Communication is central to everything that happens in the world, and will be central to everything that happens at Yggdrasil. Good communication begins with internal clarity and respect for the point of view of the listener, which may well be different than our own. Good communication is built on the recognition that we are all blind, feeling our way around the proverbial elephant in discovery of bits and pieces. It is only by exposing ourselves to new ideas and taking everyone’s voice into account that the deepest and most complete truth can be discovered. At Yggdrasil, we want to encourage good communication, and consider it central to our learning process.
We believe it is the genuine dialogue of participants that will generate the creative synergy that runs the school-retreat at Yggdrasil. For each to be open to the others, and willing to honor the diverse genius that each brings to the whole is to invite a cross-pollination of ideas, experiences, and perspectives that will enrich the entire atmosphere in which we work together. In this atmosphere, we anticipate that many valuable discoveries will be made that could not be made by individuals working in isolation.
In addition to human communication, we will explore the possibilities of communicating with the more-than-human world as pioneered by people like John Lilly and his work with dolphin communication in the 1950s, Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees in the 1960s, Eileen and Peter Caddy at Findhorn and their work with plant devas, and David Abram, author of Becoming Animal.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we will encourage internal communication with the various parts of self through techniques like voice dialogue, gestalt therapy, soul retrieval, shadow work and sub-personality work as developed by therapists such as Robert Assagioli, Molly Young Brown and Bill Plotkin.
