Bread of Life partners with the Centre for Contemplative Dialogue including serving as faculty for the 2-year competency based Certification Practicum for Contemplative Dialogue Facilitators & Trainers. The ‘Collective Mind’ character is the Centre logo.

We offer:

• the 4-day Contemplative Dialogue intensive
• periodic refreshers for practicioners
• mentoring for practitioners in their on-going development 
• off-site work with communities and organizations

The Need

Developing the capacity to learn together in public requires intention and skill. One of the most important tools for creative collaboration is dialogue in which there is thoughtful exchange of information and perspective without defendedness or the need to push a position.

Dialogue at its best leads to a common understanding as people with different gifts, point of view and values grow in capacity and willingness to think creatively together. It is rare in most organizations. Far too often bright, competent, caring individuals feel stymied by "politics" and conflict in business, education, healthcare, and church communities alike. When things go unstated (except in parking lot conversations) or periodically blow up, barriers grow that limit our ability to envision and achieve goals.

The Approach

The Path of Contemplative Dialogue is a training program designed to give organizational leaders an experience of authentic dialogue and the training to initiate dialogue in their own settings. Good intentions are not enough; a genuine desire and skill are needed.

The three related stances of contemplative awareness, non-defended engagement and non-violence develop through the applied practice of powerful tools and frameworks.

Authentic dialogue as learned and practiced in The Path of Contemplative Dialogue training:

• Helps people to work together for the common good beyond simple advocacy for their own position.
• Helps facilitate a level of communication that allows for each individual to be fully present, engaged and to interact with integrity.
• Allows for diverse opinions to be articulated without dividing or devastating people.
• Facilitates efficient, productive meetings as less time is wasted on politicizing, strategizing and dealing with unspoken barriers.
• Helps work through issues of personal and organizational mistrust.
• Allows the spirit of the organization or group to reveal itself as a positive foundation for collaborative and cooperative interrelationships.

For more information contact Jean Holsten.  

Reflections on the power of the practice:

Bob Justman reflects on how his work with the Path of Contemplative Dialogue (PCD) affected KVIE, the 'corporate body' where he worked.

Whether serving as an incident commander in a forest fire or in a government board room, Jules Lebouef finds that Contemplative Dialogue practice makes all the difference.

As chief counsel for the government office of Sustainable Resource Development in Alberta, Canada, Grant Sprague finds the practice of contemplative dialogue a liberating method of moving potentially contentious deliberations forward.