by Mitch Bogen
Special to the Tribune
“This Dialogue Nights might be about anxiety,” said event moderator Preandra Noel, “but the energy that’s already prevalent in this room is certainly the opposite of that.”
As the high-spirited crowd of more than 50 gathered for this August 2024 event, Noel explained that the mission of the Ikeda Center is to build cultures of peace through learning and dialogue informed by Buddhist humanism, especially as presented by its late founder, Daisaku Ikeda.
In a recently-incorporated Dialogue Nights tradition, the evening opened with participants engaging in some “speed connecting.”
For this activity, participants discussed two topics: 1) Reflecting on your childhood, what did you enjoy doing as a kid? What did playtime look like for you?; and 2) What are some unanswered questions in your life right now? How are they making you feel?
The main dialogue activity of the evening was led by the center’s summer 2024 program intern, Lanre Adeyanju. To inspire participants, Adeyanju shared Daisaku Ikeda’s conviction: “Through the power of strong inner resolve, we can transform ourselves, those around us and the land where we live. Each of you has this tool, this ‘secret weapon’” (July 11, 1997, World Tribune, p. 14).
She then explained that in the next activity everyone would have an opportunity to practice the useful habit of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
After engaging in paired dialogue on their replacement choices, participants shared some examples of how they applied the skill. For example, one person replaced the negative framing of “what if this or that happens” with “even if that happens it’ll be OK.”
Finally, participants worked in groups to create collages symbolizing ways to transform the anxiety in their lives. Many included inspirational phrases such as “Forgiveness as power” and “There’s still time.” And, in an image that captured the spirit of the event, one group used a cactus to represent “thriving and resiliency in the face of anxiety.”
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