{"id":19055,"date":"2013-10-22T00:04:05","date_gmt":"2013-10-21T16:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/?p=19055"},"modified":"2023-01-17T14:15:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T06:15:25","slug":"lessons-dialogue-dark-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/lessons-dialogue-dark-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons Through Dialogue in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

21 Oct 2013 by Jason Law CM-<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"dialogue__in__the__dark\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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We seldom relate to the people who are less fortunate than us with complete empathy. We try to, including making efforts to contribute, but somehow, we lack the capability to fully understand and experience what they go through. The Dialogue in the Dark<\/strong> workshop held recently in Shah Alam really brought all this home. The participants in the workshop on 16 Oct 2013\u00a0were from World Vision (a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization) with a few others from DUMC.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The experience was divided into 4 stages, with 4 skill development targets. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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#1 ELICITATION<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Briefing\"
Briefing Before Entering The Dark Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The first stage was ELICITATION <\/strong>or briefing,<\/strong> in which an experience overview<\/strong> was given, and expectations and goal\/objective settings<\/strong> were explained. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Walking sticks were then given to participants to guide them in the dark, and we were led two-by-two into a pitch-dark room. I could already see the looks of mild apprehensiveness in the faces of participants mingled with the excitement. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Usually, our eyes adjust quite quickly to darkness and we start to see forms and shadows. In this experience, however, when the organizers meant pitch-darkness, they really meant pitch-darkness, and one of the participants later said he tried to put a finger right in front of his face and still couldn\u2019t see it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The participants were encouraged to share what they felt with their first encounter with true darkness, and many shared that it was a very unique experience, tense, but comforting like a blanket too at the same time for some.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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#2 AMPLIFICATION<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lining
Lining Up to Enter the Dark Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The second stage was AMPLIFICATION <\/strong>or the Dark Experience, <\/strong>in which the participants were exposed to new and unique experiences, through the form of experiential learning and simulations. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There was a running narrative throughout the two hours of activities, team-building games, and performances, all of which was done in the dark. It was a very surrealistic experience, and one time, we had tea. Many of us poured the coffee until it overflowed the coffee cups, and some even poured the coffee directly onto the table cloths. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was a very humbling experience, but also very exciting and fun. Through the experiences in this stage, we learn the importance of clear communication, dependence on others, and recognizing the value of good leadership and teamwork. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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#3 REFLECTION<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When the lights came on for the third stage, it felt like the Book of Genesis when God brought Light into the Darkness. This stage was REFLECTION<\/strong> in which discussions were opened and shared about the experience we had and the lessons we learned. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Trainers
Trainers and Facilitators of Dialogue in the Dark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Master Trainer, bro Stevens Chan, guided us through discussions on what we felt about the experience, what we learned about communication and how effective strategies were used, what it taught us in our perspectives, and how to apply it in our daily lives after the workshop.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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#4 APPLICATION<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The workshop ended with the fourth stage, APPLICATION<\/strong>, this one extending beyond the day of the workshop. The participants were encouraged to apply what they have learned into the working environment, set goals and a Personal Action Plan for the next 3 months, and check up and encourage each other through the process.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Dialogue
The 4 Stages in The Dialogue in the Dark Workshop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Skills were developed such as Team Synergy<\/strong> (Stages 1 & 2), Open & Honest Communication<\/strong> (Stages 2 & 3), Organisational Effectiveness<\/strong> (Stages 3 & 4) and Vision and Values Alignment<\/strong> (Stages 4 & 1)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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LESSONS FROM THE WORKSHOP<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Through this experience, I learned a multitude of lessons. I learned that instead of looking at blind people as handicapped, we need to be humble and regard them with more dignity and realize the courage, determination, humility, and strength of character that they possess in order to rise above circumstances.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I also learned the value of working together. I learned that we process many things though our visual input, including the formation of our value judgment on such things as culture, gender, race, a person\u2019s appearance, and their status in life. In the darkness, when all of us were in the equal positions of vulnerability, all these were swiftly stripped away and they didn\u2019t matter anymore. All that mattered was the building-up of each other, and the trust and submission to each other.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Jesus<\/a><\/p>\n

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On a spiritual level, this trust extends to our relationship with God. In situations where we are lost or in the dark, we need to call out to God. And when He reaches out to guide us in our life, we need to trust Him and take His hand so that we can walk with Him. Being silent in situations such as these will leave us helpless and lost. And because this entails our free will and what would happen if we lost that will, I also learned something about this aspect of our life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our free will is a complex thing. It leads us in the wrong direction sometimes. A lot of the problems in life are caused by these wrong actions or decisions made either by us or other people, and I sometimes hear people wish that God would just make us automatically follow His will. Probably a lot of these problems would not exist then.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The fact is God gave us free will because He loves us. He gives us dignity through our freedom to make the right choices so that we grow in our relationship with Him. He does not want us to remain as automatons or spiritual babies. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Need<\/a><\/p>\n

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At the same time, God also set into place elements that help us in our exercise of our free will. He gave us senses, a brain, and a mouth so that we are not helpless; He gave us the Bible as a guide in our daily life; He gave us the Holy Spirit so that we are counseled; and most importantly of all, He gave us hope through the immense sacrifice in Calvary. I learned to be grateful to God for His providence and the care and love He took – and is still taking – over His creation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The experience I had through this workshop was very enriching, and I found myself acting beyond my normal self. It opened up a whole new perspective concerning others who may be different in one way or another from us, and taught me some spiritual lessons through the exercise of reflection. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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For more information about Dialogue in the Dark, go to:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dialogue-in-the-dark.com\/ <\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.dialogueinthedark.my\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Share<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Reference For Pictures:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/i88.photobucket.com\/albums\/k161\/Rdeemed1\/hope-2_zps2121e2e0.jpg<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.trochia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Discerning-the-Will-of-God.jpg<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21 Oct 2013 by Jason Law CM-     We seldom relate to the people who are less fortunate than us with complete empathy. We try to, including making efforts to contribute, but somehow, we […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[293,923,204,538,1178,3673,3605,77,891,44,673],"class_list":{"0":"post-19055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-christian","9":"tag-christian-in-malaysia","10":"tag-christianity","11":"tag-christianity-malaysia","12":"tag-church-in-malaysia","13":"tag-dialogue-in-the-dark","14":"tag-jason-law","15":"tag-jesus","16":"tag-jesus-in-malaysia","17":"tag-malaysia","18":"tag-world-vision"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19055"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69191,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19055\/revisions\/69191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}