Worldwork, conflict work and spirituality

Abstract

Worldwork, a development of Processwork by Arnold Mindell and colleagues, is a group process method for working with small, large and very large groups, teams and organizations as well as social fields of tension. Worldwork uses awareness procedures and body-oriented techniques in working with tension and conflict. Worldwork discovers a spiritual power in the conflict itself: in the experience of a common ground, a sense of coherence, which unites the participants on a feeling level. With an attitude of deep democracy, the facilitation values all voices, feelings and body reactions of the group members, making accessible the group’s potentials and resources. Keys to the method are: awareness of rank and privileges, working with roles and ghost-roles, unfolding of barriers in communication and ‘hot spots’ in the group process as well as signals of common ground in speech and body language.