Ways of Knowing™ Symposium: Exploring the Role of Intuition in Health & Healing

World Café/Dialogues: Next Steps

Facilitators:  
Cheryl Kartes and Edie Meissner

The World Café, one of the 2007 Symposium’s last activities, is a technology based on small conversation circles and is designed to tap a group’s collective intelligence. 

An intimate circle of 5 – 6 people dialoguing about important issues captures Margaret Mead’s statement, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Participants, who sat at small ‘home’ tables throughout the Symposium, had 20 minutes to dialogue about each of 3 questions.  They were invited to write and draw key ideas on their paper tablecloths during the conversations.  At the end of the first 20 minutes, all but one (the designated host) of each table’s members moved to other tables where they conversed with a new group of people for twenty minutes.  Before their new conversation began, the designated host reviewed the previous group’s contributions.  The newly assembled group could respond to the previous offerings, or go in a different direction. Key conversation ideas were written on the paper tablecloth again. 

People returned to their ‘home’ tables for a final round of conversation. Then the ‘home’ table appointed a spokesperson who reported key concepts to the whole group.  During this table summary, the facilitators captured the contributions on large sheets of paper placed in the front of the room for all to see.  The final product of this process reflects the deeper, collective intelligence of the Symposium community.

This communal intelligence was focused around three questions.

Question #1:
What have you experienced that provides the greatest opportunity to
impact your life and those you serve?

Key collective responses included:

Importance of oxytocin Heart as a vessel Hearing our many stories Dean Radin’s research Varieties of intuition

Affirmations galore Radiant & resonant heart Safety A container of connections

Question # 2:
When you return home, how will you use this for yourself and your organization?

Key collective responses included:

Teaching students to trust and develop their intuition Honoring other’s intuition Remember the importance of setting intention Overcome fears

Sharing this information beyond here Heart receptivity—radiant and resonant heart Legitimize trust Deepen body work experiences

Question # 3:
You are planning this gathering next year. How does it look?

Key collective responses included:

More integration of science and experiential Work groups of topic Develop curriculum for healthcare professionals Create a collective research agenda

Bring in patient’s perspective Develop common terms More opportunities to hear each other’s stories Emphasize the body more More diversity and more folks at the table

Plans for a 2008 Ways of Knowing Symposium will take into
consideration the ideas that emerged at the 2007 World Café.

Thanks to World Cafe facilitators, Edie and Cheryl.  

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