When people gather
-- for a meeting, important conversation, healing experience or
for creating something new, the place and surrounding of the meeting
significantly affect the quality of the experience and outcomes.
Such special (transformational) meeting places
are of a distinct and different order than ordinary meeting places.
These are often described by their overall Gestalt, ethos or embodied
felt-sense, as “aesthetically vibrant environments that come
alive”, places that feel like “coming home”, “spaces
that facilitate healing or generative thinking.” In broad
terms, we have begun to describe these special meeting places as
“transformative meeting places”. Transformational meeting
places can be found, on all of the continents and in all cultures.
Such places sometimes exist in powerful locations that are embedded
in or imbued by nature. They can also exist and be created in any
space or structure that is consciously infused with energy that
is life-giving and life-supporting. The power and influence of transformational
meeting places is directly related to the consciousness, the intentions
and the social interaction of those who convene and facilitate meetings
in these spaces and those who are responsible for their care and
keeping. |
This part of the
Collective Wisdom Initiative exists to point to and honor transformational
meeting places around the world. Along with The Powers of Place
Initiative, our intention is to engage those involved in stewardship
of places and those searching for places to gather to enable and
amplify the important work they are pursuing. Guided by the following
questions, we aim — with your help — to identify and
map transformational meeting places and the networks of people who
are creating and supporting them:
| |
•
|
Where are
these meeting places that have demonstrated their transformational
influence? |
| |
• |
What are the characteristics and qualities
they demonstrate?
|
| |
• |
How do they contribute to experiences
of transformation?
|
| |
• |
What is the collective potential of
interconnected transformational meeting places? |
Our intention is to seek to further understand
and articulate more precisely the nature of such transformative
meeting places and how to access the larger energetic field of which
they are a part. In doing so, we seek to make transformational meeting
places more visible and accessible to groups who gather in service
of a better world. |
