In a message dated 6/1/02 6:29:53 AM, artsi...@mail.eunet.pt writes: << And you are right it is not only language. But body-language is also a "language", isn't it? And probably an even more profound language that the one people "speak". And I wonder if "culture" is not a meta-language...
So you have "language" (cultural) sensibility, isn't it? Maybe you don't speak Chinese but your body does ;-) >> I know that when we presented workshops in Mexico, with simultaneous translation, our client not only provided translators, but gave us some coaching on body language--which helped a little, though probably not enough. When I watch Brazilians, for example, dance the samba, I recognize that there are some languages my body will probably never speak very well! Re: football--we are seeing the same crosscultural phenomena in American baseball. Many professional players are Puerto Rican and, in recent years, Japanese. In a few games this year, outstanding players on both teams are Japanese, and many Japanese fans take a "baseball vacation" to Seattle to watch them play. So we are seeing all over the world international businesses and international sports, and at the same time a growing consciousness of ethnic ties and attention to our own ancestors. It's an interesting dynamic. <<So my current line of research is - how to facilitate unlearning of what one always took for granted? How to facilitate personal, organizational or social metanoia? How to prepare the new generations to continuously question and review their old "knowledge"?>> I sure don't know the answers to these questions, but I am becoming more aware of the necessity for allowing time and space for grieving changes, even changes that may be very positive and desired. I wakened Tuesday morning, very early, feeling very sad. My feeling was surprising, because my work that day was a happy one--to help a client plan for an upcoming Open Space meeting. It was not until evening that I had time to sit quietly and realize that Tuesday was the sixth anniversary of the day my dad was hospitalized before his death. Some unacknowledged or unexpressed grief hidden in my body had wakened me, demanding my attention. I suspect that some of the irrational phenomena in the world today are something like that--grief over changes that we recognize are happening, but don't know how to acknowledge or express our feelings. This question of how individuals, organizations, societies can live in a changing world, learn to surf the changes instead of being overwhelmed, is a huge one, and at the heart of my practice. From your experience, what helps? Joelle Everett * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html