Some of the biggest questions of spiritual life can be explored or developed using Clean Language. They might include:
- What is my personal, vivid experience of [God, Christ, the Buddha-nature, the Life Force, the Tao, the Great Spirit, the Ground of Being, the Source….]?
- How do I see my spiritual self? What is my mythic, metaphorical vision of myself?
- In images, stories, and pictures, where I am I now on my spiritual journey? Where have I just been, and where am I going now? What would I like to have happen?
- What images do I have of my personal spiritual guides and resources – spiritual mothers, fathers, saints, angels, positive archetypes?
- How do I see my spiritual relationship with others – again in stories, pictures, and images?
Whatever is the question being explored, the ‘metaphor landscape’ itself will be completely individual, unique and special, constructed from the person’s own interpretation of their unique life experience. It simply won’t fit with any official ‘rulebook’, except at the most superficial level.
Some symbols will seem to be recognisable, drawn from familiar religious ideas, from quantum physics (like The Secret) or other scientific disciplines, from books and TV, and even from Hollywood (Star Wars or The Matrix, for example). And yet that similarity is a trap for the unwary facilitator – the specific meaning the person makes of these symbols, and how they are connected to each other, will be very much their own.
Since we store most of these individual metaphoric meanings well below the level of everyday consciousness, the Clean process is one of discovery. A colleague recently likened it to opening a zip file on a computer – there’s a lot of information, tightly packed, which needs to be unpacked before it can begin to be understood. Clean is the best way I’ve yet discovered to do this unpacking, to get under the skin of this individuality. Because it provides a structured way to keen assumptions and metaphors tucked well out of the way, it encourages the other person to open up, both in the session and beyond it.
Kevin Matthews, a creative coach and designer from Norwich, had this to say after his session: “Since the session I sense that I am more aligned and more able to speak my truth. I have a stronger sense of who I am and I am happier to reveal my true self to others. I have a much greater inner balance and am more aware of my own power.”
Using Clean Language to explore spirituality:
- Provides a non-polluting way to find out about a person’s spiritual experience
- Assists the person to talk openly about their experience of divinity
- Helps to increase their awareness of it and to bring them into closer connection with it
- Spreads the joy! The process almost always feels good, for both parties.
I can vouch for the fact that it can works regardless of your own or the other person’s belief system, or whether either of you regard yourselves as ‘spiritual’ or not. Why not give it a try? (See exercise)
Exploring a friend’s spirituality using Clean Language
Using Clean Language to explore people’s metaphors at a deep level is an art, requiring training and practice. And at the same time, because the basic idea is so simple, here’s a way that you can try it with a friend straight away.
Remember, though, that Clean Language is powerful! When experimenting, use its power as a force for good by asking your questions about the positive aspects of a person’s experience. As a beginner it’s best to avoid using Clean to explore problems or unhappy experiences, as this can prove uncomfortable and less effective.
For this activity, start by asking your friend the question: “When you are experiencing the divine (or substitute their preferred term), that is like… what?” Write down their answer. The purpose of this step is to discover a metaphorical symbol which can be used as a starting point for the rest of the activity.
Then spend ten minutes or so asking your friend Clean Language questions to find out more about their symbol. For best effect, ask them slowly. Mix up the questions, asking them in any order, and use the questions more than once each. Return frequently to ask about their original symbol, rather than always asking about the last thing they said.
Ask:
- And what kind of X is that X?
- And is there anything else about X?
- And where is X? or And whereabouts is X?
- And is there a relationship between X and Y?
- And when X, what happens to Y?
- And that’s X like what?
Where X represents one or more of your friends’ words.
You may find that, as you uncover more information about your friend’s metaphor, they start to experience it. If they’re enjoying it, that’s a good thing! If they aren’t, ask your questions about the things they say which sound more pleasant.
After about ten minutes, you might like to ask some additional questions:
- And what happens just before X?
- And then what happens?
- And what happens next?
Finally, after about 20 minutes (or longer if you’re both enjoying the process) ask you friend to draw or write down what they now know.
Personal info
Judy Rees is a journalist and Clean Language facilitator. After a successful executive career in newspapers, TV and new media, she ‘loved Clean so much she bought the company’. She is now a director of Clean Change Company, which runs specialist trainings in Clean with leading experts in the field, including Wendy Sullivan, Penny Tompkins and James Lawley. Judy also guides individuals and groups on their own ‘Clean adventures’, spiritual and otherwise.
Contact
Matthew Dodwell and the Clean Language and Spirituality Group can be contacted at mjd@orcaspirit.com
[...] Clean and Spirituality by Judy Rees, Resource Magazine, February 2008 [...]