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One of the very big reasons why I decided to join the Art of Hosting Training in Vietnam was to discover the magic behind my Knowmads journey, to know the secret recipe that has created an environment for people to become the best version of themselves by themselves – the environment in which I’ve seen my Team 6 members shine their best colors in the most unexpected ways.  And now, after 3 most intense days of training I’ve ever had, all I can say right here right now is, “that kind of recipe is nothing other than the MYSTERIOUS.” It’s the MYSTERIOUS that put together the life works of 42 people from 15 countries and 5 continents into one poem.  It’s the MYSTERIOUS that put together the life works of 42 people from 15 countries and 5 continents into one poem. It’s the MYSTERIOUS that made a successful and strong woman cry out her most vulnerable part while we sat in a circle where everybody could see her, knowing that she wasn’t alone even though none of us spoke any words but just stayed there and listened to her with all our hearts. It’s the MYSTERIOUS that united people in a crazy weird dance until midnight which was invented on spot as one of the ways to express ourselves. It’s the MYSTERIOUS that brought a 54-year-old man back to kindergarten to have fun with the ball pool (which was supposed to be for children under 8 years old) and to open a fresh mind for new knowledge and insights to come.  It’s the MYSTERIOUS that connected two women, one from Vietnam and one from Colombia, through a song that wasn’t even in their mutual language..  It’s the MYSTERIOUS that made both the actors and the audience laugh together in a comedy to sum up our learning (yes, we learnt in a very fun way).  It’s the MYSTERIOUS that kept the conversations going and going, grounding for new ideas and insights to be naturally seeded, to sprout, grow, and be harvested.  It’s the MYSTERIOUS that made someone answer a call from across the planet to bring their open mind, open heart and open will to Vietnam in a 3-day transformative journey with the hope to create a supportive and engaging learning environment that nurtures and grows the seeds inside each individual.  During those 3 days, we learnt, danced, cried, laughed, played, dreamt, explored, and designed our dream world together. Most of us were strangers until the first day. Many of us don’t even share the same language or the same cultural background. Some of us are one generation apart. However, along the journey, we did everything together, beside each other. One of the very basic principles in the Art of Hosting is that we never host alone.  For me, “together” is an exciting yet scary word. As an extreme introvert, I always find a huge pleasure in doing things on my own and being with myself, yet I yearn for deep connections with others at the same time. I often find myself fighting inside with that “so-called” paradox. A part of me always seeks connections and the feeling of belonging, and another part is constantly fearful for what may come when I open myself to connect.  In my journey with Knowmads Hanoi, for the first time in my life, I had the feeling as I once wrote to my teammates, “I can fully be with myself while being with others”. I described that feeling as “magical” and had a really hard time explaining it. And when I came to explore the secret called “Art of Hosting” behind it, everything started falling into places. In the Four-Fold Practice, we begin by hosting oneself, learn by being hosted, grow by actually hosting conversations, and connect in a community that learns. The connection that I’m always yearning for actually starts deep within myself, and when this self-connection vibrates through time and space, it resonates and calls for connections with others for something bigger to be born, and opens my heart to connect with not only people but also with the planet that we call “home”. This interconnection or “the mysterious” is the deepest and biggest layer of the iceberg called “the Art of Hosting”. In this training, this is something that is not just what I was told but also what I have been experiencing in my heart and absorbing into my body up until now.  After the training, we left the training room that held a lot of our memories with the hope for a better world where we can build “supportive and engaging learning environments” for individuals to grow into the best version of themselves in a community that never stops loving, learning and seeding knowledge. We’ve brought back the seed of the Art of Hosting to different parts of the world. Some of my friends have already left Vietnam and are now thousands of miles apart from me. I was once told that this is something I have to deal with when having friends from other countries: they come, then leave and hurt my heart. But after our journey together, the sense of interconnection in the world where there should be no boundaries is so strong that I can still feel them from across the planet and know by heart that whenever I call, they will answer just like the way they did when the first calling for the “1st Art of Hosting Training in Vietnam” was sent.  Because we are all connected by “the mysterious”. We are like islands in the sea that may look far apart, but if we once look deep below the water, we are actually connected to each other and to Mother Earth. Side by side. Nguyễn Thu Trang - Participant of the 1st AoH training in Vietnam – Dec 2016
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In a world with more and more divides, it feels more precious than ever to be able to gather in a safe space where every participant can open up, connect, and share their passions and resources to create a better world. Last week, Knowmads Hanoi, Art of Hosting Vietnam, our partner ClickSpace and about 25 participants successfully created that space, where 6 callers received support for their projects, and the rest of us contributed ideas to moving those projects forward using a hosted process called Pro Action Café. It was chilly and windy outside, but inside ClickSpace, ideas and inspiration were flying around while personal connections and a great energy were being formed.    The projects the callers brought with them weren’t just cool ideas, but meaningful initiatives: starting a radio channel specifically for visually impaired individuals to navigate through daily life; offering free legal advice to disadvantaged groups such as women, children, and the LGBT community; promoting critical thinking through reading; using the drawing of faces to express feelings and emotions at the moment; raising awareness and eradicating stigma against people with mental illnesses; and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone, dream less and do more.   After 2 rounds of conversations to clarify what’s the deeper story behind the project and what’s missing or overlooked, the callers were invited to reflect on what they have learned about themselves and their project, and what their wise next step would be. “This was the most productive evening since I entered university,” caller Nguyen Thu Trang commented, after getting support for her project to promote critical thinking through reading. For Vo Tuan Son, the caller who wants to bring free legal services to disadvantaged groups, this event not only provided him with the practical support he needed, but also the encouragement that he never received from his teachers in school.   The event was the first info meeting for the 1st Art of Hosting Training in Vietnam that will be held on December 15 - 18. The Art of Hosting, in short, is an approach to leadership that uses facilitation to invite conversations that allow groups to learn and collaborate to address complex challenges. This drawing, using one of the methodologies of Art of Hosting - Graphic Facilitation - may help explain better.  For more information on the training, visit www.artofhosting.vn. We will have another info meeting coming up, so stay tuned!
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