The Indirect Path
Sometimes the best path is the indirect path. Words aren't meant to always convey information the way we think of information. In some cases (the most critical cases?), words are meant to bring forward an understanding that can only be found by looking sideways at a thing---a problem, our lives or relationships, our connection to something bigger than ourselves.
Thus, art. And, thus, why art in some unconventional places. It's a big part of why I use poetry in a lot of the things I do. Almost always, when I lead the men's group I facilitate into grounding, I bring in a poem -- something that resonates with questions that seem to be circling our group.
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
~ From 'Lost,' by David Wagoner
I've used poems in corporate/organizational retreats. Not as a way of creating a feel-good space, which I've experienced and really don't like. Instead, I use them to help break past the thinking mind, to help create a different experience in the space. To help reorder the way that we are imagining our lives and our work.
When you find your way to the circle, to the fire kept burning by the keepers of your soul, you will be welcomed.
~ From 'For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet,' by Joy Harjo
Poetry can help create a state experience that moves us out of our conditioned ways of approaching what's in front of us (be it something personal or something professional. It can help us shake ourselves out of the limitations imposed by our beliefs.
Of course, the indirect path isn't limited to poetry (or to words!). What is now years ago, I had the benefit of receiving support from a marvelous coach -- Dan Oestreich. He encouraged me to engage in a practice that I still dabble in today:
Get some black construction paper.
Get some pastels.
Put a tiny white dot in the middle of that paper and then go to town -- don't think, don't analyze, simply let the hand carry the colors.
What emerges is an image that may tell you something about where you are or where you might go. It did me. Doing three, four, or five of these in a row in rapid succession can tell you quite a story.
Imagine applying this same idea to other arts (many do!). Improv is being used in organizations these days. The Theater of the Oppressed has become a powerful social change tool. The arts -- these forms of the indirect path -- are a remarkable way to help us bring forward something deeper.
Often, I find that these approaches invite me to the edge of myself, to the place of growth that is calling to me. Other times, they help me see what's in front of me with fresh eyes. It's all too easy for us to believe that the world, and what is possible, is made up of the things that our conscious minds understand to be true.
The indirect path is a way to see beyond that conditioning. To help bring forward something wholly new.
