Introduction

Building Community & Embracing Diversity

The Art of Compassionate Communication

Facilitation Skills: Decision Making & Conflict Resolution

Personal Empowerment & Leadership Skills

Celebrating Life:
Art & Creativity

Suspending

When we listen to somebody expressing a different opinion, we have at least two options:

Suspending is a concept introduced by the physicist David Bohm, extensively developed in his book On Dialogue, and means basically two things:

1. Suspending is to put our ideas and opinions between parentheses, separating them from the truth, and leaving space to other ideas and opinions.
2. Suspending is to observe and recognize our thoughts and feelings when they arise without having to act necessarily. For instance, when somebody says something that makes us angry, instead of expressing our anger outwards and being drawn into a rather predictable tension escalate, we may merely observe how this energy moves in our body and try to understand where it is taking us, what it is trying to tell us.

Suspending is difficult because we tend to get identified with our thoughts, to think that we are what we say. When somebody criticises or attacks our opinions, we feel personally attacked. With this in mind, giving in is like “suiciding”. How are we going to renounce our greatest values and beliefs?

Suspending is also difficult because we are too attached to the image we have built of ourselves. If we are strong, we won't accept anybody questioning or challenging this image. If we are weak, we may be afraid of our image being attacked or destroyed at any moment.

• Elements of Active Listening
• Elements of Deep Listening
• Suspending

The skills of Dialogue:

-Suspension - of judgment, decision making and status.
-Listening - with empathy, for understanding, showing you care
-Discovery - uncovering and sharing hidden assumptions in yourself and others.

Click on image to learn more about D. Bohm

"The Art of Conversation" - Magritte