Contemplative Inquiry on Climate Change: Playing with Perspectives

Abigail Lynam, Cascadia College
Author Profile

Summary

In this reflective and contemplative dialogue, participants are guided through a perspective-taking exercise in small groups of 3-4 students. This provides an opportunity to reflect on and integrate learning (as well as feelings and beliefs) about complex and challenging issues such as climate change, although it can be applied to any issue. The perspectives that participants are guided to explore three perspectives: things are getting worse; things are getting better; and things are simply what they are. This exercise takes one to one-and-a-half hours to complete.

Share your modifications and improvements to this activity through the Community Contribution Tool »

Learning Goals

The primary goal is to support students in their abilities to take different perspectives on complex issues. Doing so can support students to expand their critical thinking skills, as well as to deepen self-reflection and self-awareness. The exercise can also deepen the understanding of others, build skills for working effectively with diverse viewpoints, and cultivate empathy and compassion for others. And finally, the contemplative dialogue can help students to metabolize difficult feelings related to complex and overwhelming issues.

Context for Use

This is a small group exercise (groups of 3-4) and can be done in any group or class size (as long as the students can be organized into smaller groups). It is best offered after learning about complex and challenging issues such as climate change or species extinction. This can be adapted for undergraduate and graduate classes. It is ideal to have 1.5 hours for the exercise, however it can be completed in an hour if needed.

Description and Teaching Materials

This is an hour-long contemplative exercise to explore the psychological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of learning about climate change. Students are guided through a perspective-taking exercise in small groups of 3-4 students. Each step of the 3-part exercise is followed by reflective writing and then, after all three steps, there is a whole-group discussion about the experience.

Step 1 explores the perspective that things are getting worse and worse. After each person has shared for about 4 minutes each (use a bell to indicate when its time to switch to another speaker), bring the groups to silence and give them an opportunity to silently reflect or to do reflective writing for a few minutes.

Step 2 explores the perspective that things are getting better and better. Follow step 1 for more details.

Step 3 explores the perspective that things are simply what they are.

Allow time for reflective writing following the small-group exercise. Reflection questions can be found in the handout, followed by a whole group discussion and reflection.

This is how I introduce and lead this exercise:

In this contemplative exercise, we will explore the psychological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of learning about climate change. We will experiment with taking three different perspectives to understand the gifts and challenges of each, how each informs or inspires action, and inquire into what it is like to hold all three perspectives simultaneously.

This exercise is an opportunity to expand and deepen capacities and skills for working effectively with diverse viewpoints. It can also be a contemplative tool for self-understanding and self-awareness, and for expanding empathy and compassion.

See what you can learn about yourself, about others in your group, and climate change. Notice if any of these perspectives are easier or harder to take and consider why that might be. Notice what the gifts and challenges of each are, in each perspective. And finally, explore what it is like to hold all three perspectives simultaneously.

The exercise isn't intended to promote any one of these three perspectives, but to practice holding all three as a dynamic whole. It also offers an opportunity to explore whether we have a preference for one of the perspectives over the others and how that preference or tendency shapes our experience and orientation to climate change, as well as others who might take a different perspective.

"We know a great deal about what leaders do and how they do it. But we know very little about the inner place, the source from which they operate....The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervenor. The blind spot of leadership... is the internal state of the change agent...what we source our actions out of." (Scharmer, 2008)

In this guided exercise, we will:
  • explore three perspectives on climate change: the polarity that things are getting worse and that things are getting better, and then a third possibility: that things are simply what they are;
  • dive into each of these perspectives and notice what they bring forth;
  • inquire into preferences for specific perspectives and what those preferences might imply;
  • share our experiences in small groups;
  • engage in reflective writing;
  • bring our reflections to the full group.
See the attached description and instructions for the exercise. Handout for Contemplative Inquiry on Climate Change (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 131kB Jul25 17)

Teaching Notes and Tips

This is a guided small-group contemplative inquiry. Make sure that the group is organized into small groups of 3-4 participants, and that they are sitting close enough that they can hear each other and not be distracted by others. Have them put away everything except a pen and paper. When one person in the group is speaking, others should listen silently and not respond verbally. Help the students to relax, quiet down, and feel comfortable in this exercise. If any group is being disruptive, see if you can support them to relax and quietly engage in the exercise, so that they don't disturb others.

Assessment

The reflective writing and group discussion part of the activity will help you assess what the students are getting out of the experience. This isn't a graded activity. However, students do get credit for class participation overall and if someone is not participating or is disruptive, I give them the feedback, explore solutions and if needed, it is reflected in their participation grade for that particular day.

References and Resources