HSLing Around the world

Mark Jones and Ashley Cooper have created a very accessible matrix for HSLing (a compassionate practice that Mark was inspired to create when charged by the Dalai Lama to "Teach the children peace." You can get a copy of that material from Ashley Cooper whom I will ask to post it here.

This is a report on my experience of teaching HSLing to seniors at The Modern School in Delhi India. FYI The Modern School is close to Connaught Circle on a 28 acre campus. It was founded ninety years ago, and takes inspiration from Gandhi (Be the Change...) and Rabindranath Tagore. Its Headmistress, Lata Vaidyanathan is an internationally respected leader in multi-intelligences socially responsible education. The school has just completed "greening" all their buildings, except for the heritage one which is not touchable. The school recycles, regenerates waste materials, reuses water, etc. It also has a very active partnerships with schools that are less well-off and with international programs. So I had a GREAT group of teachers and students to work with!!

Here is what we did:
There were five teachers, and about 24 students, sitting in an awkward circle around a conference room large table.

Materials: Ashley Cooper's HSLing for Parents handout. Felt drawing Pens. Writing pens and notebooks, large sheets of chart paper.

I asked people to introduce themselves by telling what their names mean. And started by introducing myself. (Indians have names that confer awesome powers!)

I welcomed all the gifts congregated in the circle, stressing the legacy of Gandhi "Be the change you are seeking in the world."

I asked the group: Why a circle? And they popcorned responses, which included "Everyone is equally a leader."

I asked them: What is inspired leadership? They popcorned more responses from which we drew the practice of compassion.

Then I introduced HSLing, telling Mark's story of the origins and we discussed the diagnostic patterns, using Ashley's sheet as well as Mark's more lengthy notes. At this point they were making notes, I did NOT give the a handout yet, preferring that they kinesthetically absorb the info. by making notes.

Then I asked for questions.

This took about an hour.

Practice: I separated them into groups of 3 to practice HSLing. One was the Interviewer, one the storyteller, and one the observer. They were instructed to switch roles until everyone had occupied each role. The storyteller was to think of an experience he/she had trying to be understood about some matter of great importance only to be frustrated that he/she was ignored or marginalized. The interviewer was to HSL in that order until the story was fully told. And to ask the person have you felt heard, seen and loved? to complete the session. The observer was to make notes and share them.

This process took about an hour.

Then they came back into the circle and we shared questions and reflections. The energy was very high, joyful, and bubbling.

I then gave them chart paper and felt pens, and instructed each trio to create a poster showing the ESSENCE of HSLing. (Using their visual/graphic intelligence and collective wisdom)

About 1/2 hour.

Then they showed and presented their posters to each other, with clapping and enthusiasm.

We then did final reflection. It was clear that for most this had been a transformational and welcome experience. I gave out Ashley's handout to everyone, including all the teachers.

I challenged the students to become a cadre of HSLers for the school and to engage further in the practice.

Followup:
The School counseller had not been able to participate in this experience, but came in afterward to debrief with me. She was very excited by the process and the posters, and left with the intention of applying HSLing to the peer mentoring program the school has between upper classmen and middle schoolers. And to look into a peer-peer program that could be developed with seniors themselves. The posters were mounted and displayed in her office starting that very afternoon.

The next day several HSLers participated in an OPen Space gathering of all the school stakeholders.They HSLed in many situations they engaged with. At the end of the OPen Space, four students and the counseller came to me telling me how valuable HSLing had been. One of them had not attended the workshop and wanted to be educated in HSLing. We agreed that the three who had already experienced the workshop would work with the counseller to offer a HSLing workshop modeled on the one they'd experienced.

I look forward to hearing from others who are experimenting with HSLing, and ask Mark and Ashley to post their handouts!! Here on my blog!