In this course I am a student myself, an important reminder for me as a teacher. What it’s like to be the recipient on the other side. I’m used to work in a virtual environment, I feel safe with the medium, as an artist I’m also used to a the notion that the road being created while we walk. I therefore dare to trust the process even if I have no idea what’s going to happen and what’s is actually expected of me. Even so, to meet new people and to form a group, a social body needs good attention.

We meet in our first zoom meeting, the PBL group I will be part of for 12 weeks. Our course hosts leading the meeting and warm us up for future work. I notice that I sometimes distance myself thinking different thoughts about the process or other participants. What is that distancing really about? Included or excluded – am I part of the group, will I thrive here, will we listen to each other, will I get tired, will we inspire each other? Will they want to work with me? Conscious and unconscious thoughts that pass through my system in one hundredth of a second. I discover the thoughts and take myself back to my bodily presence and to a more generative level of listening.

We need to notice our level of attention, its quality. How we listen, when we distance ourselves, when we are present and with what level of attention we listen.

It´s easy to cling to one’s own beliefs and begin to believe that one’s prejudices and preconceived notions are truths. But, it’s just part of my preconception, my way of looking at the world, like everyone else has their own image. It is through our communication that we can make common worlds and create the intersubjectivity needed for us to build a sustainable foundation of trust.

In my teaching I often start with a moment of silence together to mark a shift from our everyday reality to the mutual space we will build together. It gives me a greater opportunity to let myself be present. We tend to be afraid of silence when we do not know each other and tend to talk for the sake of talking. Silence is one way of building a stronger foundation for listening. Who are you and who am I?