MatrixWorks is a facilitation model that uses practical application of Buddhism, systems thinking, holistic leadership, and neuroscience to make groups thrive as living systems. Our approach is designed to generate a feeling of aliveness in every individual and the whole group, so that the collective may become a dynamic body that self-organizes in harmony with its environment. We've developed this model to share the theory and practice of what's needed to create groups that work for everyone, and we imagine that you're here because you have within you a sense of what's possible when groups come together to make magic. These tools are needed to understand and transform the complexities of relationships among partners, families, teams, organizations, and groups of any kind. As we decode the mysteries of relational health, we unleash the creative, and often hidden potential of groups to experience evolutionary transformation. This book will prepare matrix-inspired leaders to function effectively and nourish life in times of chaos and profound change. Matrixworks A Life-Affirming Guide to Facilitation Mastery and Group Genius By Mukara Meredith, Lisa Rome Balboa Press Copyright © 2017 Mukara Meredith All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5043-7467-5 Contents Acknowledgements, ix, Introduction, xi, Part One – The Ground: Theory, Basic Goodness, 1, Living Systems, 5, 5 friends, 12, Neuroscience, 19, 4 Pillars, 27, Essential Patterns, 45, Part Two – The Path: Facilitation, Facilitator Tools, 63, Self-Regulation, 66, MatrixWorks, 72, Tracking, 76, Planning: Context, Container, and Content, 84, Class Timelines, 103, Exercises, 105, Part Three – The Fruit: Practical Application, Going Forth in a VUCA World, 141, 21st Century Organizations, 145, Groups Gone Bad, 149, Emergence, 152, Outcomes, 154, Summary, 157, Closing, 163, Reading list, 165, Endnotes, 171, CHAPTER 1 Basic Goodness When everything else is taken away, what is left of the human being, what's true of the human being are the qualities of Loving Kindness, Joy, Compassion, and Equanimity. These can never be taken away. - Tharthang Tulku, Rinpoche Nyingma Institute MatrixWorks operates from the principle that humans are born to love. Yet due to circumstances beyond our control, we sometimes need to relearn embodying love in our lives. Groups are like living, breathing organisms that have the potential to nourish and innovate. Yet in our industrial society, groups sometimes get confused for the machines that dominate our daily experience, and people get confused for replaceable parts. This confusion can sap the life force from a group and its members. The core of MatrixWorks is to help groups reach their potential as fully functioning, thriving, living systems: systems where no one is replaceable, and everyone has an integral part to play in the evolution of the whole. As living systems, all parts are essential and cannot be replaced, relationships are the currency of energy, and the task is called forth as creative evolutionary purpose (not solely profit, although that's important too). This organic nature of a group is basic goodness. Before any offering of MatrixWorks opens up, a ground of loving presence begins to open. I begin to tune in to a portal of possibilities for the group. This ground is the essential element of any transformative experience, as the seed of an organism carries within the outline of the whole unfolding. There are many components of this ground, the most essential being the beliefs and intention of those creating it. The Bill O'Brien quote "the success of an intervention depends upon the interior condition of the intervener" deeply resonates with how I approach working with a group. It is what I learned working with the women in Lafayette early in my career. In the initial ground of possibilities for a group, I touch a place where I know human beings are good and they can be good together. The energy I'm opening is commitment to the experience of being good and being even better together. This is well described by a memory I have of attending a talk by Stephen Porges, a leader in bridging the study of neuroscience with social behavior theory. Before he began the lecture, he took a moment to make eye contact with every person in the audience. Then he said the words that I always remember and that continue to guide me. "Human beings are good, and good human beings deserve to know what's going on inside them." I fell totally in love when he said that. That moment of authentic connection created a ground of safety that is essential to the MatrixWorks experience. A veil hangs over basic goodness like a cloud that blocks the light of the sun. This veil contributes to the perception of separation between group members and the benefit of the whole. Like the ego, it sends the message that all needs cannot be met, and that needs must be met at the expense of another. Many group exp