Today, I want to share with you a little something about two of my most unforgettable workshop participants – Naughty and Yoda.

As a part of Blue Ribbon Movement, my social enterprise, we enable other NGOs to build leadership for a better world.

One of these, Make a Difference (MAD), works with children in shelter homes in 23 cities in India. I have been working with the core team on their personal growth journeys through circle-work and workshops.

The “MAD Mansion” in Bangalore (the office) is a place filled with lots of hustle and bustle – bright young people energized by the dream of a beautiful world. This space is also home to two ‘community‘ pets – Naughty (an adopted street dog) and Yoda (an equally mischievous Lhasa Apso). Our circles (workshops) take place in a large hall on the middle floor of the 3 storey building – a space that on a normal day belongs to the two dogs.

As a facilitator, it is natural to want a peaceful learning space – and request an ‘interruption-free’ environment. After all, that is what will give us the ‘best’ results…which means, locking away the dogs (or putting them away on a leash).

However, inclusion is an important value to me – in my articles, speeches and work. Transcend and include (levels). Foster diversity (for stable systems). Bring in all the voices (for deep democracy).

Our community speaks about underlying unity. We speak about care and love. But, what are the limits to these (are there any?). I was about to find out.

I must confess that I am not a dog lover – the barking startles me and for most of my life, I have had a mild fear of dogs. But my journey of acceptance has gradually expanded to include one and all….those I disagree with, those who ‘trigger’ me and those who embody my shadows.

Now, life was calling me to include Naughty and Yoda.

So picture this – me, talking about something ‘profound,’ everyone listening in rapt attention and Naughty walking around choosing to express affection to one and all with his licks and snuggles.

Or, another time when Yoda trots over and curls up in my lap – and I find myself facilitating with a dog on my lap. He sits there, doing his thing. And I [trying to be cool], mine – connected to his fur, his breath and his warm body.

When I resume after a break, I find Yoda sitting where I was (a very humble reminder of the transience of the ‘facilitator’s seat’). And then, he is a most enthusiastic member in our movement work session, eventually choosing to dance with a helpless participant.

On another occasion, we had articulated our model for giving feedback on a chart paper– and were quite proud of our handicraft actually. We spoke about how it could be used to transform the organization….till the dogs charged in from the other room and decided to use the very same chart as the arena for their squabble.

I wish I could say that we successfully and smoothly included the dogs in our workshop. That the coming together of the human and canine was magical. But it wasn’t. Inclusion has its own, very real challenges too.
So we figured that there were certain processes where we could not let these guys be around – like the meditations and journaling. During those sessions, the dogs would have to do without us. Or was it the other way around? Were we being mean or just maintaining some degree of order? I can’t really tell.

But if the dogs could have spoken English, they would tell you how they enjoyed being a part of the workshop. Though they may not have fully grasped what was going on [this is open to debate], they were not shooed away or locked up [for too long]– they were accepted and held in the space. With their occasional barks, spontaneous licking and famed puppy-dog eyes.

Were the outcomes ‘compromised?’ Perhaps. Or perhaps, they were enhanced – because we brought in some loving, non-human energy. Perhaps, they invited us to see through the constructed significance of our stories. And as a facilitator, they surely pushed me to hold space with even more presence.

I hold Love as one of my highest values – and Naughty and Yoda have given me an opportunity to expand the boundaries of love. My new bio reads “Abhishek holds transformational spaces for deep inner work with individuals, organizations and now, dogs too!”