It was June 2001, shortly after the summer solstice, when the 28 elders gathered. It was not often that so many came together for two days and many had gone to great lengths to be there, including two who traveled half way around the world.

The Quest

Wisdom Council

Enactments

The questions they generated and the number of stones cast are listed opposite.

And so the question they chose to look deeply into in this time was:

We are brave, fast, strong,

beautiful and ready.   

How do we pounce with integrity?

We are brave, fast, strong, beautiful and ready.   How do we pounce with integrity?   64

How can we connect and unify through co-creativity & at the same time respect our differences?  34                                                                                      

How can we create and sustain balance and well-being in our lives?    34

How do we balance personal discovery with responsibility?  34

How do we harness the power of our people? 33

How can we make the space to realise our dreams?  28

How to help people to align themselves to their "truth"? How to then hold the space for others to be themselves as part of the whole web of life and love?   22                                                                                      

How do we create an ethos of care and respect for all forms of life?  10

Armed with this powerful question, we were now ready for a Quest. Later in the afternoon, a Wisdom Council would be held, when the collective genius of the elders would be called forward to bring new insights, profound thinking and breakthrough solutions to their question.

They were invited to join a Quest to find the eight Wisdom Shields that were scattered around the beautiful land and that each Shield would inform them of a different perspective that would help evoke their wisdom. When all the Shields were once again together, they would see a fundamental design of wholeness and balance that guides all living systems.

On the shield were the words Freedom and Creativity and they heard how this energy of the sun, stars and fire represented the boundless freedom of spirit, the passion of each human to be expressive, creative, imaginative, poetic and playful with ideas.

As they journeyed on they each contemplated how the perspective of Freedom and Creativity informed their question.

Sitting under the low boughs of a young tree, the second shield was revealed high in the branches.

This one was orange and carried the words Present Condition and Appreciation and they learned of our need, as humans, to stay connected to our world through our senses and that when we were reliving the past or rehearing the future we were really not present.

And how Appreciating rather than blaming or judging what we are experiencing creates a more powerful clear and bright energy in our lives.

 And again the asking – how does this perspective help inform our question?

Were people a little curious, what did this mean?

 Eventually a red shield bearing the words Power and Danger was found in a bush. There was speaking of our human ability to manifest as a little child with qualities of adventuring and curiosity, awe and wonder and emotional flexibility.

These qualities gave us great power and also opened the possibility to the danger that can come from our emotional attachments, our innocence and trust.

Out of the gardens through another gate and on through a forest; making a winding path through and around the trees as if lost until we find a magenta shield bearing the words Purpose and Direction.

Our life is a journey and unless we stay strictly focused on our purpose we can find ourselves wandering, as if through a maze, with no direction.

Our purpose and direction is informed by our identity – who we are and the total of our experiences and learning from our past.

We drum together and sing the Bear Song and feel a deep remembrance of who we are and our connection to the Mother Earth.

This Shield speaks of an energy of nurturing; our ability to heal, strengthen, teach and balance ourselves. It holds the energy of the fierce protection of life just as the mother bear protects her cub so that the continuation of the species is protected.

The spiders web reminds us of the interconnectedness of all things and the rhythms and patterns of life that help us see into the future.

What has brought us together in this time to look into this question? How is the question interconnected with our lives and our dream?

Next we found a blue shield decorated with feathers and a heart stone. This shield bore the words Clarity and Action.

We saw how, like the animals, we have the power to take clear decisive action if we listen to what our heart is saying. That taking this action requires courage – coeur rage – or heart rage.

In this old way, developing strategy and taking action is the seventh of the eight shields and that clarity only comes from looking from the perspectives of the previous six.

A green shield carried the words Integrity and Vitality. Before any action is taken we were reminded of the need to be sure that all the voices have been heard, that nothing has been left unsaid. And to ensure that there is an enthusiasm, a vitality to move forward.

The Alchemical Magician brings a transformative ability to shift the energy, to let the Little Child play.

The Wisdom Council

With all eight shields collected, the elders met in their societies to look deeply into the question from the one perspective they were holding.

Each society prepared for the Wisdom Council by crafting four sharp arrows of recommendation of what was needed, from their perspective, with respect to the question.

North

Hunter Worker Chiefs   Clarity & Action

We see:

That the struggle to establish the credibility of XXX is over. We see how far we've journeyed and how little we acknowledge this. We are now being looked to for leadership.

We recommend:

Ø      That we own our authority as personal development professionals by being clear about our boundaries, standards, intentions and approaches.

Ø      That we commit ourselves to upholding these amongst ourselves and with clients.

Ø That we create three documents called "Working with XXX", based on a new XXX charter: one document for tutors, one for colleagues within the school and one for company clients.

North West

Council Chiefs - Interrelatedness & Timing

We see:

We are at the beginning of the village and a new opportunity to grow the society.

We are currently (as XXXX) - spokes of a wheel - not yet a web - without cross connection or sharing to pounce strongly and with integrity.

We must be a unified family to move concertedly - we are not at the moment.

We recommend:

Ø      Each tutor to take responsibility to communicate their concern where they feel the integrity of our web is threatened.

Ø      Each tutor to reach out and communicate proactively to make the cross-web connections.

Ø      Praxis web site  -> to share, learn, virtual discussion on web of working together/opportunities to develop.

Ø      Timing is not right at the moment - the web is not complete - not enough understanding of XXX network elements - work at it this summer, till the soil - plant seeds - autumn/winter. Thrive and grow from spring.

Ø Improve co-tutor preparation and work time.

North East

Law Dog Chiefs    Integrity and Vitality

We see:

§         Possibility of lack of feminine balance

§         Pounce could feel predatory and like a solitary action rather than a group action. Doesn't necessarily feel friendly.

§         Do people get left behind if they are less strong, fast, ……

§         Has the effect of the pounce (on the person/issue being pounced) been considered? Did they invite this - are they ready? Are they/it being dismissed - has their perspective been understood?

§         Integrity is a vital balancing factor in this question.

We recommend:

Ø      That we take care of the "means"(of pouncing) - we pay due consideration to how we act (not just the "end")

Ø      That those who are not yet ready to pounce are remembered included and part of the "action".

Ø      That we are mindful of the potential ignorance in our actions.

Ø      That each person check within to ensure that they feel the vitality in the action and that it will be sustainable after the pounce.

West

Woman Chiefs             Maintenance & Balance

We see:

Our society working through the spectrum from the "cuddle to the push". This applies in 3 dimensions, to the individual, to the group and to its recipients.

We recommend:

Ø      To pounce in not too many directions.

Ø      To "learn"/develop the pouncing (people working with other people have to have their own work)

Ø      To develop 360º vision/awareness of the whole context.

Ø      To develop a deep sense of compassion and humility

     {Healing support if needed for pouncers

     {Support for recipients, culture and challenge

East 

Heyoehkah Chiefs             Freedom & Creativity

We see:

3 years hence a people joyously creating spontaneous  (MBs) (Transformational) learning events - we've pounced and been limitless.

We recommend:

Ø      We do something creative tonight/today/tomorrow.

Ø      We seek out what people need from us, by listening to them, and having conversations.

Ø      Creating an internal structure in XXX to harness and deliver e.g. open groups, mini task groups.

Ø      Capturing attention of (influencing) people and doing things spontaneously, working in the moment, taking risks.

Ø Lots and lots of creative experiences, experiential,        

      real issues, must be fun.

South  West

Medicine Singer Chiefs             Purpose & Direction

We see:

The energy, excitement and innovation of XXX.

The context is increasing acceptance by the larger system - increasing momentum - but within the limiting and dehumanising environment of higher education. The continued success has grown from the vision, boldness and brilliance of the current guardians of Praxis.

We recommend:

Ø      Understand why the need to pounce.

Ø      Know what we want to do after we successfully pounce.

Ø      Know what the pouncing is going to bring at group and individual level.

Ø Scrutinise rigorously (disciplined       

      monitoring) the priority available to an 

     increasing clientele.

South East

Peace Chiefs     Present Condition & Appreciation

We see:

§         A network of exceptionally talented people with a huge commitment to harnessing their ability individually and collectively and with integrity.

§         The potential for talent and creativity to de dissipated and not harnessed through lack of co-ordination.

§         The lack of rigid structure as a source of enormous creativity and energy.

We recommend:

Ø      Develop mechanisms of understanding and harnessing the individual and collective talents in the network.

Ø      There is a need to identify and exploit opportunities more pro-actively.

Ø The energy of the group needs to be        

       used to identify and quantify the scope       

       of market potential.

South 

War Chiefs             Power & Danger

We see:

§         We don't know each other in sufficient depth to be a really effective fighting machine.

§         A lot of curiosity and adventure which needs to be translated into action.

§         The need to focus and be specific.

§         We need to consider the bigger picture.

We recommend:

Ø      Building our personal integrity into an integrous force.

Ø      Getting together in small groups around specific topics.

Ø      Having a practical and concrete battle plan as well as a compelling vision of success.

Ø Being mindful of the inevitability of    

      different factions in any group and handling

      them with dignity and respect.

After the speaking there was a deep appreciation for all the words and the new wisdom that had been brought to the question.

It had been a long and rewarding day and before people departed for dinner, they were offered another jewel; a Personal Balance Wheel that they could use to do some private work alone on the land if they chose and look into balance in their lives.

It was spoken that the space between the lightning and the thunder is known as svaha – a time of all potential. It seemed that this might be a sign for the circle that the lightning bolt had struck to bring them together in this time with their dreams of transformation. They were now in a space of all potential until the thunder bolt sounded.

The next morning was damp with a fine drizzle. A hardy group met at 8 am under the shade of the spreading branches of two old tree beings and learned the Tslagi – a sacred Cherokee dance for alignment, balance and prayer. They danced two rounds of Tslagi together, moving as a flock of birds to pray for balance and alignment for all beings.

After breakfast, the elders gathered in their meeting room, now decorated with an altar and shields in the center, medicine blankets hanging from the walls and the scent of white sage smoke cleansing the space. We strung our beads again to connect ourselves, and share learnings and insights from the previous day.

After linking back to the Key Words of the Council on the shields and the Personal Balance Wheel, the energies of each direction were unfolded through the lens of leadership and we saw how these energies could inform balanced and evocative leadership capable of bringing wholeness and balance to our organizations and communities.

To deepen their learning, and to have some fun, the societies of elders were invited to to create a presentation, an enactment of one of the Intelligences to help teach and deepen the understanding of everyone. The sun was now shining again and a wide range of props – material, wool, hats, clothes, face paints, blankets, drum etc – were laid out on the grass to inspire people to playfulness.

An outdoor theatre was created and each society in turn educated and entertained the group with creative and interactive displays.

The photgraphs have been removed to protect the innocent (and the guilty!)

As a way of completion we stood in circle and spoke one word of our present condition. The following extract from Barbara Marx Hubbard’s book Conscious Evolution was spoken: "Let's compare our situation with the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. When the caterpillar weaves its cocoon, imaginal disks begin to appear. These disks embody the blueprint of the butterfly yet to come. Although the disks are a natural part of the caterpillar's evolution, its immune system recognizes them as foreign and tries to destroy them. As the disks arrive faster and begin to link up, the caterpillar's immune system breaks down and its body begins to disintegrate. When the disks mature and become imaginal cells, they form themselves into a new pattern, thus transforming the disintegrating body of the caterpillar into the butterfly. The breakdown of the caterpillar's old system is essential for the breakthrough of the new butterfly. Yet, in reality the caterpillar neither dies nor disintegrates, for from the beginning its hidden purpose was to transform and be reborn as the butterfly." It was spoken that we are all imaginal discs coming together to bring about a transformation and a gift of a ‘glyph bundle’ holding the two wheels that had been taught in this time was given to each elder.

  And finally we drummed and sung the Honoring Song as a mark of gratitude for what had been created in this time together.