Most of us are terrified of conflict, says Arnold Mindell, PhD, author
of fifteen books and internationally recognized for his innovative
synthesis of Jungian therapy, dreams, and bodywork. But we needn't be.
His burning passion is to create groups and organizations where everyone
looks forward to group processes instead of fearing them. He calls this
the deep democracy of open forums, where all voices, thoughts, and
feelings are aired freely, especially the ones nobody wants to hear.
Since 1992, one of Mindell's prime interests has been the bringing of
deeper awareness to group conflicts. Conflict work without reference to
altered states of consciousness is like a flu shot for someone in a
manic or depressed state of consciousness. Most group and social
problems cannot be well facilitated or resolved without access to the
dreamlike and mystical atmosphere in the background. The key is becoming
aware of it.
Mindell introduces a new paradigm for working in groups, from 3 to
3,000, based on awareness of the flow of signals and events. You can
take the subtlest of signals indicating the onset of emotions such as
fear, anger, hopelessness, and other altered states, and use them to
transform seemingly impossible problems into uplifting community
experiences.
As Mindell explains, I share how everyone--people in schools and
organizations, communities and governments--can use inner experiences,
dreaming, and mysticism, in conjunction with real methods of conflict
management, to produce lively, more sustainable, conscious communities.
