Redirection

Yesterday I mentioned the importance of being able to suspend our views in order to make space so that we can hear what others are saying.  Suspension is the first step towards increased awareness or deep listening. 

Suspension on its own does not necessarily lead to great change until the listener begins to see patterns in what they are hearing.  As these patterns emerge, the listener can redirect their attention to them.  This is the second step, known as redirection.  As the boundaries between seer and seen dissolve, the source of the reality they encounter becomes clearer.  (Presence, page 43.)

It is important to be aware of what is meant by 'source' here.  It is the reality of what is behind the object or relationship but it should not be thought of as some sort of Platonic ideal.  There is no single truth underlying the world as we perceive it; because the world is in constant flux. 

1. There is some element of connection between seer and seen.  I am a part of the systems I observe.  This clearly parallels the experience of scientists who study quantum mechanics and have found that as observers they are in fact a part of the system they are observing.  How much more so in human or soft systems, where the observer is inevitably related to the system through relationships and the baggage they bring to making their observations.  Of course this means our experiences will be 'different for everybody'.
2. Similarly these systems, for example networks of Christian traditions, change with time.  This means that all of us have a part in changing the system and of course the system will change us. 

How much easier would ecumenism be if we were able to freeze all change so that we were able to agree to changes?  The problem is that even were we able to do this, changes initiated by us or others beyond our control can render change futile or irrelevant.  As Presence (page 45) succinctly puts it:

When people who are actually creating a system start to see themselves as the source of their problems, they invariably discover a new capacity to create results they truly desire.

This should have profound implications for ecumenists.  It challenges us to be aware that we are a part of the problem but also that when we understand this we might collectively be in a position to map a way forward. 

It seems to me this view takes seriously the challenge of human sinfulness whilst at the same time allowing for the possibility of real change.  I will in a later post show how for Methodists this makes sense as an instance of John Wesley's doctrine of sanctification.