A dialogue session-First impressions

"During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, television, air travel, and satellites, has woven a network of communications which puts each part of the world into almost instant contact with all the other parts. Yet, in spite of this world wide system of linkages, there is, at this very moment, a general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale." David Bohm-On Dialogue

Involving in a dialogue session...When we were taken to a dialogue room, I had no idea how it would be. I asked Astrid whether we take any notebooks or pens, she answered no, nothing is needed. The only needed thing was ourselves, totally and only ourselves. We were approximately 20 people in the room where chairs were situated in a circle. At the centre of the circle there was a small round carpet and on the carpet there were a bell, a stone-afterwards it was called talking symbol- and big burning candle. We sat and there was a silence. People generally don't like silence, neither do I. I felt discomforted.

Heidemarie and Michael, called Dialogue Facilitators, sat next to each other and explained what will go on.  A dialogue facilitator is a person who gives short explanation of the subject that the group will talk. Anyone who would like to talk should step to centre and take the talking symbol, anyone who needed silence should ring the bell. When somebody holds the talking symbol the others can't talk. The most important core feature of a dialogue is to listen deeply.

I have met my friends only a few hours ago and we were in a room where everybody could see each others' eyes, faces, sloughs, body language...Just in ten minutes I felt relaxed because everybody was talking from inside. I believe close friends should sit next to each other not opposite, and sitting in a circle made me think that this group will get very close to each other. Think of it : you don't have distractor such as a pen, a notebook, cellular phone, there is no obstacle such as a table, you directly look who's talking. This is the miracle of sitting in a circle. You only concentrate on who's talking and this is the only thing we need for communication.