The Three Major Characteristics Of The Judeo-Christian Model Of Peacemaking (11/02/09)
Kenneth C. Newberger
Dr. Ken Newberger has recently published a book entitled, “Hope in the Face of Conflict.” Born out of a Western worldview, he presents what he has identified as the 12 stages of the “Judeo-Christian Model of Peacemaking.” The following is an excerpt from his book. This chapter highlights the three major characteristics of the model.

Your Conflict Set To Music (11/02/09)
Roberta Morris
Consider how orchestrated music makes people relax. Dentists pipe it into their waiting rooms to calm frayed nerves, and mediators might do the same, but music can do much more throughout a mediation.

God Is My Copilot! (10/26/09)
Edward P. Ahrens
Remember that old WWII cinematic appeal to patriotism? Made a lot of us—at least those of us old enough to have been around—run out and buy a War Bond. I never expected the theme to reappear in the context of a mediation—but, then, lots of things happen at mediations we don’t expect.   3 Comments

Congregational Conflict Resolution: The Pastor’s Role (10/06/09)
Lester L. Adams
I am speaking to you, who are leaders of congregations. In my years of experience as an Elder, I have learned that addressing conflict is one of the most difficult things you are called to do. Because there is very little preparation or effective training in Bible college or seminaries, most leaders are ill-equipped to deal with the strife that arises in their congregation. In this article, I want to share with you a few things that I think will help you be better prepared for this task.   2 Comments

Negotiating God: A Sunday Reflection (6/29/09)
Victoria Pynchon
According to Robert Wright in The Evolution of God (reviewed in todays NYT Book Review by Paul Bloom) "God has mellowed" from a capricious tyrant into non-zero-sum playing diety. This is good news for mediators and anyone else in search of a better paradigm for conflict resolution than the 16th century adversarial system.

The Mindful Mediator (5/11/09)
Jeff Thompson
After a very long three days working with His Holiness the Dalai Lama here in New York City, it was great to see the term 'mindfulness' popping up in the ADR/mediation blogging community.

Mindful Mediation (5/04/09)
Nancy Hudgins, Debra Synovec
Last weekend approximately 250 mediators, arbitrators, lawyers and conflict resolution professionals gathered at the 16th Annual Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference in Seattle, Washington. So how was it? Exceptional as always! Mingling with colleagues and friends, catching up on new happenings in the ADR community is always inspiring, but what I noticed most this year was how many of the workshops focused on…or at least brought up “mindfulness”.

Empathy, Apology and Forgiveness (4/06/09)
Arnold W. Zeman
One of the ‘founder generation’ of transformative mediation, Dorothy J. Della Noce, has published an interesting piece on apology in the first issue of the Dutch journal, ConflictInzicht magazine. It’s largely based on research by Seiji Takaku, a report of which appeared in the Journal of Social Psychology, 141(4), 494-508 under the title, “The effects of apology and perspective taking on interpersonal forgiveness: A dissonance-attribution model of interpersonal forgiveness.”

The Mind Of A Mediator (3/31/09)
Deborah Sword
We practitioners talk about many aspects of what goes on in mediation. Studies point to best practices, and we research and write about our experiences. We love to reflect on and share our mediation stories. From being retained to drafting any settlement agreement, we relish the details our conflict resolution practices. However, not much has been said about our in-the-moment thought and decision-making processes. Our love of conflict resolution analyses has not translated into writing about that moment of tension in which, with all parties’ eyes on us, we decide what to say or do next.   3 Comments

Mediation And Meditation: The Deeper Middle Way (3/16/09)
Kenneth Cloke
Conflict is everywhere, not only between human beings, but throughout nature, from quantum mechanical particles to dark energy and the soap bubble structure of galactic superclusters. Nonetheless, we each take our conflicts personally, and far from being happy or grateful to our enemies, we often allow ourselves to be thrown off balance and drawn into unpleasant ideas, negative emotions, and destructive behaviors.   1 Comment

Spiritual Fatigue In Mediation (2/23/09)
Jeffrey Krivis, Mariam Zadeh
In the recent edition of the Journal of Dispute Resolution, Magistrate Judge Wayne Brazil writes about how “spiritual fatigue” can affect seasoned mediators. His thesis is that staying centered emotionally and behaviorally in core purposes and principles of mediation can lower the level of psychic strain that this work can impose on mediators and can serve as a significant source of renewable professional energy.

Governing Communities Of Faith (2/09/09)
Larry Susskind
One response I often get to the idea of a taking a consensus building approach to governance is that it won't work because people with conflicting values and interests can't possibly reach agreement through informal conversation. The only way to settle their differences (peacefully), or so the argument goes, is to let the majority rule. While I don't agree, what possible reason, then, could there be for communities-of-faith (i.e. groups associated with particular temples, parishes, or churches) to operate by majority voting? They are, by definition, groups that share common values and interests.

Bringing Oxytocin Into The Room: Notes On The Neurophysiology Of Conflict (1/19/09)
Kenneth Cloke
To explain the etiology of conflict therefore requires us to gain a deeper understanding of how the brain responds to conflict. This should clearly include the ways distrusting personalities are formed, even among primates; the sources of aggressive character traits and the “fight or flight” reflex; the wellsprings of spiritual malaise and hostile gut reactions; and the neurological foundations of forgiveness, open-heartedness, empathy, insight, intuition, learning, wisdom, and willingness to change.   5 Comments

Medicine and ADR (1/12/09)
Barry Goldman
Some people will tell you that a scientific understanding of dispute resolution is impossible. Human beings are just too complicated, they will say, or there are just too many variables. This is nonsense. It is the argument always raised by witch doctors when their livelihood is threatened by scientific medicine.

Mediated More Than Mediator And Mediation (1/06/09)
Luis Miguel Diaz
This composition was triggered by Barry Goldman’s article: Not even wrong. He believes that in ADR we are making the same mistake that medicine did for centuries. The mistake is the excessive preoccupation for the spiritual purity of the facilitator. Goldman wrote about the evolution of medicine: the belief in the necessity of ritual purity delayed for centuries the discovery of antisepsis.

ADR And Mindflness (12/14/08)
Arnold W. Zeman
Barry Goldman is sad about the state of ADR. He quotes with disapproval from Bowling and Hoffman,Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and Their Impact on the Mediation.

Not Even Wrong (12/08/08)
Barry Goldman
The physicist Wolfgang Pauli…would sometimes exclaim "wrong" (falsch) or "completely wrong" (ganz falsch) when he disagreed with someone. Near the end of his life, when asked his opinion of an article by a young physicist, he sadly said "it is not even wrong" (das is nicht einmal falsch). I get the same sad feeling as I survey the state of ADR. I'm afraid that for many of the most respected writers in the field being wrong would be an improvement.   6 Comments

Congregation Conflict Resolution: The Member’s Role (12/01/08)
Lester L. Adams
To you who are congregation members. You may not see yourself as a mediator or think that you have the skills to facilitate discussion, but I believe that God has ordained for you to play a vital role in helping your congregation address and resolve some of the terrible conflict that is hurting (and may be destroying) you. You have within you the ability to help your congregation set and establish an atmosphere where the resolution of disagreements and the end of strife becomes more likely than it is today. My hope is that you see it through this article, and begin to walk it out in your life.   4 Comments

Building Bridges Between Psychology And Conflict Resolution – Implications For Mediator Learning (10/21/08)
Kenneth Cloke
While it is, of course, both necessary and vital that we recognize the key differences between the professions of psychology and conflict resolution, it is more necessary and vital, especially in these times, that we recognize their essential similarities, collaborate in developing creative new techniques, and invite them to learn as much as they can from each other.

A must-watch interview of law professor, mediator, and meditator Leonard Riskin (9/10/08)
Stephanie West Allen
In this video, Professor Len Riskin gives three examples of moving from the reactive brain to the reflective mind during conflict.The interview was filmed as part of a Cutting Edge Law project. (I posted about Cutting Edge Law in July at idealawg.)

To Become Whole Again: Grace And Mercy In Mediation (9/08/08)
William S. Harralson
This essay briefly examines Judeo-Christian conceptions of grace and mercy and the positive implications for the lives of disputants. Mediators are in a unique position to encourage individuals, under certain circumstances, to demonstrate grace and mercy towards their adversaries in order to facilitate reconciliation.

Whatever happened to thank you? Thoughts on gratitude (7/29/08)
Diane J. Levin
Several months ago, a former student of mine, about to sit for the bar, asked me to write for him the letter of recommendation his application package required. Although at that time my schedule was hectic, I was happy to do so and accommodated his request, completing the letter and mailing it off to him well in advance of the bar deadline. I emailed him to let him know it was on its way. Several weeks passed, and I heard nothing at all from my former student — not an email or phone...

A Universal Language (7/29/08)
Colin Rule
Jeff Goldfien in the ADRNC Newsletter: "I was struck by a statement by Senator Obama, reported in the press yesterday, responding to an accusation by conservative Christian leader James Dobson that Obama was distorting the message of the both the bible and the constitution in his discussions and entreaties to various religious groups and leaders... Sara Kugler of the Associated Press reported that, "Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane before landing in Los Angeles, Obama said the...

The Future of ADR: Professionalization, Spirituality, and the Internet (7/29/08)
Geoff Sharp
In this summer's ABA Dispute Resolution Magazine just out, mediation visionary David Hoffman takes the long view of our collective future in an article titled The Future of ADR: Professionalization, Spirituality, and the Internet.His conclusion?'The challenges – both the problems and the opportunities – that lie ahead are formidable and exhilarating. Are these challenges related? I think they are. The computer operating systems that have become a dominant feature of our lives and an ...

Congregational Conflict: Preparation For Resolution (6/23/08)
Lester L. Adams
Everyone who is either trying to resolve conflict in his own life, or assisting others with settling their differences is looking for ways to become better at this. When I studied the way that Jesus dealt with conflict, I saw how he got people better prepared to resolve their disputes. I want to share with you some of the insight I saw in his life and ministry in this article.   3 Comments