Glossary

0, 1st,and 2nd Trainings

Briefly, the zero state means experiencing without being aware. In the 0 Training, you know and can express to yourself or others what you experience.
In the 1st training, you are aware of your experience as a fact and a role, as well as other roles and vectors.
In the 2nd training, you are able to shapeshift at least briefly into the Big U and Process Mind and facilitate with Deep Democracy.

Acausal

Having an unknown or non-causal connection. See teleology.

Awareness

The ability to notice phenomenological experience.

Big U

The Big U is a system-mind concept. U stands for Universe, or the biggest part of a group or of a person. A system can be the whole world, or a group, or an individual, or even a particle. In any and all cases, the Big U connects to the piloting-guiding function of the system's mind (or more exactly, its quantum mind). It is experienced as a kind of dreamlike organizer of the system and includes all of the parts, people, and situations involved.

Channel

The specific path in which information is received

visual, auditory, proprioceptive, kinesthetic, relationship, spiritual, and world channels refer to information that is collected by seeing, hearing, feeling, moving, in relationship with another person, in relationship with a divine, shamanic, or spiritual entity, or through an outer event.

Compassion

Gaining access to the Big U is a crucial part of worldwork facilitation. The Big U is the potential facilitator; it is a compass, which is open to all directions and sides and has compassion, meaning a combination of "compass" openness and interest in all vectors. Compassion mixes both openness and awareness.

Conflict (causal)

Conflict is the product of unmet needs and unrecognized differences and is often the result of feared tensions in plans, goals or actions.

Conflict (non-causal)

From a non-causal perspective, two aspects of the background dreaming are manifesting as polarities so that they may be resolved.

Consciousness

Awareness of awareness, i.e., an ability to be aware that one is aware of phenomenological experience.

Consensus

The facilitator can help gain consensus by discovering what direction the group would like to go first, knowing that all of the issues and feelings are important and need to be discussed at some point. Whatever theme is chosen, it is a large umbrella topic that has many sub-themes within It, some of which may include other topics mentioned by the group during filtering.

Consensus reality

The material level of daily existence which most people generally experience and agree upon most of the time.

Deep Democracy

A belief that there is wisdom in, under, or behind all views and that there must be freedom for the expression of diverse opinions and experiences so that the deeper wisdom came be understood and so that sustainable solutions to complex problems can be found and healthier communities can evolve.

Deep Democracy

Deep democracy is a basic concept as well as an elder's multidimensional metaskill (feeling attitude) towards life which recognizes the basically equal importance of consensus reality issues and concerns (facts, issues, problems, people) dreamland figures (roles, ghosts, directions), and the essence (common ground) that connects everyone.

Double Signal

An unintended signal that sends a message that is incongruous with the intended message. Double Signals

A double signal means that someone is conveying one message that they are identifying with or intending in a given moment, while simultaneously expressing something else with their words or body that is further away from their awareness. For example, I might say verbally that I want to relate to you. That is my intention. However, at the same time I look down and do not look at you. This is a double signal. It can be very helpful to focus on double signals and to give the person time to investigate what that signal is expressing and to bring that information into the conversation.

Dream Figure

A psychological symbol—similar to an archetype in Jungian psychology and to spirits in Shamanism. Used to describe an unconscious force that is affecting an atmosphere or influencing behavior.

Dreaming

The metaphysical or spiritual experience and meaning behind behavior, signals, symptoms, and disturbances. Edge

An edge is the limit of what we can perceive, think, communicate, or believe we can do. Structurally speaking, an edge separates the primary from the secondary process. Edges

An edge refers to a moment when someone speaks but is unable to complete what she or he is saying due to personal reasons or because of actual or felt group restrictions. It can be very helpful to ask the person why it is so difficult to speak and, if circumstances allow, to help the person go over that edge and complete what she or he is trying to say. Alternately, the facilitator can help the person by imagining and going over that edge for her or him.

Eldership

Eldership is the ability to understand, empathize with and support conflicted individuals or groups on all sides of an issue simultaneously and compassionately.

Eldership

A universal metaskill; coming from your deepest self and its direction. This skill involves Deep Democracy plus the sense the world is your child -interweaving the sense of the equal importance of individual viewpoints and the grand mystery behind it all. This metaskill arises from the compassion of the Big U.

Emergent

A term for the non-consensual, subjective experiences that are also referred to as DreamLand experiences. The term emergent is often easier to explain within organizations, as opposed to the technical jargon of DreamLand.

Enmification

The act of creating enmity

deep-seated, often mutual hatred. The process of labeling other individuals or groups as evil, bad, wrong, or the source of difficulty.

Entanglement

A metaphor borrowed from quantum physics meaning the individual or group experience in which parts are connected not only directly, but through magical and nonlocal means.

Field

An emotional atmosphere or a felt sense of a particular shared consciousness that seems to be transmitted by acausal non-Newtonian means.

Flirts

We use the word "flirt" in the most general sense of something trying to catch our attention. A flower for example, may "flirt" with us (and vice versa!). The flirt happens so quickly that we usually pass it by or forget it. Yet in communicating, the flirt plays an important role as the predecessor to signals, and potentially difficult communication situations.

Fluidity

Fluidity refers to an ability to notice the one-sidedness of one’s own momentary experience or thought and shift into or support other experiences or thoughts.

Framing and levels

The facilitator can frame a discussion by remarking about the different levels or dimensions people are speaking about. E.g. One person may speak about (consensus reality) issues and outer action while someone else is speaking about feelings (dreamland). Then, someone else might speak about a common ground (essence) that unites us. This clash of levels can be the source of conflict itself! The facilitator can frame things by saying that there are many levels arising simultaneously; one person is talking about outer action while another is speaking about her feelings. Ask which direction to focus on while remembering the others.

Fundamentalist

A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

Ghost Role

A role in a field which is unoccupied (no one is representing or expressing the role) but which is nonetheless felt to be present, e.g., a black man entering an all white business club may feel the racism even though no one is doing anything blatantly racist at the moment—racism is often a ghost.

Ghost Roles

Ghosts are a part of dreamland. They refer to those things that are spoken about but not directly represented by anyone in a given group. Some typical ghosts are ancestors who are spoken about but who are no longer present, the "bad" person who is not in the room, the environment, etc. Getting into, representing, + expressing the views + thoughts of ghosts can be important keys to processes. And it is Important to know that everyone shares these ghost roles.

Hot Spot

A hot spot is a moment in a group process when a strong reaction erupts.

Hot Spots

An intense moment in which there is a strong emotional clash between individuals or the whole group or when something forbidden or intense happens that causes everyone to become silent or frozen. When hot spots are not focused on, they are the source of future escalations. Therefore, it is helpful to notice hot spots, to slow down, and go deeper into the feelings of each side of the conflict. Hot spots can be the doorway to deepening the process.

Indigenous

Being a member of the original inhabitants of a particular place.

Inner Figure

An archetype, or an anthropomorphized role or viewpoint, e.g., inner child or inner critic, the one who says I should study vs. the one who says I should phone my lover.

Metacommunicator

The role, individual, or inner figure who notices what is happening on a deeper than normal level and communicates about it thereby bringing it to awareness. This can happen intra psychically, in relationship, or in groups.

Metaposition

A standpoint that a person steps into momentarily to help process a conflict by supporting or challenging certain other individuals or standpoints.

Metaskill

The skill, technique, or tone a person uses in intervening or expressing a metaposition.

Metaskill

The meta-quality, or feeling behind the use of a skill. The "way" you say something or do something is a metaskill which can be harsh, helpful, compassionate, playful, scientific etc.

Nationalism

Excessive concern for the interests of one’s nation without regard for the interests of other individuals or nations.

Non-Locality

The experience of interconnection or synchronicity, beyond time or space, also the sense of being not only located in your body, but spread out through the universe,

Open Forum

Structured, person-to-person or cyberspace, deeply democratic meetings, in which everyone feels represented and which includes social issues as well as the deepest feelings and dreams of the participants. The Open Forum method emphasizes the more linear style of worldwork in which the facilitator helps events go more slowly and intervenes more often.

Parallel Worlds

Each feeling, each vector is a "parallel world" in the sense that it is usually not directly in touch with the world of the other vectors and feelings. This is a central worldwork situation, One group of people frequently lives in a "parallel world", relative to other peoples. We live next to one another, but like parallel lines, don't often meet.

Participant Facilitator

In WW, the concept of leader and facilitator is understood basically as a shared role. Therefore the old concept of participant changed, we call the new participant or "citizen" a "participant facilitator." (just as the leader/facilitator is leader-follower etc.)

Polarity

A pair of roles, views or positions, that exists in oppositional relationship to each other.

Polarization

A process where individuals in conflict become stuck in opposing roles, e.g., seeing oneself as all good and another as evil or all bad, or believing that either liberal or conservative solutions will solve all problems.

Power

The ability of a person to be forceful or effective in controlling others, expressing his or her views, or standing up for a position in the face of opposition.

Pre-emergent

A non-technical term for sentient experience. The term pre-emergent is often easier to explain within organizations, as opposed to the technical jargon of sentient essence.

Primary Process

The underlying motivator or dream figure behind a group’s or individual’s normal identity. It is a process because it changes with time.

Process Mind

This is the deepest part of ourselves, associated with a part of our body, and the spirit of an earth location. Just as the earth underlies all forms of human and natural activities and weather in the biosphere, the process mind is the dreaming intelligence behind all our experiences. The "PM" is a key all facilitators need to work with all worlds and peoples.

Process Work

A methodology for finding deeper meaning in human experience by following signals.

Rank

A relative position in society, an organization, community, or relationship that occurs based on perceived differences in various dimensions such as gender, race, age, orientation, appearance, health, education, language, financial status, psychological or spiritual awareness, etc.

Rheology

The science of flow, which in process work is both a science and an art connected to fluidity and movement between levels and parts.

Role

A view point or function within a field, generally occupied by various people at different times.

Roles

The concept of roles belongs to the dreamland aspect of group process. While each role such as boss, underling, patient, or helper seems to be located with a given individual or group, it is actually a timespirit that needs to be filled by many of us. In other words, each role is much great than anyone individual or group. And, each of us is bigger than anyone role. In other words, people are not roles.

Role Switching

There is a natural tendency to role switch. That is, we find that we may identify with a particular role but then at a given point notice that we feel pulled to represent another role, or that we are in another role. For example, someone in a social service organization who is identified as a helper for others who are suffering and in need of care, may begin to speak about her or his own suffering. At that moment, she or he has switched roles into the “others” who need care. Noticing and allowing yourself to switch roles is an awareness practice; sensing when you are in one role and when you begin to move to another. This is another aspect of dreamland in which we share roles.

Secondary Process

The underlying motivator or dream figure behind a group’s or individual’s disavowed identity. It is a process because it changes with time. The secondary process includes experiences that we do not perceive as belonging to our personal identity. We perceive them either as happening to us or as emotions and experiences that we do not identify with

such as anger, fear, power, and spiritual connection. Often we project these aspects onto people we view as the enemy or people who we see as being inherently different than us. We may marginalize or admire these qualities, assuming inferior or superior traits in other groups.

Second Training

The first training is about rational, logical information that can be easily expressed verbally and shared with others such as signals, and the content of issues. The 2nd training is about learning to follow ineffable guidance from mythic sources such as the land.

Sentient Level

This refers to the deepest and most subtle level of subjective experience. There are no polarities, only a deeply felt connection with something greater and the basic essence of various experiences.

Signal

An indicator, generally in movement, language, verbal tone, or other nonverbal signal, that carries meaning.

Tao

The basic, eternal principle of the universe that transcends reality and is the source of being, non-being, and change. The dreaming river, or background process, which is trying to happen.

Teleology

A belief that natural phenomena are determined not only by mechanical causes but by an over-all design or purpose in nature.

Team Work

A team is a group of "beasts of burden” (Webster). Teamwork is a team process where everyone knows the team’s Big U.

Urban Shamanism

Shamanism as practiced by western mainstream people

working with spirits, shape shifting and magic to transform situations and symptoms. A practice—which has roots in Indigenous Shamanism and mysticism—of following seemingly unrelated experiences such as synchronicities, flirts, somatic experience, momentary visual or auditory hallucinations and nature; accepting them as meaningful for understanding the present moment; and using their message to shift one’s own awareness and way of intervening.

Vectors

Arrows. Vectors are the mathematical term for arrows. We use vectors to mean your subjective or dreamlike sense of earth-based direction. The earth pulls or moves you in certain directions at different times. When you walk and follow the direction of vector of any experience, you may feel a sense of energy, power, and rhythm, which may tell you about the meaning of the path.

Warriorship

The warrior is someone who has the courage to know herself or who faces her own fear It is a condition of openness to actively daring the truth about oneself and a willingness to be vulnerable in expressing one’s own inner experience, feelings, and views. To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life.

Worldwork

Worldwork is a small and large group method that uses Deep Democracy to address the issues of groups and organizations of all kinds. To resolve reality problems and enrich community experience, worldwork methods focus on employing the power of an organization’s or city’s dreamlike background (e.g., projections, gossip, roles, and creative fantasy). Worldwork facilitators listen to the land, do innerwork, practice outer communication skills involving role consciousness, signal and rank awareness to enrich organizational life. Worldwork has been successfully applied to the analysis of and work with multicultural, multileveled, Aboriginal communities, universities, small and large international organizations, city hot spots, and world conflict zones. Worldwork awareness requires access to the Process mind.