I left it off that I hardly understood any of the three-day course, and yet…
Since then I have distinguished (don’t forget, this was 27 years ago!) that mind-learning, understanding, actually stands in the way of transformation. Transformation happens as a result of an insight, but the mind is only capable of intellectual insights, and they are worthless, or better said: a dime a dozen. Almost worthless, lol.
So here we are, midday day 3 of the Communication Workshop. The sun is blasting, it is late August in Israel. We are asked to stand up and mingle. I look out the window. The room is on the top of a mountain that is surrounded on three sides with the beautiful blue water of the Mediterranean. Breathtaking.
We are asked to find a new partner to share with. My new partner is gorgeous. He is of Yemenite origin, a Yemenite Jew. Tall, wild looking, lean and sexy. We are asked to make a list of all the people we have a bad or so-so relationship with. My mom is on the top of my list, of course.
Then the leader, a fellow architect, asks us to cross out number one and number two from our list. I gasp. My father is number three… eggad… this is going to be bad.
The assignment is to say one sentence that would completely alter that relationship. One sentence? That is going to be tough.