“This is the missing link. There is no “me” without “we”, and we could actually develop both the me and the we.”
Toby Chaudhuri
Currently we are facilitating courageous dialogues to help communities address tensions, hurts, and polarization across the Israel - Palestine divide. We know we are not the first or only efforts to create dialogues, and we are grateful to share that our dialogues work. People feel relief and healing as a result of participating, and in the process we foster understanding and strengthen connection and community. While this is the current pressing issue dividing communities, our work goes beyond this issue.
One Example:
Mass General Hospital Institute of Health Professions – the Faculty, Students, Staff of MGH were in conflict, with tension on listservs across the Israel-Palestine divide. We were invited to design and facilitate a dialogue for the community. Kimberly Truong of MGH IHP: "Jen Wofford has been skillful in designing a dialogue and facilitating difficult conversations in a contained way that helps participants to heal and see the humanity in others, especially during a time when communities are so divided. She effectively models how to have courageous and caring dialogue."
“I was blown away by the depth of your heart-centeredness and the safe container you created. I’d love it if there was a way for you to teach, around the world, mediation and how to lead dialogues on various heated/inflamed/controversial topics.”
Leonard Rosenbaum, holistic health coach
“I have been a social worker for over 50 years, and have never seen this work done so consciously and compassionately.”
Ani Grosser
Sometimes a group or a community is stuck in a painful conflict. Sometimes organizations are struggling with internal tensions which they haven’t known how to resolve. We know how to help people address global conflicts and interpersonal tensions. We’ve developed a model for effective, facilitated dialogues across divisions; a model that works even across reactive tensions of the Israel - Palestine divisions.
Because of the sensitive nature of the dialogues we do not have photos of dialogues to present.
How do we design effective Dialogues across Divisions?
Why does it work? Because our approach is rooted in Grounded Resilience skills. We first create a container for the gathering with clear guidelines and training. Before we begin the dialogue, we offer a set of two skills to help people manage their inner reactivity and self-regulate, knowing that at times people may feel reactive, angry, upset, and we teach them how to manage those moments with grounded resilience. Next we teach people a set of two skills for how to talk across divisions, how to understand each other and how to offer validation even when you disagree. These are the base of Grounded Resilience skills. When we then begin the dialogues, going in rounds, we’ve found that people are better equipped to manage their own reactivity and listen to understand. We’ve found that people who were quite worried or angry initially, are now able to offer validation and empathy to each other, and speak of their own experience and views from a grounded, heart-centered place. Our dialogues have been transformative for communities that had previously felt stuck in painful division. We will gladly make our model available to any group. We are ready to offer training and on-site assistance to design and lead facilitated Dialogues across Divisions. We can’t offer photos of this work because it is often a private space where people can begin to untangle the conflicts and heal the divisions.
“In organizations, people are looking to the top for guidance, and things fall apart in disarray. People don’t have the skillset to work it out. I’ve seen the work CGA did, people were hurting, in so much pain, and they brought people together and provided a skill set needed to hear each other“
Jane Daniels
We have experience successfully helping organizations and groups untangle where they are stuck, including for communities across the tensions of Israel-Palestine divisions, with a Black-led racial justice group, and for a Buddhist teaching collective – simply as examples to say that many groups have conflicts. In all cases, the groups report the tension was eased or resolved, and they experienced healing and increased connection.
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Dialogues Across Divisions
We provide communities and groups with skillful, courageous, facilitated dialogues to address conflicts and rifts.
Why does our model work?
First, we create a skillful container with guidelines and structure, then we teach participants two steps for managing our internal reactive parts, and two steps for talking to each other across differences, and then we facilitate the dialogue.
“This is exactly what I've been looking for, for years actually, to facilitate class discussions about current events where emotions are high and the students have a wide range of points of view and knowledge.” Sarah, Professor & Program head, International and Global Studies at UNCG
“Your approach to inclusive communication/conversation is impressive and impactful.”
