THE CIRCLE OF AWARENESS

(click on image to enlarge)

Above, the result of an exercise we did in class off of the concept of PERCEPTION, EXPERIENCE, and EXPRESSION the three stages of the Youand Model, which is based on the traditional I-Statement from Conflict Resolution/Mediation and the Art Principle of SEEING, EXPERIENCING, and SHARING. Blended, they form an elegant model and tool for reflection on one's own thoughts and feelings and values, at any given moment. Which, within a Youand framework is rooted in The First Principle, from Epictetus, that states: ". . . From the start, then work on saying to each harsh appearance, 'You are an appearance, and not at all the thing that has the appearance.' Then examine it and assess it by these yardsticks that you have, and first and foremost by whether it concerns the things that are up to us . . . "

The image is but a partial one, as my scanner can not capture the entire page of the groups generated inclusions.

The Youand Model

(I-statement plus Perception, Experience, Expression)

I drew a circle, with another circle like a bull’s eye in the center. I called the entire circle THE CIRCLE OF AWARENESS (I just made the name up. Please call it whatever you like.)

The area outside the larger circle, I labeled the area of PERCEPTION.

The space between the inside circle and the outside circle, the area of EXPERIENCE.

The space inside the inner circle, NEEDS/WANTS/VALUES

We, (the group) brainstormed (wrote everything down that people said) that influenced our PERCEPTION:

History

- Past experience

- Memory

Media

Culture

Habits of thought

Age (generation)

Economics

- the haves

- the have nots

- the have a little, want mores

(from Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals")

Personality

Desires (wants)

Self Talk

Fear (emotion)

Archetypal Forces (like gravity, invisible yet powerful)

Needs

Convention

Preference

Environment

Socialization

Taste

World View (Point-of-View)

Religion

Emotions

Family influences

(I just now thought) Political leanings

All these, we agreed, influence the way we PERCEIVE things. So that each of us, influenced by any or combinations of these might PERCEIVE the same thing quite differently, depending on all of these influences. | We reflected on how, problematic it can be to act on what might only be an "appearance" of the thing itself. | Then we brainstormed about our EXPERIENCE of these PERCEPTIONS:

to Judge

to Label

to Prejudge (see a person of color, for example.)

to Avoid

to Assume

to Desire

to Stereotype

to Strategize

to Form interpretations

Thoughts

to Dismiss

and FEELINGS

I shared how FEELINGS are the pointers to the contents of the inner circle:

NEEDS/WANTS/VALUES

We pondered about the implications of all of this.

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"The final frontier may be human relationships, one person to another." -- Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut