Seeds

Principles 

• Trust your intuition. Your reflections while sitting in silence, journaling, or engaging in a presencing practice are Seeds of the future. 
• Stay with uncertainty. Your next steps might not be obvious at first, and you might feel vulnerable and uncomfortable in this place. 
• Clarity will emerge in its own time. It may take time—days or weeks—for your thoughts to start taking shape.

Process 

Setup 

• People: This is an individual exercise that can be done on one’s own or with a group. 
• Place: A quiet area where you won’t be disturbed.
• Time: 5–15 minutes. 
• Materials: Journal pages from your own Guided Journaling exercise; post-It notes, note cards, or small pieces of paper; a pen or marker in a dark color. 

Steps 

Step 1: Collect Seeds

• Read through your journaling responses. Highlight words that catch your attention and have some resonance for you. These are your “Seeds of the future.” 
• Choose 5–10 of the highlighted words. Write them down (1 word on each card or piece of paper).

Step 2: Protect Your Seeds

• Seeds need a protected environment that allows them to grow. Place your Seeds somewhere where you can easily see them. Keep them in your mind during Step 3 below. Add new insights to your journal as they occur to you. 

Step 3: Dialogue with Your Seeds 

• Dialogue with your “Self”: Dialogue with yourself by creating moments of stillness. Meditation, taking a walk in nature, and listening to music that inspires you can facilitate this dialogue. 
• Dialogue with others: Ideally, conduct two Empathy Walks—one with someone who has different views about your Seeds, and one with a person who supports and appreciates the Seeds. These dialogues can help clarify your thinking. Ask yourself: What intentions do these Seeds carry? 
• Dialogue with the universe: A dialogue with the universe is a dialogue with everything that happens in your personal and professional life. Use your desire to help bring about change by paying attention to synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) which, on reflection, reveal what life might be asking of you. 

Step 4: Refine Your Seed Collection 

• Think again about your original seeds and pick the 3 that speak to you most strongly. 
• Identify how they relate to one another, possibly creating an order to the cards/papers. 
• If other Seeds reveal themselves to you during your reflections, add them to your collection. 

Step 5: Embody 

• Connect these Seeds to your vision and intention from the presencing exercises by writing, drawing, or engaging in movement to expand on their meaning. 
• Ask yourself: What environment and support do the Seeds need to grow and flourish?

Resources 

Bird, Kelvy. 2018. Generative Scribing: An Art of the 21st Century, Chapter: “Discern.” Cambridge, MA: PI Press.