Open-Ended Pacing

The more we can honor ourselves as we are, the less protective and defensive we are around our Pacing. When we can always be operating in our Home Base Pacing and learn how to use the Common Neutral Ground consciously to meet people where they are, without compromising ourselves, then we have become open-ended in our Pacing. At this stage, as long as we have the energy, we can maintain an effective way of being with others with the different Pacing without causing a reaction within us. More about this process will be covered in the next section.

Individuals that have open-ended-Pacing have an ability to easily connect with others and bring out a commitment to the larger process in front of them. Typically, individuals who are operating in an open-ended way are seen as great peace-keepers and conflict resolution experts because we are not attached to positions about who we are. In other words, we realize that in each and every moment, anyone can do anything. This means that we can operate beyond our role-playing or beliefs about who we are. Usually this experience arises when we are either serene in ourselves and honor who we are or when we have enormous compassion for others and arise to unify various competing factions by being the common space of the process.

The example below of Michael J. Fox shows a person who originally was slow-Paced with fast-Paced imprinting who healed his Resistance to the Intensity, creating an openness where he could be with others. The example of Marilyn Monroe has the opposite background, where she was naturally fast-Paced with slow-Paced imprinting, she healed her Intensity to Resistance to create a situation where she could connect to others where they were. Every one of us, when we begin to know ourselves on a natural Pacing level, become more energetically sensitive to ourselves and others, which indicates that we are beginning to move into an open-ended-Pacing process.

Another way of identifying open-ended-Paced individuals is how synchronized we are in the intent, context and content ways of connecting with others. We are able to be present with ourselves, and with others without any compromise or sacrifice. As long as we manage our own energy well in our own environment, we come to appreciate the perspectives of others by being with them in a way that they experience and treasure. It has been said and observed that common Pacing creates a greater sense of unity and heart-connectedness. Many times we can observe this in the sharing of passions that occur where synergy is produced. It is also true that the more open-ended-Pacing we are, the more potential we have to be seen as charismatic by others. It is not what we do that matters, but how we are being with others, that creates this response.

Another way of validating that an individual is open-ended-Paced is how cleanly they meet others in a way that has a well-established context, content and intent. While this requires that we have cleared out our Communication Process imprinting and have become more balanced in our ability to speak our inner truth, the key issue is that we are not repressing, denying or avoiding the context, content and intent of others around us. Instead, we can be present in our own experience and articulate each one of these three domains fully with others without repressing them or denying us. This requires knowing ourselves as a creative being beyond our outer identification with the way we express ourselves. Until we discover our truth and can articulate it in a way that others can engage it, then we are still operating in a protected way around our Pacing.

Examples (D1): Open-Ended Pacing (no Resistance, Inertia or Intensity present)

Fluid, flexible and able to meet others without compromising self.

Dalai Lama – Exiled Tibetan Buddhist.
Michael J. Fox – Actor, TV star.
Marilyn Monroe – Actress, sexy star of the 1950-60’s, movie, “Some Like It Hot.”
Mohandas Ghandi – facilitated India’s return to independence.

A common misperception is that slow-Paced people are not as smart or intelligent and that higher IQ is associated in our society with faster intellectual processing. This is not accurate or true. Slow-Paced people are more thorough and considered in their approach, and typically more successful in making something happen based on blunt statistics. Fast-Paced people will be ready to move on before being truly complete, yet are more keenly aware of what might happen to sidetrack the process. Each type has its own style of intelligence.