Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McInley, February 6, 2022

Exploring Ourselves

Dialogue session with Jackie McInley (online)

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Present: 13

This was the first in a series of bi-weekly dialogue sessions, from February to June, with Jackie McInley who was this time facilitating from Ojai where she had been invited to help support KFA activities. Participants from Canada were joined by others from the US, Sweden and Australia. Introductory comments by Ralph were followed by an introduction to dialogue by Jackie. It is meant to be a space for finding out about ourselves, observing who or what we are, and not to come to any conclusions. Also, to see how thoughts and emotions can cloud communication. She suggested we start by looking at where we are stuck in our lives. Several people commented and one person raised the question: Why do we tend to take things personally? and this question became a main theme for the session. Insecurity and a sense of vulnerability were raised as factors of reaction, leading to the question: Are we aware of the past operating when we react? Also we tend to take the familiar as our reality and can we venture into the unfamiliar?

One person mentioned that a sense of caring in his work in a group home allowed him to see also the other person’s perspective, which made him less reactive. This generated an exploration of what is ‘caring’. Is it conditioned by the past and is there a caring that is not attached to people? Also, is there a caring for one’s own reactions? Jackie skillfully guided the dialogue around these questions and the central theme of why we tend to take things personally. When one person new to this kind of dialogue said he was still not clear about the purpose of the session so far, she clarified that it was about looking at what we don’t always look at and ably addressed his concerns to his satisfaction.

As an aside, David is away in February and will return in early March.