Place of encounter with oneself

Place of Encounter with Oneself - Ort des Selbsttreffens

The ‘Encounter with Oneself’(Selbsttreffen) is the first of two core processes in the project ‘Forum Place-of-Encounter’ (Forum Ort des Treffens). Taking part in the ‘Encounter with Oneself’ process is a prerequisite for participating in the second process: ‘Encounter with the Other’. This first self-reflection creates the basis for a conscious and enlivened encounter with myself and with every other person.

Sitting on yellow felt circle (about 1.5 meters wide) the ‘Encounter with Oneself’ participant is invited to reflect aloud on two questions:

What am I doing on earth?

What does it mean to me to be in the world?

The ‘Encounter with Oneself’ may take place anywhere at home, in the office, in a library, on the pavement, in a park.

A team member sits outside the yellow circle - as a witness to the whole process. The witness does not speak but engages through a process of focused, ‘active listening’ without any evaluation.

The participant determines the duration of the process and speaks for as brief or long a period as they wish.

If the participant agrees, the reflections are recorded on audio and so become part of the shared ‘listening field’. The contributions always remain anonymous.

The process of self-reflection is neither an interview nor a conversation with another person. The participant’s spoken reflections are what they discover in the process of reflecting on these two questions. And so there can be no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ things that are spoken. 

Übersetzung aus dem Deutschen: Helge Mücke