Roseanne Lopez began with the 4-day training for Dynamic Dialogue, moved into the two year practicum and now uses the tools learned as she consults with churches, businesses and other organizations. We were recently able to sit down for a zoom interview with Roseanne about the impact this Bread of Life program has had in her life.
Dynamic Dialogue is many things to many people—a set of learnings and tools to increase one’s self-awareness and your level of awareness of how to be in the world. It pulls together various types of learnings and recognizes the different learning styles of the participants. There is opportunity to utilize the tools enough to understand them in a way that you can call upon when a situation invites that type of tool.
Dynamic Dialogue is about ways of being in the world—both the quality of our presence and the quality of our engagement in the world. We enter into engagement with the understanding that we need to be aware—having compassion with self and others.
At end of first 4 days of training I realized it had truly changed my life. The I went into the 2 year practicum, which gave me more depth to look at so many things in my life.
It changed the way I do the work I do professionally (consulting). It took my interaction with my clients to a different level of quality—it stepped it up. Made me realize that I so love the work I do.
Aha moments—many in the 4 day class—because there was such a variety of background in the individuals participating, I heard perspectives very different than my own.
When I facilitate dialogue workshops—I see and hear the same thing happening, and the feedback at the end of a workshop often people saying, “I could never have imagined I could see things in this way.”
Looking at the aha moments—the clarity with which I could see things that I never anticipated and I was saying, “Oh my gosh, I have been living my whole life this way and now I see it so differently.” That in itself was a blessing and a gift. I realized it is my choice now how I want to move through life and how I want to react. Am I willing to be in a different space than the patterns of behavior I have been in for years? I never thought I would have that level and depth of clarity around choice.
It helps with how to sort through what do I really want to react to and how do I want to react.
How do I want to ask questions? How do I want to deal with judgment versus inquiry? Do I want to show up and judge everything that I hear? Or do I want to be curious when I meet someone, and can I be open to seeing them, hearing them, and acknowledge them as a sacred being with value?
If I profess really wanting to be a “good human being”, then how am I going do that? What are those tools that I can utilize so I can be clear and I can be open and meet others where they are and for who they are.
Roseanne’s Message to the world:
“Pause—think about how you want to show up and how you want to be.”
