The Deep Path
I&';ve always liked to go deep. Yeah, so maybe not so much when I need to get to the root of something that&';s bothering me. But still, I usually like to go deep. The Deep Path is gentle and beautiful. Or at least, it often is.
When I was young, I liked to allow myself to sink to the bottom of the pool and lay there face up for the longest time. This was amusing to the younger children. It might have caused concern for the life guards. But, I knew my limits and came back up while I still had plenty of air remaining.
I don&';t have to worry about staying emotionally grounded. That&';s a given. I&';m usually grounded all the way to the core of the earth.
I go deep to solve problems. My book Solutions Galore explains some of my techniques for doing that. I help people solve problems to make this world a better place. Rihanna, the Mother of Trees is a Mystic Poem I wrote which talks about the Deep Path. I wrote The Road to Connectionburg about the Deep Spiritual Path.
The Deep Path looks at problems through a different lens. We ask the deep questions. We listen deeply in order hear the deep answer. Deep answers often require spending time looking at things from a design perspective. They often require lots of analysis.
Deep Listening requires us to listen. This might mean that we need to quiet our minds. Perhaps we need to quiet our anxiety. But if we stuff things down, that&';s not helpful either. And sometimes, we need to move in order to hear. Listening, means that we not only listen to what&';s being said, we listen to what&';s not being said. We also listen to what the Wind is telling us. It means listening to thoughts and images which come our way. But not all of those are useful. We need to listen with compassion. Deep listening means not thinking of the next thing to say. Deep listening means waiting to say something. It means being respectful and giving others a chance to speak. It also means speaking when it&';s your turn or when you&';re being prompted to say something.
The Deep Path means following the underlying currents, rather than what appears at the surface. We&';re not trying to uncover anything in particular. Rather, we&';re waiting to see what wants to be uncovered. The Deep Path looks at things from several angles. We want to know who this affects, not only now, but in the future. We want to know why we&';re asking the question.
There are several deep paths. I follow the gentle one where beauty and hope are abundant.
Each may travel their own deep path. Deep answers will surface more quickly when we work together.
I&';m developing an event called Picnics on the Beach. Picnics on the Beach offer a chance for deep discussion. A presenter, perhaps yourself, will present a topic that they want to deeply discuss. This is usually something that the presenter is looking for answers to. Yet they&';re currently stuck or they feel like they&';re making very little progress. When the presenter is done with the presentation, they get to ask a few questions. These questions are often along the lines of How do I move forward?. What the presenter is usually trying to ask is, How do I go deeper with this?
At this point, the panel will draw the presenter into a deep discussion about their topic. After having listened deeply, the panel are ready to respond and help the presenter reflect more deeply. This is also a chance for those on the panel, perhaps yourself, to offer their wisdom, including tools and people who might help the presenter further. And it&';s a chance to share helpful insights that the panel has received while practicing deep listening.
Picnics on the Beach can take many formats. In one, they take place on the Beach. All are welcome to eat what they&';ve brought as they listen to the presenter and the discussion. There will be time to let the surface clutter drop away. There will be time to get in touch with the Wind. There will be time for everyone to enter their own deep path where answers await. Sometimes the answer that&';s needed is a sense of reassurance and peace. Sometimes the answer is that there&';s something deeper which needs to be done or explored. Yet, many times, the Deep Path provides more immediate answers, once which where unimaginable, just a moment before. These answers often bring deep joy.
