Dialogue Final Paper Excerpt 4: What did I learn?

My fourth and final excerpt from my final paper for the winter Dialogue course.

We were asked to describe what we learned from our experience in the course. I can honestly say it was a deeply transformational class, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Below are some highlights.

Dialogue Final Paper Excerpts 4: What did I learn?

The dialogue class has been a powerful and moving experience for me. On an educational level I have been introduced to a new approach for bringing people together, a way for a group to build shared meaning and common understanding. On a personal level I have gained new insight into my own process of thinking.

From an educational point of view I came into the course excited about dialogue, already a believer in its goals and vision.

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Despite this initial enthusiasm I struggled with the unstructured nature of the dialogue experience. In other intentional conversations I’ve participated in there have always been concrete goals, a certain path to a desired outcome. Dialogue is organic and unpredictable and, although I liked the idea, I couldn’t quite picture how it would develop.

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Over time, however, I began to feel the power of the unstructured nature of dialogue. Every night I would go into the conversation with no idea of what to expect and leave with a deeper sense of the group and a stronger sense of shared meaning. I became more aware of my own thinking and more open to the thinking of others, and felt a similar metamorphosis in the rest of the group.

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On a personal level I am leaving dialogue with a deep appreciation for the importance of examining my own thinking and suspending the judgments that often fill my thoughts. The experience of sitting in class and focusing on being open, suspending my reactions and just absorbing what others are sharing, affected me deeply. Sometimes suspension was easy, and required no real effort. Other times I found myself fighting to let go of judgment, to set aside my instinctive critical reactions to what others were sharing. Certain topics were easy to step back from while others required a tremendous effort.

The opportunity to examine my reactions and judgments was very powerful. I often found myself surprised at my feelings, realizing perspectives and biases that I carry hidden away, largely outside of my normal perceptions. Suspending those reactions and opening myself to the voices of others felt deeply liberating, as though I was stepping out of confines I hadn’t even known where there.

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