THE COUNCIL — Exercise Guide

The Council is a space to help each other see more clearly and discover more possibilities — not to give advice or make decisions for each other.

Each person shares something they would like to explore: a question, wish, conflict, relationship, decision or direction.

Begin with:

“This is what I am facing…”

1 — SEE

What is happening?

Listen and help the person understand what they are facing.

Ask:

What is happening?

What do you want?

What is important to you?

What stands in the way?

Understand before answering.

2 — OPEN

What else is possible?

Look beyond A or B. Try to discover at least three different possibilities.

Ask:

What else could be possible?

Is there a third way?

Can something from both sides be kept?

What changes if we look at this differently?

Don’t choose. Explore.

3 — FOLLOW

Where does each path lead?

Explore the possible consequences of each path.

Ask:

If you choose this, what happens next?

What does it make possible?

What might you lose?

Who else is affected?

What does this path require from you?

Follow the path. Don’t decide yet.

4 — RETURN

What do you see now?

Stop exploring and give the question back to the person.

Ask:

“What can you see now that you couldn’t see when we started?”

There is no need to reach a decision. The purpose is simply to see more clearly before choosing.

I → WE

Before finishing, ask:

Did something in this story also belong to us?

Did we discover a question that concerns more than one person?

Is there a pattern, question or possibility worth bringing to the Great Ting?

Keep the person’s private story private.

Bring forward only the shared pattern, question or possibility.

Remember

SEE — What is happening?
OPEN — What else is possible?
FOLLOW — Where does it lead?
RETURN — What do you see now?

Ask before advising. Listen before answering. Explore before choosing.

The person owns their choice.
The Council does not choose the road. It helps us see the landscape.This is a Paragraph Font