Case Study #5: Holding A Possibility To See Who Is In Alignment

When Larry started talking about Right Relationships in 1989, it awakened some people and repulsed others. His constituents rallied around the idea that we do not need to be compromised in relationships. It focused on how we could separate ourselves from our conditioning and Defenses, and could affirm who we were creatively with partners. Some people identified with a part of this process while others took what they needed to solve their existing problems in relationships, so there was no common embodiment. This fragmented and minimized the unity of the group so that it could not become conscious in itself. This is the common problem that exists in most organizations. Over time, Higher Alignment has experienced waves of interest, as people learned about an opportunity and then sought to implement it in their lives. Teaching this process has been a long-term endeavor because it has required a shift in Context, where people re-examine their current circumstances. The primary shift they make is from a personality relationship focus to a co-creative partnership focus. The result is that they have started to name their experience and talk about their patterns of engagement and disengagement. Some have succeeded in creating aligned relationships. Others have found it hard to make the transition.

By declaring a Mission with a larger Context, we challenge our student constituents to step beyond their comfort zones so that they become more resourceful in manifesting what they want. We have established core values to help us manifest this vision and, therefore, embody the very types of behavior we want to encourage in our constituents. We strive to use Common Neutral Ground in all of our activities and conversations. We have realized the limitations of Objectification, Subjectification and Idealization, where we need to stretch the Common Ground in order to be harmless. This does not mean that we are perfect or that we do not make mistakes. It means that we endeavor to minimize these distortions and clean them up when required.

We have expanded what we do in the world. We started with relationship transformation and have added Authentic Life Expression, organizational development and new employee selection so that team building can function well. While we have stumbled, we have plans to address parenting and understanding childhood development for parental, academic and teacher populations. We have instituted training programs for facilitators and coaches to become certified in all these areas. Eventually, we will work in casting plays, movies and TV shows as well as providing assessments in the legal arenas regarding lawyers, judges and juries. We have spent the last 20 years building roadmaps and structures to empower transformation in these areas. 

Many individuals have developed relationships with Larry to co-define certain areas of this work. Some of these partnerships have become very successful collaborations. Others, for a number of reasons, have not matured or developed as strongly. We have learned that it is necessary for every coach and facilitator candidate to take responsibility for their own power to choose Higher Alignment as their Authentic Life Expression. Some have been prepared and some have not.  Individuals who could not step into this possibility became obstacles for the ongoing development of the organization. We learned about the impact of Objectification, Subjectification and Idealization in the group. Now we have coalesced a strong executive team and a number of Co-creative Partnerships working together more as a group. As this occurs, the Common Neutral Ground in the group is beginning to emerge to become more unified in its ability to bring out the best while minimizing the worst. The organization is finding its own Authentic Life Expression.

Our next step as a group is to transcend the information and Content in order to embody the Path. We are in the process of doing this by making all basic definitions, structures and information freely accessible on the web. What is important is to give meaning to our constituents’ life lessons so they can engage the best solutions possible. As part of this process, we are now creating training programs that reflect different tracks of development so that we can plan where we want to go without difficulty. What we have done is to create an Intent and structure that matches our Context and Vision. Over the next two years, Higher Alignment will see a blossoming of its coach and facilitator programs as our practitioners embody the lessons they seek to teach. While the breadth of development of Higher and Creative Alignment has taken a lot longer to focus than we originally estimated, we believe our capacity to contribute to the Universe is now much greater. These embodiment stages of Common Neutral Ground reflect our ability to respond to the needs of those around us by better defining the process. How are you making your contribution?