1)  Participants must feel safe. 

The group must make agreements to support and maintain the safety of all members.  

Some necessary agreements are:

               a)  maintaining confidentiality.

               b)  refraining from judgment.

               c)  no personal attacks- verbal or physical.  

2)  Honor the wisdom that each person brings. 

View each person as having a piece of the information/truth (a perspective) about the issue.   

3)  Exercise reflective, rather than reflexive thinking. 

Focus on exploring how one thinks about an issue, rather than what one believes.  

4)  Reflect on your assumptions. 

Develop the ability to "suspend" or disengage, at least temporarily from one's belief system.  Allow yourself to be more open to other's views and perspectives, focus on understanding other's views.  Consider alternative views with the assumption that they contain a part of the truth.  

5)  Learn to speak from the heart. 

Speak from your experience, and speak to the community.  Focus on sharing your knowledge and experience rather than proving or convincing others (or the facilitator) of your knowledge and experience.  

6)  Listen from the heart. 

Ask yourself, "What is she/he trying to say?"  Reflect on the assumptions you may be making about what the person is saying.  Pay attention to what is being said, rather than on how you will respond.  Assume that the person speaking and their ideas and observations have something to contribute.  

7)  Allow yourself and others the right to disagree. 

It is not expected or necessary for dialogue that people agree, come to a conclusion, or decide what is "best" or "right."  Focus on developing a greater awareness of those around you and of yourself.  

8)  Ask questions with a sense of wonder, be curious. 

Question and think in terms of connections and relationships.  "I wonder how this relates to..." or "I was thinking about what ___ said and I wonder..."  Try to get below the surface, question assumptions, and try to get at the root issues.  

9)  Allow for silence. 

Give yourself and others the time to reflect.  It is impossible to establish an atmosphere where everyone is honored and feels heard when interrupting, and "piggy-backing" is prevalent.   

Starting and Sustaining the Ecologic Dialogue Process  

1)  Open the group with a reflective exercise; one that is designed to help individuals question their assumptions, recognize other's wisdom, and think reflectively.  

2)  Establish and dialogue about dialogue principles.  (Try to phrase in a positive, do language rather than in don'ts.)  Provide a sheet with more detail and explanation and post shorter descriptions.  Allow for other's contributions-- explain that your list is just a beginning point.  Some suggestions are: a) Honor and respect all the members of the group, including yourself. b) Speak and listen from the heart- with a sincere desire to understand and be understood. c) Ask questions; work at phrasing ideas as questions or questioning statements. d) Think reflectively, rather than reflexively.  (Explore the distinctions.) e) Allow for periods of silence, especially in the beginning of the group and after breaks.  

3)  Take time, at least once, in the session (preferably, after allowing for a short period of silence) and go around the circle asking each member if they have anything they would like to share.  NOTE: it helps if you have preparatory readings, and require each participant to bring at least two comments or questions about each of the readings to each session.  

4)  Take breaks to review the session and ask if others have anything they would like to add, i.e. something they didn't get a chance to say earlier, something you missed in your review, etc.  This allows the space to be emptied and facilitates further reflection and can also clear a crowded space of too many concepts.  

5)  Remind and encourage participants to reflect on their assumptions, and to consider other ways of thinking- in ways that support and allow for healthy change or learning.  Allow participants to "remind" others of the guiding principles, request that the reminders be positive and encouraging.  

6)  Ask "open-ended" and "strategic" questions that encourage exploration and curiosity.  Ask questions that encourage exploration of relationships, and connections; try to get below the surface of an issue.  Explore the roots and question assumptions.  

7)  Provide readings and prepare questions that encourage exploration and reflection. Work with and incorporate systems thinking and relational questioning and exploration into course and training material.  Systems and relational thinking facilitate and encourage dialogue and group learning.  

8)  Allow for personal discussions and sharing to occur.  Allow time and space for people to develop a sense of community and security.   

9)  Provide time and practice exercises for the group to develop dialogue skills in a safe and non-threatening environment.  

10) Honor all members of the group and work to suspend your own judgments and assumptions.  Recognize that you bring your own view of "reality" into the group.  As a facilitator it is especially important and your responsibility to reflect on how you impose your perspectives on the group.