I was trying to explain Otto Scharmer’s Theory U to a workshop group. It is heady stuff, and I was making it hard going.
One table of participants, though polite, were bored and frustrated. I gave them an exercise on ‘listening’ to explore Scharmer’s ideas (open mind, open heart, open will). My colleague Chia sat with the group.
Suddenly one of the participants exclaimed in astonishment at her own realisation: “Oh no… I NEVER listen!”
I wish us all such revelation.
Wishing the future
Theory U talks about responding to an ’emerging future’. I didn’t really know what it meant until I keep a diary but I rarely read it. Today I did. What I noticed is that many of the things I am doing now that are new skills, new practices, appeared in that diary. Usually as a tiny, fledging idea, a wish. Then over a few months, sometimes years, they come to fruition as fully fledged practices. But I am not really conscious of the process. I only notice them when they are well developed. I forget that in the past, they were just thoughts, ideas, wishes.
So I recommend a practice. Pay attention to those quiet, gentle things. If they persist, introduce them. Give them some structure. Start with one minute a day. Then build on them.