Relational communities are at the core of our practice. They hold the power of collective imagination and invite us to encounter the edges of our knowing, creating space for newness and alterity to emerge.
Our experience of journeying with learning communities over more than 15 years has taught us that the best outcomes begin with simple conversations exploring common ground: finding shared parameters of possibility, pace, practicalities, power and purpose. This sensing allows us to collectively imagine the journey ahead; to cast our eyes towards a new horizon, but to also scope out first steps from within our current horizon of experience.
Those first steps are sometimes presumed and present. This may be the reason for reaching out - to make a difference that has already been identified. In this instance, sensing & scoping provides an opportunity to check - to ‘have a word with oneself’ - and to clarify and confirm that intuition. It creates the space to ‘start with why’ before rushing into the ‘what’, ‘how’ and 'who' of the everyday. We have found holding the ‘why’ to be essential in igniting radical and sociological imaginaries for transformational change.
In other cases, first steps may not be known. Engagement and motivation may come more from sensing that something is not quite right; not working as intended; not compelling and meaningful for those involved. Such thinking lends itself to a more emergent process, that is no less valuable. It is simply different. In this scenario, sensing & scoping can help to surface spaces of alterity, to reveal the potency within a community, and to spotlight frictions that may require deeper understanding for the journey ahead.
The scenarios above are just that. Your situation may not neatly fit into one or the other but be a blend of both and more. Neither is it necessarily static but may shift from moments of certainty and direction to times of uncertainty and confusion.
We use a process that we call prefigurative learning to make sense of this and to support transformative change. Prefiguration is about creating desired futures in the here and now. It is about not waiting for someone else to grant permission or to change the situation for you, but about grasping the nettle and being, becoming, and belonging within a future you care to make the difference.
Prefigurative learning is rooted in an intentional engagement with uncertainty, in actively taking risks, and in attending to what is learned in this process. Prefigurative learning is about shifting horizons through a shared and authentic engagement with culture, relationships, perspectives and practice. It is a social process that unfolds through time. It is not a switch; it may not even be immediately visible. It is a beat, a pulse, a vibration that gently disrupts the noise of the everyday and encourages us to tune into deeper signals, sometimes forgotten or misplaced, and to amplify these intentionally.
Ultimately it is about thriving. What does it mean to thrive? What does it mean to personally thrive? What does a thriving community look and feel like? What does it mean to live in thriving relations with self, others and the wider world?
It begins with a conversation. If you'd like to explore what learning to thrive with Lifeworlds might involve, no matter how small or big the difference you seek to make, then we invite you to reach out for a friendly and impartial conversation. To schedule an initial 30 minute 'hello' please contact us and share a little about yourself and the difference you care to make. We'd love to meet you.