it)?

I read from a book called 'Developing Genius' (was about consultation) that true consultation had taken place from when everyone leaves with their understanding somewhat advanced.

So DO we build capacity when we only impart what we know without furthering our understanding?

I personally like to believe that we should be looking for the 'a-ha!' moment within ourselves rather than those we are helping build capacity...when we are in the process of accompanying others to build capacity. =)

The capacity building power of UNITY

So what does unity have to do with how well we can assist others in building their capacity?

Can there be unity without equality?

Can a leader be equal to his team members?

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to be in a design project team where we decided to choose me to serve as a leader (or at least that's how I saw it, hehe). This design project team had to compete with some other design teams in the same time frame but there were no restrictions into the manner our team had to operate.

So I had suggested that in our team, we only decide on a design where everyone is agreeable to it, where there would be no one member to agree to disagree. I've read somewhere that this is called 'unity in thought'. And the reason for this move is to ensure that when we go on to design further, everyone would be functioning at full capacity because when people do things in which they are not in agreeance with, the capacity of the group is significantly lowered.

And hence, we went through the entire project with this same unity of thought which really served us well when we faced problems and everyone was able to contribute to decision making at their highest levels.

The learning which I gained the most in this experience was the need of the elected leader to maintain unity by certain actions or inactions. They are:-

a. To not feel the need to dominate decision making.

b. To have utmost faith in the members to step up when they need to.

c. To not dwell on the shortcomings of others.

d. To maintain a consultative atmosphere amongst members.

e. To allow prejudice no place to reside

f. To make every effort to take out any threats to the unity of its members.

Is it not just beautiful yet ironic that the best way to build capacity is in doing it together rather than just teaching what you know to others?

To give or to help build?

Hi guys, there is only one reason which really stands out as to why I am starting this blog: the need to share about the act of capacity building.

So why did I choose such an interesting title?

The story begins on how I have started to notice more and more on the human capability of accompaniment. So what is accompaniment? I will most certainly not dare to answer that question in a short sentence. But what I have found is that there are many individuals in different kind of fields who become great individuals in whatever they do, so much so, that when they leave, that field or working space is void of its original capacity.

Why is it so difficult to pass on what you know...completely?

I for one think because we now live in a world where so much information is made available to us, the only thing we can give to others is what we learnt through what is not written. Hence, the name of my blog.

I will be sharing of personal stories or those I come across which shows the innate ability of humans to accompany others in building their capacity...but in doing so, certain fundamentals of conventional methods will be questioned.

Please feel free to comment on any post I put, I love discourse.