Organizations & Worldwork
How can we facilitate the difficulties and conflicts in our organizations, businesses, teams and communities?
Can we help our world transform the legacy of its painful history and politics?
Worldwork is the application of Processwork to the facilitation of organizational and world issues, as well as disturbances in small and large group settings. It seeks to create relationship and community from social tensions and conflict.
“The next step beyond power is developing more sustainable contact with others and the ability to work with one another.” Arnold and Amy Mindell (2014).[1] Interview with Arny & Amy Mindell on State of the World and Worldwork by Bill Say, 2014.
Worldwork relies on the principle of deep democracy: a commitment to include not only all viewpoints but also all levels of our experience, from the objective world of facts and figures, to the subjective experience of feelings, body symptoms and dreams, and the most subtle and intangible aspects of our experience that can barely be put into words.
“Deep democracy simply adds a deeper dimension to ordinary Democracy! What dimension? The relationship, feeling or dreaming dimension of our passions, creativity and experience. Without this dimension, our world runs on power, not relationship or community.”
Arnold Mindell, interviewed by Mayuko Kauchi, trans. by Kanae Kuwahara.
Mindell describes worldwork in his books, Sitting in the Fire (1995), The Deep Democracy of Open Forums (2002) and The Leader as Martial Artist (1992).
The worldwork facilitator uses the principle of deep democracy to help a group find their own creative solutions to conflicts and bring awareness to the underlying process of relationship that brings together all parts in an organisation, team, or community group. Worldwork means grappling with diversity issues, history, economics and power, as well as our hopes and dreams. Worldwork seeks to create a deeper, more sustainable practice of community even within the most difficult conflicts.
Processwork and deep democracy practitioners have facilitated Worldwork Open Forums in hot spots and post-conflict zones around the world.
Click here to see Gary Reiss describe the challenges and reasons for working in world conflict zones.
Worldwork Seminars
Since 1991, the international Processwork community has hosted thirteen Worldwork Seminars, in diverse places including London, India, Greece, Poland, Australia and the United States, gathering 300-500 participants from 30 to 40 countries. The Worldwork Seminars provide a unique opportunity for a culturally and racially diverse group of people from around the world to come together to focus on social, environmental, and political issues while learning and using Processwork skills.
Worldwork Training at the Process Work Institute
Academic Programs
Public Courses
Winter Intensive
References