Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 132

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
E XPLORING THE N ATURE OF S YSTEMS P ART II: M ULTIPLE L EVELS OF H ARM AND B ENEFIT
Goal: To help participants recognize the various ways a system both benefits and harms people affected by
the system. The exercise is also designed to reveal our negativity bias, the way we tend to exaggerate how
we feel a system is harming people and diminish how it is benefiting people.
Materials: The system drawing each group used for Exploring the Nature of Systems Part I: What is a
System? , and at least one marker for each participant (preferably multiple colors)
Time: 20 to 30 Minutes
Instructions:
1.
This exercise is designed to be used after Exploring the Nature of Systems Part I: What is a System?
If they are not already, ask participants to gather back into their breakout groups by system.
2.
Instruct the participants, “Look at your system drawing and write in all of the places in the system
where you believe the system is harming people and where you believe it is benefiting people. Try
and be specific in how it is harming or benefiting people.” Give them 10 to 15 minutes to complete
this part of the exercise.
3.
After they finish, ask each group to report to the rest of the participants, “Describe the ways your
system causes harm and benefit to people in the system. Please be specific.” As they call out these
items, write them up on the whiteboard or easel pad with all of the harms in one column and the
benefits in the other. If the group emphasizes the harms over the benefits you may say, “Often
when we feel passionately about a system we want to change, we can focus primarily on the
negative aspects of that system. This emphasis is natural and is part of the ‘negativity bias’ we
discussed in Skill 4: Self-Compassion, but it can be a distortion of reality. It is not that these
systems do not need improvement, but that does not mean the system does not provide some
benefit. If we recognize and appreciate the benefits of the systems as a way to see reality more
clearly, we can have the possibility of developing more effective solutions with less unintended
consequences.”
4.
If you have not already, you should define Direct Violence, Structural Violence and Cultural
Violence at this time (see User Manual and Slide Presentation for definitions and visual aids). Ask,
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
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