Evolution

Just back from a residential week, which was remarkable in a number of ways.

Leaving aside my own personal experience of it - this blog is not really about me, but about the School as a whole - there were a number of welcome 'firsts'.

Dress Although some streams of the School appear to have adopted a policy of "carry on regardless", ours has definitely embraced the new freedom. Plenty of trouser-wearing women of course (they broke that taboo a few months back), but also some of the men have stopped wearing ties in the evening, unless they wanted to. It was just a handful, but the others will no doubt get used to the idea.

A 'Lucca' day We were divided into six teams, with tutors mixed in (first names in use). Some people were a bit cynical about the whole "team-building" idea, but speaking for myself I thought the 'experiential learning' was brilliant. My favourite bit was trying to build a bridge across a 'river' - it sounds like a nightmare corporate day out, I know - in which I discovered a lot about my own personal approach to teamwork, leadership and followership. Also very good was coaching, which differs from teaching in that the coach cannot tell the 'coachee' anything, either directly or in the form of rhetorical questions.

Meeting in a circle Never thought I would see this happen in the Ballroom. What I noticed - apart from the very intimate conversation that developed - was that it changed my attitude to what I was supposed to be doing in a meeting. I wasn't a passive viewer at any stage. I noticed that when everyone is in view of everyone else, I felt more responsible for myself and for others. No smart remarks out of the corner of the mouth or raising eyebrows at one's neighbour. The circle (or large oval - there were a lot of us) seemed to reinforce what we were about.

There were a number of other minor changes - tutors were swapped for the week; private study sessions; a panel discussion on other paths, people or organizations (Hare Krishna, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Sufism); presentations on exciting new developments being pioneered by people present on the week (Just This Day, an online Sanskrit dictionary).

Maybe the best moment for me was when an impromptu game of rounders started up on the front lawn, with men, women and children (yes - people had brought their children!) all taking part. I suddenly thought - this is the first time I've ever played sport with a woman here. It was great fun.

That would be my overall impression, I think: great fun, real philosophy. Not such an unusual combination, after all.

To anyone who might be in an area of the School where things have not started to move forward, I would say - hang in there. It's worth it.

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Show, don't be

there are two kinds of actors: introvert and extrovert. The introvert plays on the back foot, assumes character and attempts to 'be real'; the extrovert plays on the front foot, demonstrates and presents a character. As a generalisation, the extrovert actor flourishes at The Globe, the introvert does not. 'Show, don't be' is the rule.

- Howard Brenton writing about the Globe theatre in the Guardian, 12th May 2007

This comment interested me greatly, and I think it's because it reminds me of the School's founder. I remember he said that Christ on the cross was "putting on a show". However repugnant such a view may be to orthodox Christianity, it says a lot about the style and verve with which McLaren went about things. Surprising then that so many of his acolytes lack any sense of theatre. They are people playing on the back foot, 'attempting to be real', with the justification that "simply being" is where it's at, looking nervously down their pale noses at those who appear different.

(I recently spoke to two senior and very bright people in the School who had each decided to stop giving public talks because of the flak they got from fellow group members.)

What these people forget, of course, is that if there was an exam for "being" we would all get 100%. "Being" is not an aspiration, but a reality. Philosophically we can accept that life is a play, but how many of us know how to enjoy it?

How many of us can show that it is a play?

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Falling sand and the yugas

The Oldie (the acme of life from the cradle to the grave, 'buy it before you snuff it'), anyway, where was I? Yes, the Oldie emailed me with the falling sand game. It seems that in Oldie Towers business was well interrupted by this interactive game of life and, yes, death.... The sands of time ....
http://fallingsandgame.com/sand/index.html.

Why include it here, what's it got to do with philosophy? Well, play it and see. One tip is to start by using the 'wall' (all options are displayed at the bottom). If you're like me you'll want to 'save' the elements, then mould them and then, when the screen resembles a Jackson Pollock painting, you'll want out, and that's when the wheel of life and death starts turning....

There's a hell option in case you haven't had enough.

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