Lewis Tachau
Intention
I set the intention to increase my understanding of empathy and practice effective use of it.
Lee-Anne interviews Lewis
What did you agree to take part in this course?
L: Why did you participate?
Lew: heard it went well. interested in empathy
L: Why are you interested in furthering your practice of empathy?
job at camp -relate to staff, family, others others I talk to.
aids in living my life
Lew: helps me to relate to my family and my job. empathy aids me in discussing with them living my life.
L: For you empathy is essential in business and personal life, it gives you a way of communicating and collaborating with people that you think is essential. how might we spread those concepts and values across people in your age group
Lew: through continuing push of mindfulness with their parents. if we continue our path being mindful ourselves. and will continue to gain popularity in the mainstream.
continuing the push for mindfulness. many young people are already doing this with parents.
L: Do you see a connection between mindfulness and empathy?
Lew: mindfulness and empathy goes in hand in hand.
L: Can you say more about how empathy for you is a dual process. Traditional empathy is only seeing it from the other person's perspective instead of both points of view.
I learned it from you . The self empathy.. empathy for just others is toxic. Important to check in with self, Hold both self and the other. missing half the conversation if only listening to self or the other.
Lew: Self empathy was taught by Lee-Anne. it’ important to check in with yourself when you’re with others. and how emotions are affecting you and the other person. if you only look at yourself and not yourself. it’s only looking at half of the conversation.
L: It's important to manage emotion during empathy. can you speak to how people your age handle empathy and emotion.
Lew: Very much on an individual basis. ppl repressed and ppl express their emotions and ppl middle of the ground. people my age can’ be generalized.
L: 3/4 of the group you mentioned are having trouble with their emotions, im wondering if that contributes to substance abuse.
People have a wider range of ways they deal with their emotions.
people express emotion
Lew: That could make sense if people repress their emotions. Say when a person is sober and is aware and afraid of their emotion. Indulging in their abuse might take them to the other extreme.
if people repress emotions, and don’t want to look at them.. substance abuse.
L: connection emotional regulation with empathy. i was wondering if one of the ways people lewis's age regulate emotions with substance abuse. in order to promote more empathy would we need to talk to teens that are struggling with substances and help them deal with it.
can empathy circles be used for people with substance abuse.
yes is a group crying out for dealing with their emotions.
Lew: i def think so, crying out the most to cope with their emotions because they have no friends or family to reach out to. if we can make and end road hopefully will deter them and guide teens to choose empathy and mindfullness to express their emotions.
Lee-Anne Interviewee: Lewis
Insight: Lewis feels mindfulness towards self and other is a component of empathy.
Feedback:
more people hold open dialog
Feelings
compassion
Needs
open to holding dialogue about difficult feelings with balanced mindful awareness for self and other
openness
Intention
prepare for school with this.
Lee-Anne interviews Lewis
Why is empathy important to you? Try asking “why?” 5 times to your partner's answers.
Did the empathy circle address your intention?
Why or why not? how?
LeeAnne: why is empathy important to you?
without being able to relate outside only half of a conversation
L: why are you only having half a conversation w/ oral speech
Lew: communication involves a balance of emotion and empathy
L: why is relating to a person’s emotion important in relating to a conversation
it helps to use accurate tone.
L. Why: important to know where people are coming from?
because it is respectful to acknowledge their standing and deliver the message that
L: Why is respect and emotion imp in communication and relating?
need good and healthy emotions because otherwise conversation breaks down into fightin.
L: In what way would relate to the goal of…...
I feel empathy circles accomplish that goal, it shows there is empathy and respect, it does what it is made more?
L; How might we promote more empathy circles
balance emotion may not always
expose more people to it. word of mouth will do it. can’t sell this.
L: It isn’t something you can sell to ppl?
L: Chase was wondering why empathy not more popular. Any suggestions on making it popular?
Lew: keep it up and do it ourselves and other people will do it. there are people who are interested in it and I don’t know if you can make people do it.
*Not sure how to make people interested in empathy*
L: What do we need to do to keep doing?
Lew: restructuring education and how people learn.
sprad by people having their own kids and it will pass on.
L: Kids and schools wld benefit from more empathy. I’m noticing that empathy takes time, how would we balance empathy w/ the other core subjects?
current approach is not working.
L: I hear you saying that the democratic model of education is a very good way to include empathic studies in schooling
Lee-Anne Interviewee: Lewis
Insight: Lewis believes empathy circles promote much needed respect while balancing emotion
feelings
connected
optimistic
hopeful
needs
respect
emotional regulation
Intention
I’m setting the intention to interact in an empathic way with the participants of the group and those outside of it.
Empathy Circle
excited for the rest of this course
forgot that the transcription only happens during the interviews
the empathy circle feels like you are really listened to, like an interview
excited that lee-anne is leaning it and how it will go in the future
grateful for how it’s gone so far and learned so much about empathy , didn’t know it was so deep
Wendy interviews Lewis
Wendy: Do you feel/find empathy circle removes focus from emotions.
Lewis: Emp circle is more about how to listen, and the meat of the message, which can be lost over digital medium.
Wendy: How can we improve empathy circle and return the emotional component to emp circle.
Lewis: Do it in person to connect more directly with the speaker's emotions.
Wendy; So you’re saying being in person is better than computers.
Lewis: Ideally. It’s still effective like this. An edge is lost when you do it this way.
Wendy: What has been your experience so far?
Lewis: Very informative. Interesting to see how others use it, outside of social empathy. The practice of raw empathy with others. Everyone does it differently depending on how they are coming into the experience.
Wendy: What do you think the goals of empathy circle are? Do you feel they are being accomplished?
Lewis: I don’t know what the specific goals are. There are the guidelines
I do think it achieves it’s goal in that way.
Wendy: In your mind, do you feel there is something else other than empathy circle to tap into empathic listening?
Lewis: there are other exercises we can use. We use counsel (council?)with my family, and at camp. Resolution circles work when conflict is present. Still think emp circles are great, there are a number of ways to get to the same end.
Wendy Interview Lewis
Insight: Empathy circles leaves out an emotional component, but for the most part, serves it’s purpose.
Feedback: readiness to be more active share Chase’s readiness to be more active
Feelings
incomplete
Needs
mindful
connected
authenticity
Brainstorm
How Might We… create more safe and authentic connection with feelings in the empathy circle?
Empathy Circle App
Government sponsored empathy training initiative
Empathy Circle Sketch w/ funny celebrities on late night talk shows
Attend a community service convention and lead an empathy cafe style program with a large amount of participants
Intention:
I set the intention to lead section 3 in a productive manner
Report
In today's meeting we began by writing our intentions and holding an empathy circle as usual. Afterwards we moved on into the planning and progression of the formation of our design project to bring empathy circles to students in high school. Once we were able to narrow down the focus of the project we worked on figuring out who we could go to for research and where we could go to test things out.
I'm happy with the progress we've made this week and hope to see even more next week.
Intention
I set the intention to lead a good and solid class today in cooperation with Chase.
Lewis talking to Edwin
Lewis and chase began with lewis talking and stanford reflecting, then we switched and stanford spoke. did this for about 15 minutes. then moved onto the interview phase. we wrote down some things he liked and didnt like. usefel information was obtained.
Common interest
hand gestures
jokes
interesting topics
adding opinions.
Things stanford likes^
Unnatural one way conversation took stanford out of the experience.
Stanford says to brainwash/bribe highschoolers to trick them into doing the empathy circle.
Lewis has one more insight. Lewis thinks what teenagers need to be interested is to be around other teenagers. having the teens feeling more comfortable in the group. empathy circle works when people are comfortable.
Chase interviews Lewis
Chase stanford felt that not inserting his opinion was a sticking point for him. Please reflect on why this is so.
Lewis: stanford said it’s part of natural conversation, he felt going out of his comfort zone.
Chase: What games can we mix in the ec to make it more fun and engaging?
Lewis: what comes to mind are silent and having ppl in a circle but can’t think of any, Indian Circle or the Dream game
indian chief dream game
Chase: Why would a typical HS student would be turned off from an ec?
Lewis: going out of conversation, talking at a mirror isn’t appealing.
Chase: How do you propose we make it more natural or comfortable?
Lewis: not sure if you can make it more natural but you can make it more comfortable by introducing a veteran.
Chase: How long would it take to do an ec with 5 teens and a veteran?
Lewis: each teenager gets 3 minutes. maybe abt 18 minutes
Chase: How can you make ec interesting?
Lewis: that’s the question of the day. i don’t have a straight up answer aside from ice cream.
[edwin note: he couldn’t add his ideas and responses.; it’s natural conversation.. the whole point is that we are changing the normal conversation and practicing the listening quality..
ideas, do a half hour listening with new people. ].
Chase Interview Lewis
Insight: Lewis feels that making the empathy circle seem more natural or conversational would increase it's appeal
Feedback: authenticity,
Feelings
stunted.
Needs
more appeal
authenticity
more natural
