PATTERN LANGUAGE WORK SESSION - BOWEN, JAN. 2011

Implement Decisions from Bowen Jan. 2011 "the 78" (now 82):

Boneyard:  Openness Toward Outcome:  Merge into Emptying, Trust the Wisdom of the Group, Follow the Energy, Emergence.  Try to bring this phrase “openness toward outcome” into the heart of one of those four (most likely Emptying-Letting Go).

Add:  Listening:  Include outcome of people feeling heard, and paying attention to more than just verbal (include nonverbal).  Check carefully Mirroring card, likely needs revisions in light of this, to avoid redundancy.

Add:  Rumination, as distinct from Action-Reflection, focusing on the latter half.  Thinking over, deliberating, considering in a measured and contemplative way.  Could be about process, but not necessarily.  (Tree stands aside.)

Add:  Synthesize & Summarize:  Related pattern is Divergence/Convergence (latter half).  Maybe later rename to shorter.  Making connections, threading, ref. Heather Gold, bringing awareness to group, distill to simplest, essential characterization.  Note relation to Common Ground.  Rename:  Distillation?

Add:  Go Meta:  Making process into the content, process becomes explicit topic of conversation.  Cultural dynamics, broader context.  Analysis of how things are playing out here in the room right now.  Higher, more abstract level of analysis.  Jump up.  Possibly rename later.  Related pattern:  Naming.  Maybe refer to Douglas Hofstedter.

Add:  Emptying-Letting Go.  Merge Clear Channel into this pattern.  Bring in some what Larry Pennings said along these lines.

Add: Honour Each Person.  We’d like to maybe find a better name for this.  Honour the individual.  Each person to be fully respected as an integral being, more than just their function in the group.  Tolerance, accommodation, embracing. 

Add:  Commitment.  Becoming aware of them, following through, taking the step to make it explicit what we are doing now and in the future, let it sink in.  Include something on implicit and explicit, when each happens or is important.  Results in energetic release.  Might include some stepping stones along the way.  Related pattern:  Taking Responsibility. 

Add:  Moving toward Alignment:  How you get there, activity toward, arriving at decisions, could include stepping stones along the way, or strategizing, need to know what threshold is.  Related patterns:  Priority Focus, Divergence & Convergence.

Add:  Informing the Group Mind.  Gathering the sense of the group, informing the group mind, accurate, compelling information being shared, gathering facts.  Related Patterns:  Feedback, Harvesting, Preparedness, Expert as Resource. 

Rename Questioning to Inquiry:  , include aspect of having a curious attitude

Rename Rest and Action in Balance to Rest.  Edit if needed to reflect new name.

Rename Margins vs. Centre to Valuing the Margins.  Acknowledge edges.

Rename Expert as Resource to Experts on Tap.

Rename Eating Together to Breaking Bread Together.

Rename Depersonalization to Not About You. 

Rename Hologram to Fractal. 

Rename Creating a Container, Holding the Space to Holding Space, while making sure that creating a container is still prominently discussed in the description.

Rename Improvisation as Improvisational Skill.

Rename Witnessing without Judgement to Witnessing with Compassion, including Empathy in the heart of it.

Rename:  Action-Reflection Cycle becomes Reflection-Action Cycle.

Rename Anticipation to Preparedness.  Replace “sensing problems just before they occur” with “anticipating problems that might occur.”  Includes Contracting, agenda-building, research.  Setting the stage, it’s about creation and not just avoidance.  Related pattern:  Invitation, Clear Channel.  Steal some content from Trajectory description to Preparedness description.

Merge Trajectory and Developmental Time Frame, call it Trajectory.

Merge Time Shifting and Reframing into Viewpoint Shift, making sure to bring those concepts/text over clearly to include in it.  Edit Viewpoint Shift is about stepping from my usual way of seeing things into another (not necessarily “someone else’s”). 

Edit Taking Responsibility:  amplify follow-up.

Edit Magic to take a bunch from Spirit.

Edit Spirit to focus more on recognizing, accessing, deliberate invocation, tuning in, of larger whole, universe, transpersonal, higher realms, Source, creative power of the universe.  Why: for wisdom, wholeness, takes us beyond our limited perspective, energy source, inspiration.

Edit Mirroring & Witnessing, Empathy:  not a new card, but review Mirroring and Witnessing to consider including the word “empathy” in heart(s)/descriptions.

Edit to potentially include concept of “transcend & include.”  Related to Emergence, Synthesize & Summarize, Holding Dissonance & Difference. 

Edit Power Shift to get more directly at issues of oppression (especially second half of heart).