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Dialogue is really aimed at going into the whole thought process and changing the way the thought process occurs collectively. We havent really paid much attention to thought as a process. we have engaged in thoughts, but we have only paid attention to the content, not to the process. Why does thought require attention? Every thinking requires attention, really. If we ran machines withinout paying attention to them, they would break down. Our thought, too, is a process, and it requires attention, otherwise its going to go wrong.

David Bohm#4

ThinkingCommunicationDialogueProcess

About this quote

What does it mean?
Dialogue changes collective thought processes, not just content.
In plain terms
Pay attention to how we think, not just what we think.
What can you take from it?
Monitor thought processes to prevent errors.

Where it applies

  • team meetings
  • dialogue groups
  • education

Putting it to work

  • Facilitate dialogue sessions
  • Train on process awareness

Questions to consider

  • How do you think?
  • What biases shape your process?

Another view

Focusing on process can seem abstract to some.

More from David Bohm

  1. During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, TV, air travel, and satellites, has woven a network of communication which puts each part of the wo…

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  2. We probed into the nature of space and time, and of the universal, both with regard to external nature and with regard to mind. But then, we went on to conside…

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  3. The weekend began with the expectation that there would be a series of lectures and informative discussions with emphasis on content. It gradually emerged that…

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