The ladder of inference

The Ladder of Inference is an idea developed by Harvard professor Chris Argyris to show how we can often make inferences in the way we perceive other people and their actions towards us. With several steps on this ladder, there is plenty of room for error on our part if we assume that we always know what is right and that we are hearing other people correctly. A humble stance can allow us to acknowledge that perhaps discernment is needed.

Two examples I used in a recent homily are below.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Spiritual Exercises

Image
Any way of prayer or mediation may be considered a spiritual exercise. Just like physical exercise it helps to have a plan, a coach and some discipline. The Spiritual Exercises (notice the capitals) are a series of meditations and contemplations which 16th century St Ignatius of Loyola composed from his own prayer experience, and then taught to his followers, who became the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits). The Exercises are mostly contemplations of scenes in the gospels, where we are to use our imagination to place ourselves within the scene so as to meet Jesus intimately, allowing the gospel account to unfold as we watch, listen, feel and take part. Following the contemplation of the scene is a prayer dialogue with Jesus about whatever we experienced and learned. Woven throughout the program of gospel scenes which Ignatius chose are some specific meditations on sorrow for sin, choosing to follow Jesus, and then giving yourself wholeheartedly to Jesus. The Exercises can be don
Read more

Rhythm

Image
I'm now in the middle of my second term. Life on college campus has a wonderful rhythm here, which for me is 6 wake, prayer, breakfast 8 Counselling skills class 10 Theology of the Spiritual Exercises class 12 lunch, break, study 5   Mass , dinner study, exercise and that's about it! In between there are wonderful conversations in the dorm rooms and hallways,and occasional walks downtown for groceries or an evening stroll. Tuesday night is a 7pm Mass for our whole class group (about 50 people this term) and Friday night is a social dinner. Weekends are free, and I usually go to the 10.30am Mass here on campus. Some people here are getting cabin fever, feeling frustrated and/or bored of the same routine and being with the same people all the time. I like it. I think having spent years in seminary I'm quite OK with an institutional style of life. It feels to me very contained, where all my focus is on the one community of people and in the same direction. In normal
Read more

Doing the Spiritual Exercises

Image
During my time in Omaha I studied the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius . It is one thing to study them, but another to do them.The exercises can be done as a 30 day intensive retreat, or a week by week program. Much as I would love to, there isn't a spare month I could be away from the parish again, so I am doing the 30 week version. I receive spiritual direction via Skype from my director (referred from the Jesuit retreat centre in Pymble ). Each week she sends me a list of scripture passages to meditate on and other prayer exercises, and then in an hour conversation via Skype we talk just about how I have been praying. It has been a very focused experience of prayer thus far. In other experiences of spiritual direction in the past we have talked about a broader range of issues of life, prayer and ministry, but this is just about prayer, nothing else. I am praying with passages of scripture which of course I have known, such as Jesus' declaration of bringing good news t
Read more