Dialogue: A Culture of Inquiry
By: Marcela Richardson
At the MPC we thrive to be a culture of inquiry, having as an essential role, dialogues. Dialogues is that which takes part from mutual discussions of human beings, trying to arrive at a higher universal truth than the one previously held as the one and only. For this culture to be reached, one must live through different sorts of experiences, to learn from oneself by being exposed to diverse emotions that may leave you feeling uncomfortable. But it will stop being uncomfortable if one acts with authenticity and strives for learning continuously.
The nature of dialogues, don’t imply that one has to have all the answers. What’s more important are the questions being asked, and the reasoning behind why the person asked. In my case, I tend to remember most of the time the questions and not the answers. This means that in a culture of inquiry, the questions are exposed by the participants to make others think more deeply into their own individual believes. Creating a safety space to be able to listen others argumentation towards that question, responding under their own system of values, and what they think is true for them. It is very important to note that each individual has its own set of believes, and reasons of why they think that way, and one must be careful not to confuse truth with someone else’s opinion, because we all hold different truths at some point and might think differently regarding certain topics.
You might be asking then, is there just conflict between opposing point of views? Well no. That’s why the most important thing to come up with at first in a culture of inquiry is the creation of a common ground. This doesn’t mean to have the same mindset as everyone else, but rather creating the same ground that will allow each participant to distinguish between what’s real with what’s not. In order for this to happen, the participants must build their common rule set, which will indicate the standards of an ideal dialogue to be reached. There will be times that the rules already become implicit in the actions of the participants, and there will be no need to place them visually. This is when you have become a transmitter of the culture you created! Isn’t it amazing? Wherever you go you could transmit the values of what makes us civilized human beings, and really make a difference in someone’s life. Skills like, looking at others eyes when speaking, speaking one at a time, suspending assumptions will lead you to a life of success. Because you are treating others as they should be treated, as human beings, not objects.
Dialogues, is a process that has many phases. At first, one might feel one has a lot of doubts and struggles in understanding the text discussed, but in order for this not to happen, it is important that one takes with him notes, questions and comments on the text. Most importantly questions! Dialogues should always start with a question that will lead to a profound conversation between the participants and each of their individual opinions. It is also important to take references from the text, i.e. “I think the author is trying to transmit us the message of freedom, because in this passage he says… (Announces the page number, and everyone goes to it, and reads).” Showing evidence from the text will allow you to have a clear understanding of your claims, and will engage the participation of your colleagues because they are following the same process of discovery you had while reading the text. And there you have one key for having an argument with impact. After a while, the environment feels more relaxed and several connections are made.
One of the most important elements of dialogue is the ability to connect between different texts, authors, and personal experiences, creating your own combination of ideas towards a personal understanding. This will help you to have more clarity by seeking what’s more relevant to you and why you think it has a greater importance into what’s being currently discussed, through what you personally are going through. Things at the MPC, might often feel like serendipity, or as if someone is really planning the connections you will be having for you just to notice them, when it’s clearly not like that. Because all dialogues obviously are not planned, not a single mind can identify where the dialogue will be heading, or what understandings and learning will each individual acquire through the entire process, you come to the realization that all connections comes out naturally from human conversations trying to understand their surroundings. Therefore, you have created awareness into seeking authentic understanding on your own, and have acquired the entire responsibility that’s within you to be the one giving meaning to your own life.
At the MPC we thrive to be a culture of inquiry, having as an essential role, dialogues. Dialogues is that which takes part from mutual discussions of human beings, trying to arrive at a higher universal truth than the one previously held as the one and only. For this culture to be reached, one must live through different sorts of experiences, to learn from oneself by being exposed to diverse emotions that may leave you feeling uncomfortable. But it will stop being uncomfortable if one acts with authenticity and strives for learning continuously.
The nature of dialogues, don’t imply that one has to have all the answers. What’s more important are the questions being asked, and the reasoning behind why the person asked. In my case, I tend to remember most of the time the questions and not the answers. This means that in a culture of inquiry, the questions are exposed by the participants to make others think more deeply into their own individual believes. Creating a safety space to be able to listen others argumentation towards that question, responding under their own system of values, and what they think is true for them. It is very important to note that each individual has its own set of believes, and reasons of why they think that way, and one must be careful not to confuse truth with someone else’s opinion, because we all hold different truths at some point and might think differently regarding certain topics.
You might be asking then, is there just conflict between opposing point of views? Well no. That’s why the most important thing to come up with at first in a culture of inquiry is the creation of a common ground. This doesn’t mean to have the same mindset as everyone else, but rather creating the same ground that will allow each participant to distinguish between what’s real with what’s not. In order for this to happen, the participants must build their common rule set, which will indicate the standards of an ideal dialogue to be reached. There will be times that the rules already become implicit in the actions of the participants, and there will be no need to place them visually. This is when you have become a transmitter of the culture you created! Isn’t it amazing? Wherever you go you could transmit the values of what makes us civilized human beings, and really make a difference in someone’s life. Skills like, looking at others eyes when speaking, speaking one at a time, suspending assumptions will lead you to a life of success. Because you are treating others as they should be treated, as human beings, not objects.
Dialogues, is a process that has many phases. At first, one might feel one has a lot of doubts and struggles in understanding the text discussed, but in order for this not to happen, it is important that one takes with him notes, questions and comments on the text. Most importantly questions! Dialogues should always start with a question that will lead to a profound conversation between the participants and each of their individual opinions. It is also important to take references from the text, i.e. “I think the author is trying to transmit us the message of freedom, because in this passage he says… (Announces the page number, and everyone goes to it, and reads).” Showing evidence from the text will allow you to have a clear understanding of your claims, and will engage the participation of your colleagues because they are following the same process of discovery you had while reading the text. And there you have one key for having an argument with impact. After a while, the environment feels more relaxed and several connections are made.
One of the most important elements of dialogue is the ability to connect between different texts, authors, and personal experiences, creating your own combination of ideas towards a personal understanding. This will help you to have more clarity by seeking what’s more relevant to you and why you think it has a greater importance into what’s being currently discussed, through what you personally are going through. Things at the MPC, might often feel like serendipity, or as if someone is really planning the connections you will be having for you just to notice them, when it’s clearly not like that. Because all dialogues obviously are not planned, not a single mind can identify where the dialogue will be heading, or what understandings and learning will each individual acquire through the entire process, you come to the realization that all connections comes out naturally from human conversations trying to understand their surroundings. Therefore, you have created awareness into seeking authentic understanding on your own, and have acquired the entire responsibility that’s within you to be the one giving meaning to your own life.