Thursday, September 24, 2015

Assessment 1

Assessment 1
PART ONE: Reflect on your day. In the space provided, enter the percent of your time you felt engaged in each level of listening. The total should equal 100%.

Level 1: Downloading * 15
Listening from your habits, from what you already know; the result is you re-confirm what you already knew. 
Level 2: Factual * 10
Noticing something new, something that differs from what you already knew or expected to hear. 
Level 3: Empathizing * 30
Listening from the place the other person is speaking from, experiencing/sensing an emotional connection. 
Level 4: Generative * 45
Connecting to the emerging future - to a future possibility that links to your emerging self; to who you really are.
Total *100


PART TWO: Join our action research by co-creating a global deep listening database. Share a story about a moment today when you experienced a shift from one level of listening to another. Then select the tag below that indicates which shift you experienced.

DESCRIPTION OF YOUR EXPERIENCE
It was at lunch after a meeting.  I came in from out of town as a guest.  My associate had been invited to help his friend with the AASHE STARS report.  Our University had completed it several times, and he had worked as my work-study student helping me during the last term to update it.  Now his friend in the next city over was trying to complete the STARS report at their University, so they invited me to help get an idea about what this meant.

The three of us had planned lunch and two others came along.  It was clear to me sitting at lunch that we were the most outspoken at the previous meeting.  Of course, everyone had questions for me, but now I was able to sit back and listen to the conversation.  I'm always sensing too much, and rarely will speak up unless asked.  Now being in a social place, I was able to state the obvious. . . . I told them how they were clearly at a place where they would benefit from something we were doing.  Change Leaders are few and far between, but often they are busy and full with projects and activities.  However, we found that meeting to share, just socially, can be critical to progress.

We are all pushing projects and actions everywhere.  However, to stop and share socially with others who are doing the same thing can really be powerful.  Not creating another project, another team, or event. . . but simply meeting monthly to share the challenges and struggles we have in our own.  Leaders sharing leadership ideas and concept is critical.  Of course one person said he was intimidated bringing together leaders because they want to know what they will get, what the meeting results will be. . . Ah, clearly someone not ready!  Not yet seeing the Big picture enough to step beyond doing and getting, and step into simply BEing and SHARing which is enough in itself.


first live sessions

Otto starts after the intro from Adam and the Wordles, 6500 replies, as shown in the last post . . . Course I have used Wordles before, there is so much that can be read into these, as so much is about words . . . now an example with Ian from CA with Water issues, trying to find new ideas! Perfect!

Next Otto speaks about how we each start with our own intentions, speaking about how it is to move into the "co-sences" moving into the co-experience we are in today, in this current moment of disruption we are experiencing.  They launched Ulab in January, 9 months ago. . . as prototype/experiment - - 25,000 participants, surprised by the self organized "Activating the dormant field of change."  Third live session in February, prepared for the closing, strong response was "you can't end now!"

We are "birthing a globally distributed community of inspired change makers" - - we need more, 4th live session in April.  Met with Berlin Team - - focused on making sense of this, what are we "called to do", where does this "field want us to do". . .

So he started a video with Edgar Mitchel (and others) talking about seeing the Earth, and how we need to care for it too. . . then posed two questions:
Connect with what touched you and turn the camera back on "planet earth / planet self":
Where are you experiencing a world that is ending or dying?
Course I have the answers that they put into a Wordle.  So what do I EXPERIENCE DYING?   Really seems like a funny question for me.  Having "been there done that," which really makes it a challenge for me to feel for others who struggle with grieving.  I've tried and gotten better with this, as my wife has been challenged with a few deaths.  I kinda see it as temporary, or really something that is an illusion like time and space.  Sure time and space are real for us NOW, as is death.  But they all fit into the same box for me. . .

So ME, "experiencing dying" now feels more like seeing what is dying around me.  And that is the old Paradigm.  The ways of greed and control are fast dying.  They are simply killing each other off, very quickly.  And the sad part is that they will continue doing this until they are gone.  So what do I see?  I see selfish arrogant choking all around me on their own desires.  It's something I tend to avoid completely.  But I see it around me, on the roads, in the streets, people and experiences others have in the old way of doing things that is slowing killing them. I wrote my brother again today.  Sent him some real news about how the press and media present what Business wants, not the truth.  And the truth is hidden and buried behind. . . Sounds like the New Soils Otto spoke about, where our seeds of Truth are well buried, ready to come up after all the greed scorches the surface!
I Experience the Dying of the old ways of living!
Next questions:
Where are you experiencing a world that is emerging or wanting to be born?
Funny this is about "where"?  That's kinda interesting, a place!  Of course, I am experiencing the emerging here where I am!  So it's emerging in Tampa Bay, and here at the Patel College of Global Sustainability.
Where something full or Love, Collaboration and the collective with people is born and growing real and true before our eyes.  Course I see this more now than ever, as our new leadership is far removed from the old paradigm or fear and control.

This lines up very well with the U-process Otto is talking about letting-go to let-come . . . by "tuning into our deeper source of knowing"

Begins by tuning into the inner leadership knowing, by opening up the mind, the heart, and opening the will to let-go and let-come.  To bring the emerging sense of self for creating a "new we". . .

So now is the really cool part, he started a meditation online for everyone who was there. . to do a "collective intention setting" . . . and this is when someone sent in a new note to the New Hubs.  Someone is San Francisco was traveling to St Pete, asking to connect here.  Course this is when I clicked into the first video and here was Otto making his Mindfulness Experience part of his course. . . course NOW I do it 10.19pm 9/24/2015 . . . "feel your feet . . . connect that you can feel downward . . . if we were trees we would have roots, but as people we can still sense this connection, all the way down to the middle of the earth"

YUM!!!  How cool is this. . . So when I got this email from San Fran I jumped to the current Live session and he was doing this meditation, "we all connect to the SAME EARTH, our HOME" as he says now 10.22pm.  But there is no time, so my work now is connecting to all then, as in my own intentions to be full in the space of connection and truth!
  • What is the highest future possibility that we as a community can step into?
  • What is the intention that we can set for ourself, and to out collective community?
  • Feel this intention rising from out heart. . . share it with us
And this was what I heard and felt as I got online the morning that it all started. And here is the Wordle they created next. . .

New videos today and I've not finished this post from the first one.  Course I wrote out two pages and lost it.  Why would such a program exist that doesn't save regularly or at least have the sense to store temp files in easily accessible places. . . feel like the cave-men are still running the planet!

Oh and Otto Ended the first live-session with this outline of the process, each step taking a week to do, or so...

Saturday, September 19, 2015

new course

ok, so this is a new online course. . . a MOOC.   And this is my commentary on it. . . First I followed the directions they provided and creating this profile on their webpage:
 What I found particularly interesting was their first day of class, started with a live stream from MIT, where Otto spoke to us about their work, plans and all about the course. . . I've not yet seen the complete video.  But as shown here at right, I started with filling in everything that they asked for. . . seemed like a good place to start.  This included signing up for a HUB with other students to work together.  No hubs in Florida yet, so I read their "hub Instructions" and left comment about  virtual hub with Google Hangout?  Quintin offered to join it with me, but I've invited him and never got a reply.  This means that every new comment was sent to me also.  So with the live lecture starting someone else asked about a St Pete Hub. . . which means I got an email for this comment. . . WHICH REMINDED me about the live session.  I found it again and clicked the link for the live session and Otto was closing his Mindfulness session.  How perfect!  It was really freaky perfect, because it was all but at the point of Prayer to Change the World.  When else would I show up?

Now today to finally watch the full video is really cool, as they posted a Wordle about the questions we answered in the profile page above. SO the first  and second questions had these cool images:





Friday, September 18, 2015

Welcome to U.Lab

Welcome | Welcome to U.Lab | 15.671x Courseware | edX: Welcome to U.Lab: Transforming Business, Society, and Self. FaceBook Page, Setup Ur own HUB

As of today, we are a wonderfully diverse group of 33,086 people from 182 countries.

We all live in a time of disruptive change, one that requires a new collective leadership capacity. In U.Lab, we invite you on a journey to see the world in new ways, and to practice a method that allows leaders, entire organizations, and larger social systems to connect with and actualize their highest future possibility.

Over the coming weeks, we will introduce you to Theory U, an approach to leading profound change that has been developed by action researchers at MIT, and practiced by leaders around the world, for over 20 years.

You will apply this method to a challenge, issue, or system that matters to you, and “explore the future by doing” - which means, you will develop a prototype initiative that connects the personal, relational, and systemic dimensions of change.

To support your journey, U.Lab works by (1) creating a highly personal, practical, and mindful online learning environment (2) blending it with an eco-system of place-based learning communities and peer coaching groups, and (3) hosting real-time live classroom sessions throughout the course.

We'll explain how this all works in just a moment! But first, let's begin with the basics - how to navigate this course


What-else!  Of course . . . we need everyone to start doing this too.  Like find some data and make a change!