Aikido and the Mediator mindset

The parties control the content - but the mediator controls the process

You may recall hearing this phrase as part of the mediation training – or may have used this as part of the ‘welcome stage’ or in premeditation.

So let’s have a look at a Japanese martial art called Aikido and compare the philosophy to mediation process.

For those people not familiar with Aikido a useful starting point have a look at Alan Roberts Sensei from Auckland 

Between Scylla and Charybdis

We are constantly faced parties at mediation having to take critical decisions. Not always can the parties have their cake and eat it, rather it

will be an either/or choice. Are all decisions are taken from the angle of benefit?

If the choice is between Scylla and Charybdis*, is it fair to assume parties generally tend to opt for the lesser evil? Alternatively, if there is a choice between several favourable options, subjectively, the more advantageous one is likely to be chosen.

*Scylla and Charybdis (where the term ‘between a rock and a hard place’ comes from) were mythical sea monsters. Scylla the six-headed sea monster on the Italian side of the strait and Charybdis was a whirlpool monster off the coast of Sicily. They were located close enough to each other that they posed an inescapable threat to the intrepid leader Odysseus and his sailors; avoiding Charybdis meant passing too close to Scylla and vice versa. According to the mythology, Odysseus was warned about the impending danger to him and his sailors by Zeus the ‘father of gods and men’ and that he had to choose which monster to confront while passing through the strait; he opted to pass by Scylla and lose only a few sailors, but decided not tell his sailors about the imminent peril rather than risk a mutiny or even worse, the loss of his entire ship in the whirlpool.

"Meditate on this, I will."

Bit of a light hearted break for today!

In galaxy-not so far far away ....in Australia more than 70,000 people (0.37%) declared themselves members of the Chruch of the Jedi according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 census.  

Whilst I concede that it is unlikely that I will ever get to mediate clones - Yoda does come up with some excellent quotes that mediators I work with have (in a lighthearted way) quoted in relationship to one's mindset before, during and after mediation.

Exploring the Alligator River

My friends at LEADR posted this in preparation for the upcoming National Conference

Once upon a time... there was a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river which separated the two was teeming with man-woman eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. 

So, she went to ask Sinbad, a river boat captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to, if she would consent to go to bed with him preceding the voyage. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Vana to explain her dilemma. Vana did not want too be involved at all in the situation. 

In honour of the solid work you mob continue to do.

Having just returned 2010 National Mediation Conference in Adelaide with much to reflect upon ... I personally felt that there was small but positive recognition at a national level of the truly solid work that our mediators are doing on a daily basis.

Shopping for National Mediator Accrediation?

National Standards - mediators 'shopping around' for National Accreditation?

Scenario:

1. a person completes the training at an Recognised Mediation Accrediation Body (RMAB)
2. they fail or they are unable to sit the assessment
3. they approach you - another RMAB organisation - to sit the assessment component only

Do you accept their request to sit assessment with you?

SCRAM

Have you heard of SCRAM? It's an interactive / inter-school, mediation role play competition which develops mediation skills in years 9 and 10 students. The aim is to develop in young people collaborative conflict resolution and leadership skills.

Ho’oponopono and Seigi

Today, I was flicking reflecting on some of Dr Peter Adler's paper from the Keystone Centre who headed up the a Hawaiian mediation service much like the one I am currently employed in when I found a partucular section on Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness called Ho'oponopono that caught my attention....

Ponki Mediation training pays dividends

Yesterday, the Ponki (Tiwi) mediators who participated in the CJC/NAAJA mediation workshop in Nguiu on Bathurst Is last November (graduation picture below) completed their first (multi-sessional) Correctional Centre Mediation Conferencing Program (program) that involved an offender who has spent the last 19 years behind bars for killing his wife and the family of the deceased.