#📓 #📚 #🔴 # A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life: Welcoming the Soul and Weaving Community in a Wounded World ![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Aug 22, 2021</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>Dec 14, 2022</small> 🏷️ [[Leadership MOC]] **Author:** [[Parker Palmer]] **Citation:** Palmer, P. (2004). *A hidden wholeness: The journey toward an undivided life: Welcoming the soul and weaving community in a wounded world.* Jossey-Bass. --- # Summary Palmer explains how we are capable of living more fully. Palmer argues that we are born whole, but learn as children how to protect ourselves by living divided lives. He suggests that as adults we must learn to integrate our inner and outer reality so we can share our soul with the world. The way we can make the divided self whole is through community - or circles of trust. ## Key Takeaways # Notes & Important Ideas ### Chapter 1 > [! abstract] Chapter 1 Summary > - [[divided life]] - hiding our true identity from others (p. 4-5) - [[circle of trust]] - holds space for us to figure things out in our own time with encouraging and challenging support from others (p. 27) - [[inner teacher]] - we all have an inner teacher that offers us our best guidance, but we need others to help us discern its voice - [[inner & outer lives]] - we live divided lives when there is a disconnect between our true self (inner life) and how we present to the outer world. Learning to see how these are connected, and co-create our reality, is how to live a whole life. - [[solitude & community]] - we need solitude and community to be whole. Circles of trust are safe spaces where we can be alone together. - [[violence]] - [[third way]] - [[receptive listening]] - As one's listening becomes more open, speakers begin to trust they are being heard in a safe way and their speaking becomes more open > [!quote] ...when we learn how to listen more deeply to others, we can listen more deeply to ourselves (p. 121) > [!quote] "Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life" (p. 5) > [! quote] "In a circle of trust, we practice the paradox of "being alone together," of being present to one another as a "community of solitudes."" (p.54) > [! quote] Faced with the demands of life in the "real world," the inner progress I thought I had made seemed like an illusion, and the new self I thought I had found faded like a mirage (p. 168). ## Connections to Other Materials ### Listening to Your Inner Teacher I have since read [[Silence - Sardello 2008|Silence]] by Robert Sardello and started reading [[Playing Big - Mohr 2014|Playing Big]] by Tara Mohr. Both speak to becoming aware of and listening to your inner teacher. # Personal Reflections & Application ### [[Hearing My Inner Teacher]] >> I can't count how many thought leaders or inspirational speakers I've heard who agree with Palmer's (2004) assertion that "we all have an inner teacher whose guidance is more reliable than anything we can get from doctrine, ideology, collective belief system, institution, or leader" (p. 25). ### Disappointment With Reality Palmer talks about feeling let down when faced with reality after experiencing the magical high of a retreat. This is often how I feel after spending time in self-reflection, pre-planning, or personal development. It feels amazing in the moment and I'm excited by all the possibilities. But then the real world is back and it's hard to hold on to the sense of magic. - If the disappointment is because the experience was really an escape from reality, what can I do to get the most out of those experiences while still staying engaged in reality? --- # Other References