Art of Protection

Earlier this year, in Axladitsa-Avatakia, ten people gathered for a dialogue on the subjects of conflict, vulnerability, power and protection. This article is intended to share what we discovered and what we still have questions about. This dialogue, entitled The Art of Protection, brought together several streams of related thought, including:
• Sun Tzu’s The Art of War – this third century BCE wisdom text seeks to counsel generals on conquering without doing battle.
• Psychoanalysis – resolving conflict, both intra-psychic and interpersonal, is a main focus for this discipline.
• Living systems theory – seeing the wholeness and interdependence between a living system and its environment informs many disciplines including social science and organizational development.
• Theory U – a theory of innovation and change, articulated by C.O. Scharmer, informs organizational development professionals and social entrepreneurs alike.
• Aikido – perhaps the least violent of the martial arts, Aikido seeks to disarm or thwart attacks by using the force of the attack against itself.

Informed and provoked by these disciplines, The Art of Protection became a magnet and gathering place for stories and questions about conflict, vulnerability, power and protection. So what you read here is offered in the spirit of an inquiry – this is what we have seemed to learn, and here are our questions. These are not idle questions, to our way of thinking; we would like to know what you think and what light your experience sheds on this inquiry.

Callers & Hosts of this inquiry: Bob Ziegler, Anita Paalvast, Yyitzchak Mendelson, Maria Skordialou & Sarah Whiteley