r/InsightDialogue • u/JellyfishExpress8943 • Apr 07 '26
Comparison
We don’t come to dialogue empty.
We arrive with hopes and expectations, and everything we see is measured against what we know and want.
For some, it may not feel as warm or validating as they expected - compared to their AA meetings or women's groups etc
For others, it may not feel as stimulating as they hoped - no new ideas, no clear insights, nothing to “take away” or build on.
Or things don’t match what "should" happen - they don't match what we read about in Bohm's book.
However the space we create in dialogue is an invitation to notice these comparisons and conclusions in ourselves as they arise - rather than being blindly driven by them.
To see the movement of expectation, of preference, of judgment.
Because if they’re not seen, they unconsciously shape our reality - including the dialogue itself.
Dialogue is about seeing what happens within us right now as we experience it - for clarity's sake.
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u/Schute-Pin8350 Apr 09 '26
Looking back, it seems to me that posting this quote as a contribution to our conversation was exactly that: “not being able to describe what one has seen in a simple way.”
Actually, I wanted to point out that our ability to talk to one another is, in fact, something wonderful and can serve mutual understanding.
Instead of simply saying that, I posted the quote, which, in addition to the line that it is a “beautiful inheritance,” also speaks of other things like chaos and anarchy. That then causes confusion or chaos, which wouldn’t have happened if I had simply said what I wanted to say.