These are
books and audio recordings I have found inspirational and helpful in the past
several years. There are Amazon.com links for those items available
through Amazon.com. Please let me know of your favorites and new
discoveries that are not listed.
Centered on the Edge: Mapping a Field of
Collective Intelligence & Spiritual Wisdom
Centered On the Edge - Mapping a
Field of Collective Intelligence & Spiritual Wisdom is a 90 page exploration
into those moments of magic when collective insight, co-creation and action
emerge within groups. Over 100 people were surveyed about their work with groups
and 61 were interviewed. The authors have endeavored to mirror back what these
people said; to bring form to the images and energies that pulsated throughout
this process; to capture some of the textures and multi-dimensionality of the
deeper harmonic which were heard and felt.
At the heart of Centered On the Edge is an intricately woven braid of
three strands of writing. One strand of this braid is a series of eight pattern
stories written by Alan Briskin. Each story is an excerpt from one of the
interviews, followed by commentary from Alan highlighting some of the insights
and paradoxes the stories reveal. We call these "pattern stories" because the
themes, organizational elements, and group dynamics evident in each story
appeared repeatedly throughout the interviews. The first pattern story, "The
Least Qualified Among Us" is available for printing or viewing.
Interwoven with the pattern stories is a second strand of writing, the
principles. Given form by Chris Strutt, these principles also emerged from the
transcripts, and are organized into three categories: Elements of the
Experience, Significance of Gathering, and Practices for Preparing and Opening.
A summary of principles and full text of "Principles for Preparing and Opening"
are available for printing and viewing.
The third strand of this braid is the metaphor clusters. Joan Lederman read and
listened to every word of the transcripts, with an ear for the natural and
metaphoric ways people describe their experiences of collective intelligence and
spiritual wisdom.
To respond to the multi-dimensionality of the phenomenon and to honor the many
different ways readers may choose to access information and create meaning,
Centered On the Edge includes poetry; quotations; color; photography;
archetypal images; original art.
Janet
McCallen
This is a beautiful book, and I treasure it. It
isn't a textbook or a how-to book. It is a book of discovery, of images,
of stories, of exploration.
Order from:
http://www.fetzer.org/resources/CenteredOnTheEdge/thebook.htm
