All AoC Trainings are built upon foundational principles that inform the curriculum and practices for each session. The principles are based on Heartland's learnings and experiences along with the inspiration of our mentors.

Principles are the heart and soul of the convener that underlie each thought and action. The embodiments of ones own core beliefs and principles shared in wisdom with others, practiced and honed through experience then brought to service in the world is our goal.

PRINCIPLES OF ESSENTIAL CONVERSATION

Listen
  - with respect for all the voices
  - without fixing, problem solving, advice giving

Speak from Your Own Experience
  - speak from the “I”, from your own experience
  - what is on your mind/heart?

Slow Down the Conversation
  - allow pauses between speakers

Suspend Certainty
  - notice your assumptions
  - look for the surprises

Allow Space for Difference
  - be aware of your judgments
  - live with Honor the questions and the inquiry

. . . and, you can always take back what you said

PRINCIPLES ON CONVENING AND BEING A CONVENER (a partial list)
In community we remember the nature of our collective journey

To Convene
• is to offer the gift of being known
• is the recognition that the answers to our questions reside in the authentic words from our minds, hearts and souls.

The Convener
• is called to convene for the benefit of all
• is a catalyst for the collective will and intelligence
• knows that the transformation from within affects the world without.