CEO Dialogue at Expansion

When I was asked to give a workshop on Centered and Exhilarated Dialogue at Expansion Festival, I jumped at the chance. Expansion Festival is a local Cascadian movement toward increasing the connections in our local communities and empowering those communities with social tools in order to keep expanding. The festival takes place in the beautiful green fields and forests of Duvall, WA, home to the Snoqualmie people and other ancestral Tulalip Native American tribes. 

I set up my workshops materials at the River temple, right behind a hedge of bushes that opens up to a clearing with a beautiful vista of the Snoqualmie River. As travelers would walk past to say hello to the river, they would see my vinyl hangings and posters and ask about my workshop. Some would sit and stay for the full hour, as we discussed the ins and outs of bringing Centered and Exhilarated Dialogue to the various aspects of our daily lives, such as our home life, or the workplace. 



In the workplace, I like to refer to this practice as CEO Dialogue, where the C stands for Centered, the E stands for Exhilarated, and the O is the experience that arises in the circle of people, meeting together to share in connection with each other. This practice is based on the idea that the brain operates better when we feel good about ourselves (31% better, according to a 2008 Harvard study). That is why it’s important to have conflict navigation processes, restorative justice circles, business meetings, and one on one interactions that feel supportive and replenishing without feeling draining. I have made all my resources available for free download at http://ceodialogue.org. My hope is to empower as many communities as possible with these tools, to help us all move towards a gift economy, where we respect and honor the gifts that we each are, in our individual magic. 

Greetings and love to all! May your journeys nourish you and your connections with nature bloom!