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On Dialogue

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Bohm has a certain style in his writing which makes him stand out from others who write on similar topics. One aspect is his willingness to suspend his own viewpoint, at least to some degree, by introducing his approach to communication on an intimate level. This does not mean the kind of intimacy between lovers but it is of the same kind. What does this mean ? It means that it is communication without the presence of walls/barriers which interfere with the ability of one person to give rise to the same meaning in the mind of the other. This is the essence of communication at its most basic. The 'normal' mode of cummunication which takes place between people nowadays is way short of this ideal. The social barriers and thought constructions which are firmly embedded in the mind of most induce various automatic or reflex reactions when questions or comments are made which are in some way outside of the "allowed" list. These reactions can vary from fear, the most common, to anger and eventually in extreme cases to violence. How do they arise ? Through purely reflex reactions generated from countless experiences which promote a protective response because of the "existence" of the self. I say existence in inverted commas because Bohm denies this has any reality. Bohm uses his dialogue mode of communication to let people face their thought reflexes and stay with them ie staying aware while their mind and body undergoes its automatic reactions. Only this allows the mind to go beyond these usually unconscious reactions and proceed into a place where creation can occur. This means the creations of new ideas rather than a fallback into the old ones. This form of communication is far from easy to undergo and reactions of fear would be common as would eventual anger and frustrations as the self attempts to dominate in some way by either trying to control the dialogue or hide from it. This is overcome by staying with the discomfort until it dissipates by itself.

Dialogue offers much more than the current ways of communication such as discussions or negotiations which never face the serious issues. Bohm stresses the pathless approach, ie one where no direct goal is provided and no leader selected. This has some similarity to tribal councils practised by native Americans for example.

In this book Bohm through examples and ideas develops this mode to something useful for all of society. Bohm always leaves room for ideas to be generated from his own beginnings. As usual a superb book.

When you work with people, or as a matter of fact, when you live among people, as we all do, having some knowledge about how interactions work are essential. David Bohm's book On Dialoge is a very handy book on this topic.

In our world everything happens so fast, with modern technology, television, computers, air travel and sattelites. There is a network of communications which has influence on our everyday life. Just push a button and you are in contact with people from all over the world.

How we communicate is a question for all of us. And in On Dialogue David Bohm is helping us to at least find some answers.

The book enlightens topics as on communication, on dialogue, the nature of collective thoughts and many more. We read from the foreword: "Perhaps most importantly, dialogue explores the manner in witch thought is generated and sustained at the collective level."

Read this book, and you will learn alot about your own life, the life you are bond to live in interaction with people around you.

Britt Arnhild Lindland