Listening Projects about the Environment

"We would like many RC Communities to organize groups of RCers to do listening Projects about the environment, and about the environment and racism."

Listening projects1 began as attempts to push us out of our isolation, as individuals and as an RC Community. They give us a chance to face our fears about listening to people who have different perspectives than we do and who might be “upset.” They also push us to think farther, and communicate our thinking to others.

THREE LEVELS

There are three “levels” to listening projects:

1) Offering resource to people; listening to let people think a little farther

People often have trouble thinking farther until they get listened to about their restimulations. When we listen to people, their minds take advantage of the opportunity. (Remember how fast things changed for you with your first Co-Counseling sessions? Things were sitting there under pressure, and the cork was pulled.) People are able to move farther toward a rational position when they are listened to.

Listening projects offer a huge benefit both to the people we are listening to and to us. They are supported to think fully without outside interference or judgment. We get to listen and concentrate on thoroughly understanding someone else’s position, not just agreeing or arguing.

2) Showing enough of ourselves, and who we are, for people to join us

Sometimes the people we are listening to notice us, ask who we are, and see that we are doing something deliberately. They may notice that it’s possible to have intention on an issue, not just feelings. Some folks notice that a group of us are doing this. We can invite them in. We can share everything we know. We are trying to widen the door to the RC Community.

3) Showing our best thinking on many issues

We want to get all of us showing our thinking, while showing ourselves. In addition to counseling people, our goal is to put out good policy. By giving people a better picture of reality (for example, that reality is hopeful), listening projects can give them a better perspective than they’ve been able to figure out for themselves.

HELPFUL MATERIALS

We would like many RC Communities to organize groups of RCers to do listening projects about the environment, and about the environment and racism. Listening projects are an excellent way for us to engage people everywhere in becoming more aware of the current environmental situation. We can listen to people’s feelings that interfere with their thinking about the situation and their taking action. To that end, we have developed some materials to assist RCers in this project (request them by writing to us at <ircc@rc.org>):

• A shorter adaptation of Tim Jackins’ article “Toward a Goal on Care of the Environment” (our best thinking about the current environmental situation), for people who are not Co-Counselors

• Descriptions of several listening projects conducted by different RC Communities, including information about how each group prepared for its project

• A list of non-RC resources about the environment, to be used for an RC group or as a handout for interested non-RCers, that will help people begin educating themselves about the current situation

• A handout about listening projects, written for a non-RC audience, that explains why we are listening to people and how people can listen to each other

Listening projects have also served as “entry-level” projects for people interested in organizing United to End Racism2 projects in local communities. Doing a listening project helps people think about how to offer wide-world workshops and groups that look in more detail at issues like racism and the environment.

If you are interested in doing a listening project, please work with your Area3 Reference Person or Regional4 Reference Person to organize it. Listening projects are considered “going public with RC” and as such require the approval of the Regional Reference Person.5

Tim Jackins and Diane Shisk


1 In an RC listening project, several Co-Counselors go to a public place and offer to listen  to passersby about some important issue. They may hold signs that invite people to  share their thinking.
2 United to End Racism is an ongoing program of the Re-evaluation Counseling  Communities. It works with other groups involved in eliminating racism and shares with  them the theory and practice of Re-evaluation Counseling.
3 An Area is a local RC Community.
4 A Region is a subdivision of the International RC Community, usually consisting of  several Areas.
5 Guideline I.1. of the Guidelines for the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities: The Regional  Reference Person (RRP), in consultation with the International Reference Person (IRP),  approves presentations of Re-evaluation Counseling (RC), using the name “Re- evaluation Counseling” or the term “RC,” outside of the RC Communities.


Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00