Deidre Combs, The Way of Conflict, Part 2 The Rules

Chapter 5
The Object of the Game.

"Out beyond the ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." - Jelaluddin Rumi.
In Islam teaching the field is Mahsyar Field, the land where all creatures will be gathered for accountability of right doing and wrong doing. Literally that if we had right doing and wrong doing, we should meet in the center.

The universe as a living system made of interdependent, interrelated systems. If we seee only the parts of something, as the blind men did, we miss reality.

Systems constantly emit and receiving energy. In conflict, systems are active.
Conflict creates energy, or creative tension, which encourages the participationg subsystems to move and evolve.
We are blind yet interconnected, we must listen to and incorporate as many different voices as possible to understant the greater reality and find an appropriate solution.
The world left Germany in financial ruin after World War I and then The Third Reich quickly waged war once more in an effort to return to economic wholenes. This result not only wrought World War II but eventually necessitated a new policy of reconstruction and the development of United Nations.

Chapter 6
Introducing Conflict's Four Quarters.

Conflict Process: Change/Disruption - Intensification/Chaos - Adaptation/Evolution - New Solution/Stability => NEW INFORMATION INTRODUCED. If not resolved, path will continue.

The Elemental conflict lifecycle:
Phase 1: Earth - Change and Disruption.
Phase 2: Water - Chaos.
Phase 3: Fire - Evolution or Creativity.
Phase 4: Air - Stability.

Chapter 7
Time on the Sidelines: Getting Stuck in a Dispute.

"Prosperity is a great teacher, adversity a greater" - William Hazlitt.

Phase I - Earth (Disruption)
Refusal to change
Denial and inertia

Phase II - Water (Chaos)
Refusal to engage
Hopelessness and despair

Phase III - Fire (Creativity)
Refusal to adapt
Frustation and violence

Phase IV - Air (Stability)
Refusal to implement
Fear and doubt

Chapter 8
Home Base: The Power of the Center

Four Centering Techniques:
When stuck in Earth, Move!
When stuck in Water, Express Yourself!
When stuck in Fire, Ground!
When stuck in Air, Get Quiet!

Chapter 9
The Oldest Game in the Book

"Life has meaning only in the struggles. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of God. So let us celebrate the struggles." - Swahili warrior song.

Conflict is a universal tango that has been part and parcel of existence from the beginning. Quantum physics says that this never-ending dance started in the first microseconds of the Universe when a great disequilibrium or fluctuation occurred.

Conflict is:
- The constant dance between systems
- a source of evolution and growth
- a repeated four-staged process that upon completion yields a lasting, win-win resolution
- a game played best when all parties are seen as equal, interconnected, and valuable.