When one thinks of art, it is easy to think of one of the greats – Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nina Simone, or Pablo Picasso. Conversation, however, is also an art through which we exchange our ideas, feelings, and beliefs. Whether great conversations traverse through easy or rugged terrain, there is an art to conversing well. This is particularly useful when it comes to having conversations across religious differences. As a mentor for the Dignity project, I was provided the opportunity to encourage and cultivate a community of thoughtful and skilled young leaders. Through coaching and facilitation, I was amongst a group of brilliant leaders, to support the fellows to expand their capacity to engage in difficult conversations. It was our hope that through this expansion, that the fellows would cultivate their own unique skill set as leaders in order to build bridges of understanding and collaboration as a way to resist systems of oppression. Through exercises and intellectual play, the mentors and fellows explored various approaches of how to engage in dialogue – because, like artists and musicians, it’s important to be able to play more than one tune. Learning various approaches like asking powerful questions and using structured dialogue frameworks, allowed us to not only create a culture of support and safety to explore these tools but allowed for spontaneity and joy to exist as we engaged in the praxis of this important work 

As interfaith leaders, it is important for us to have effective conversations, and it is through the art of listening and responding that we can create deeper bonds and substantial growth. As our community refined our skills of engaging in dialogue across differences, we also experienced the beauty and joy of engaging in less structured ways of communicating.  Perhaps it is helpful to consider philosopher Michael Oakeshott’s brilliantly concise description of conversation as an “unrehearsed intellectual  adventure”. In these three quick words he encapsulates the spontaneity, challenge, and pleasure of this quintessentially human social interplay. Having the balance of structure and unrehearsed intellectual play when it comes to dialogue across difference allows for the community to show up in a way that is authentic and even liberative. Don’t get me wrong, structured conversations are useful and even necessary when we need to stay on track or are trying to achieve a collective goal. However, when we are able to master the techniques that structure may offer us, we naturally lean towards new and fresh ways of dialoging that almost feels like dancing in community – Toni Morrison best expressed this as the “Dancing of the Minds”.  Like dancing, unrehearsed dialogue can allow for creativity and deeper connection to exist. What was revealed to me in this experience is that spontaneous intelligent conversations among individuals opens passages to new spiritual growth, understanding, and insight; it doesn’t merely follow one person’s lead or a well-trodden path. Instead, listening well, thinking generously and speaking with good humor and ingenuity are important in interfaith dialogue.