Appreciative Inquiry at Ordinary Mind

This week we embarked on a process of appreciative inquiry for our Ordinary Mind sangha. It will unfold over four Sundays, two at the end of one year and two at the beginning of a new one. We are taking stock of where we are and where we would like to go together at the start of a new era. Today was week one of the inquiry process. We hope you will participate as well, so I am sending along these questions.

Week one

Part one

Please find a partner, someone you feel comfortable talking with:

In pairs, each partner in turn, please give a personal account, describing in as much detail as possible either
A time when you felt the promise of this practice for your life, or
Something this year that filled you with joy, when you felt most engaged, challenged, alive.

Part two

Imagine we asked someone who knows you well to describe the three best qualities they see in you. What would they say?

Now think about over time what fosters your own practice and development on your spiritual path. Can you describe what you’ve observed, what generates growth and aliveness for you?

Part three

Please come prepared to discuss this next Sunday, for Week two of our shared inquiry:

With a partner, discuss: suppose you fell asleep for a good long time, and when you woke up, Ordinary Mind had been extraordinarily evolved, a place and community and teachings that you dreamed of is completely realized. What is going on? What is the environment like? What are people doing? How are you involved differently than right now? What were the keys to this extraordinary success? How did all this happen?