Key Principles & Practices

• We assume that every person has access to an inner source of truth, named in various wisdom traditions as soul, spirit, or heart—a source of strength and guidance that is the place of truth-telling within us where we know the difference between reality and illusion. Formation recognizes this source of truth, honors the identity and integrity of the individual and affirms the vital relationship between the inner life and one’s work in the world.
• Attending to the creation of a quiet, focused, and disciplined space for this work is essential—a space in which the noise within us and around us can subside, and we can begin to hear our own inner voice. The practices of reflection and journaling, silence and solitude are part of the fabric of a formation approach. Being together in community—in small groups and large group—contributes to a fuller realization of what our inner voice is trying to tell us, helping both validate and at times question the truth that lives within us.
• We believe it is possible to create open and trustworthy communal spaces in which people can speak their own truth as well as listen to the truths of others without rushing to judgment. We hold to the fundamental principle of no fixing. We practice listening deeply, asking honest, open, questions, and speaking for ourselves rather than for another. A commitment to deep confidentiality and trust is essential to this way of working. Making space for diverse voices, and establishing boundaries and guidelines for our work together, helps make the space safe for the human soul.
• At the heart of formation is the understanding that there is a “hidden wholeness” at work in the natural world, in our lives, in our work—a hidden wholeness that often takes the form of paradox. Working with paradox helps us to see how things that are seeming opposites, when more deeply understood, actually complement and co-create each other. You cannot know light without darkness, silence without speech, solitude without community. Understanding and exploring paradox is central to the pedagogy underlying this approach to inner work.
• When working with groups we use metaphorical materials from a variety of wisdom traditions and cultures—poems, teaching stories, creative expressions of various sorts that invite people to reflect on and work with questions of the soul, spirit, or heart that arise in their work and in their lives. Placing a poem or a teaching story in the center of the circle creates a plumb line for dialogue and exploration that is owned by all, providing an opportunity to explore both “personal” stories as well as universal and timeless stories of human life and experience.
• This approach invites people into participation rather than demanding it from them. Opportunities for engagement with others are offered, and while participation is encouraged each individual is trusted to determine their level of sharing and participation. In other words, these are not “Share or Die” experiences.
• This work affirms that we can join in a respectful, evocative, and yet challenging communal inquiry about the inner dimensions of our work that will not only encourage us, but also stretch us. In working with groups we both support space for solitude and surround it with the resources of community. The centuries-old Quaker practice of the Clearness Committee is frequently used in formation retreats and embodies the paradox of solitude and community. The Clearness Committee is a communal process of discernment grounded in the belief that there are no external authorities on life’s deepest issues. There is only the authority that lies within each of us waiting to be heard.
• We are informed by a 'movement model' of social change, and believe that lasting change occurs when individuals choose to live 'divided no more’. This in turn leads to greater personal wholeness and a changed relationship to role and to institution. Beginning with the individual, this chain of integrity has the potential to weave together soul, role, institution, and social transformation.