The Ojai Foundation :: Council :: Spiritual Practice

As Spiritual Practice

COUNCIL AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

It is a goal for those of us who live and work at the Ojai Foundation to integrate the Way of Council into our daily emotional and spiritual lives as a personal practice. Not just when sitting in a formal circle with a Talking Piece, but in every encounter, personal, familial and professional. The heart of Council is listening and the essence of truly empathic listening is full and non-judgmental acceptance of who people are and how they express themselves.

Acceptance doesn't necessarily mean agreement, but it does require a subtle and vigilant practice of witnessing both self and other. It involves being aware of our responses while maneuvering through the internal minefield of our own attachments, judgements and reactions while giving full attention to the other's authentic being. From a place of full acceptance, it is then possible to engage in full and authentic relationship.

Do we always succeed? Not at all. (Council is not a cure-all for the foibles of human nature.) But the power of any spiritual practice is that it provides a center to which to return when things unravel or fall apart. By matching an intention of open-hearted acceptance with full and authentic speaking, we move toward the possibility of true community and a wholeness of spirit.