This is different. It seems that everyone in the group I am with is choosing whether to enter an Opening. How can this be?

Going Through Together

Openings are magical. They come in many sizes and shapes, often tailor made for individuals. There are few rules. There very well could be group Openings as well. Can we find examples? Have we experienced them? What is their nature? Group Openings are collective invitations. A group of people must walk through them together, by their own choice or being led into them by someone in the group.

Perhaps there is a team working together in an emergency. They must act quickly to save lives. Without time to contemplate, they decide together to take a major risk to save lives. That is a group Opening. Perhaps there is a grassroots organization that is so concerned about bringing attention to a humanitarian situation they decide, for the first time, to commit civil disobedience. That, too, is a group Opening.

Group Openings are characterized by beckoning more than one person. Some in the group may decide not to enter the Opening. However, in doing so they leave the group. Group Openings ask us to act collectively in deciding whether to enter them. And we walk through them together into an Opening made especially for the group. The power and beauty of the Opening is amplified due to the collective energy involved in entering them.

Purpose and Challenge

Purpose and challenge are part of any Opening. Group Openings often involve situations or growth that can only be experienced and accomplished collectively. The world is facing many challenges now. The polarity we see is not serving us at all. Finding a way of coming together is the only way to leave the polarity behind. Wars are group events, as are natural disasters. Only the rare individual can take them on alone and, even when they do, others must hear them and act.

Not every group can see a group Opening that is before them, much less enter it. Group dynamics can obscure group Openings. Individual interests can polarize and separate members of a group. Organizational or cultural differences can sabotage effective collaboration. Common purpose and development of the ability to work together heightens a group’s chances of seeing and entering a group Opening.

Groups that learn how to work together have a good chance of seeing group Openings. They know how to come together with common purpose and face a challenge before them. Group Openings that appear may be tailor made to help them succeed. In every Opening there is potential for growth. Group Openings can help both the individuals in the group and the collective group to grow.

Recognizing Them

Not every Opening is right for a group. A group Opening may appear that offers to take the group in a direction that they are not sure is right for where they want to go. A group may not be ready for an Opening that appears – it may be too much of a stretch. If they say no to such Openings, they may still gain from their choice by seeing what they lack and sharpening their skills and focus.

Discernment is called for when it comes to group Openings and that is something a group must develop. The ability to see, analyze and decide whether to enter a group Opening involves the ability for the group to communicate, work together as a team, have a shared vision and maintain mutual respect. Eventually, it aids a group to see certain opportunities as group Openings and decide what they need to optimize them.

Just as we, as individuals, must clear away our resistance to Openings, so must a group. They need to identify their collective values, aims and purposes to recognize group Openings and work together to make choices regarding them. Groups can gain by focusing on this. How will they recognize and handle group Openings and discern which ones offer them opportunities to grow and succeed?