The Art & Practice of Dialogue

Based on the work of the late David Bohm (1917 – 1992), this audio book covers the theoreti-cal underpinnings of Bohm-inspired Dialogue and the skills and guidelines that The Dialogue Group found useful in introducing this transformative conversational process into organiza-tions and other settings. It covers applications and integration issues and how Bohm-inspired Dialogue promotes cultural change, healing fragmentation and polarization. It considers shifts taking place within leadership, education, and learning. The last two tapes consider how con-templation and dialogical principles can deepen our personal work and be integrated into a way of life.

David Bohm, a quantum physicist and philosopher, was considered one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century. He challenged the older cartesian notion of reality with a quantum one that elevates the contribution of how collective consciousness lies at the root of how our cultural reality unfolds. If we are to co-create a society that recognizes and honors our interconnection with the natural world, Bohm’s proposal of Dialogue becomes in-creasingly relevant. It offers the potential of addressing root causes of such complex, system-ic problems as climate change and the growing global inequality of income. Within organiza-tions, it fosters cultures of collaboration and coherence.

Bohm’s proposal of Dialogue influenced Peter Senge’s book “The Fifth Discipline” in the 1990s and is having a renaissance in popularity today given the rampant social fragmentation being experienced on all levels of society. It can help address the increasing political polariza-tion we are seeing caused by our exploding forms of social and other forms of digital media. Bohm-inspired Dialogue asks that we consider together the world we want to co-create. It ex-plores the underlying and often unexamined cultural assumptions causing the critical social problems being faced by our world today.

This audio series by Ellinor and Gerard consists of the following chapters:

1. Why Dialogue? New Sciences & Community
2. Dialogue’s Many Traditions
3. The Theory of Dialogue: Metacognition
4. The Theory of Dialogue: Relationship
5. Guidelines for Dialogue
6. Suspension of Judgement
7. Assumption Identification
8. Listening
9. Inquiry & Reflection
10. Openings, Closings, and Reflection Process
11. Applications
12. Implementation Challenges
13. Redefining Leadership Through Dialogue
14. Generative Learning, Education & Dialogue (with Barbara Caligiuri)
15. The Role of Facilitation
16. Chaos Theory, Dialogue & Process Technology
17. Dialogue and the Contemplative Traditions (with Ken McLeod)
18. Dialogue as a Way of Life