Values and Principles
Gestalt Executive
WHAT WE BELIEVE IN AND THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF GESTALT
We believe in
clarity
contact
habits
thoughts, emotions and senses
the here and now
we do the best we can
interaction
resistance
responsibility
multiple realities
hierarchy
power
exsistential conditions
optimistic stand
feedback
the paradoksale of change
growth and development
mindfulness
Clarity
Clarity and self-insight are the prerequisites for being able to create change. When we work habitually and without awareness, we are no longer aware of what we are actually doing. When clarity is present we have a real choice and are able to choose to either do as we usually do or do something else.
Contact
Contact: That is what we call the quality of human interaction. Individuals are always in contact with their surroundings and often also with other people. Contact is also about feeling oneself, one’s body, one’s emotions and one’s thoughts. The contact with oneself and others can be greater or lesser and sometimes almost completely absent.
Habits
Habits, appropriate or less appropriate, have once been used to solve a “problem”. However, some habits are no longer productive, but we continue to apply them in situations that seem identical with the original “problem”. With awareness, we get the opportunity to choose.
Thoughts, emotions and senses
Some people prioritize thinking and others feelings. Good relational skills involve the ability to be in touch with both thoughts, feelings and senses.
The Here and Now
We all carry our past and we all have dreams, hopes and plans for the future. We live neither in the past nor in the future, hence the present is everything we have and everything that plays out in our relationships here and now.
We do the best we can
There is no one who wakes up in the morning and thinks: “Today I want to ruin my day”. We do not plan to make mistakes. We do things as best we can, even when things do not turn out the way we expected or hoped.
Interaction
When two (or more) persons talk or work together, the degree of involvement is a result of everyone (even if someone is almost passive).
Resistance
Resistance is a force that reduces or stops movement. It may or may not be usable. The competence is to know when to say no or yes. It allows the human being to decide whether to act or not and whether one should try something new or stick to the old. Leaning into resistance will release energy for movement.
Responsibility
Only by taking responsibility for our choices and actions there is a chance that we can change and improve our experiences and interactions in the world. It is up to the individual to change herself.
Multiple Realities
No one owns the truth. Since we all look at things differently, there will be many ways to interpret phenomena. Competent behavior includes a willingness to talk to and listen to other people who are different and who have different perspectives.
Hierarchy
Most relationships contain some form of hierarchy. There may be different levels of knowledge or abilities, and one person may be the leader of others. Hierarchy must be recognized and respected, and rules of clear communication must be understood by all. A well-functioning hierarchy depends on the relational competencies between the people in the hierarchy.
Power
An individual cannot be powerful without being in some relationship. Power is not a trait or a talent, power is basically something that arises in relationships. A powerful person has the ability to influence and to be influenced. Some people are assigned power through their position and they can use that power in a good or bad way.
Existential conditions
The future is always unknown. We do not know what the next moment, day or year will bring. This uncertainty can be scary or exciting. It is how we relate to this uncertainty that determines how we live our lives. It takes courage to be able to be with the existential conditions of life.
Optimistic stand
NGI Executive has a realistic approach to the situation right now and an optimistic view of future possibilities. We prefer to work on developing potentials rather than fixing or correcting what can apparently be considered wrong.
Feedback
We believe that good feedback is absolutely essential for the contact in relationships. Feedback is given by telling what is observed (data) without interpreting or analyzing and at the same time expressing how it affects the person giving feedback.
The paradox of change
Only when I become who I am, change can actually happen. There is nothing I need to fix, I really just need to discover, accept and take ownership of it.
Growth and development
When you move towards a place that is different from where you are today, there will be growth, development and an expansion of your horizons and competencies.
Mindfulness
Being mindful is a neutral observational state, which creates presence, openness and curiosity, both towards yourself and in your encounter with others.
THE GESTALT CORE CONCEPTS
Awareness
The central perspective in gestalt is awareness, here understood as clarity and self-understanding. Every person or system will act in the best way possible based on the current level of awareness. Change and development take place through increased clarity and self-understanding as well as in the actions it will entail. In other words, change and development equate to increased awareness.
Awareness Zones
Our senses, thoughts and emotions are organized in three different zones; the outer zone, the middle zone and the inner zone, also called the awareness zones. The outer zone includes our five senses as well as our brain’s ability for perception (pattern recognition). The middle zone contains our thoughts including the cognitive and mental aspects, narratives and linguistic notions. The inner zone represents our feelings and emotions, including non-linguistic sensations and moods.
Phenomenological Approach
In gestalt, the approach is that our habits and action patterns unfold in our relationships and in the present (now and here). This means that the situations we are in are reflected in our actions, both movements, word choice, voice, hearing, facial expressions, energy level and radiance. Using this data to provide feedback to a person or to a system is called the phenomenological approach. The goal is always to increase awareness for the person or for the system.
The Circle of Energy
Gestalt is focused at building new competencies through perception, choice, action, learning and improvement. The process is called the circle of energy and describes an iterative cycle, which moves from awareness through contact, action, integration and to completion. This cycle provides a framework for observing competencies and possible areas of development.
Figure/Ground
The human being chooses to focus on something in a given situation; it is a result of what is in focus here and now for him or her. The way we perceive information and how we choose to respond depends on the information available (reason). It includes both the information present in the situation as well as our physical and emotional reaction and experience. It is from here that we choose what we focus on (figure). The more we have worked with the ground, the clearer the figure will become. Expanding awareness is often to create a more nuanced ground before focusing on a figure.
Polarities
There are always contradictions in what we experience, feel, think, feel, choose or do:
Joy / Sorrow – Hot / Cold – Generous / Stingy – Angry / Loving.
We call it polarities. There is a tendency for man to prefer one side of a polarity and call it right or good and the other side wrong or bad. In gestalt, all polarities are important, depending on the circumstances. Development and growth is to embrace and own the whole polarity so that we can accommodate and apply the full spectrum.
Experiment
Gestalt is distinguished by the fact that it focuses on acting instead of “talking about”. Through experiments with new paths and methods, the individual’s experience with new paths and methods is supported instead of simply talking about the possibilities of doing something different.
Meta Theories
Gestalt practice is supported by two overarching theories; gestalt psychology and existentialism.
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology is a psychological direction, which played a major role from 1920, especially in perception and cognitive psychology, by claiming that man is actively structuring and meaning-seeking in his way of perceiving and acknowledging. Gestalt means ‘wholeness’ and refers to the way we as humans form ‘wholes’. We perceive (perceive / recognize) by forming wholes in the patterns we see. Gestalt psychology also contains the field theory that describes the connection between the individual and the environment. Overall, field theory says that we are always in a field and that we are affected by everything that is around and inside ourselves.
Existentialism
This philosophical direction describes the inalienable basic conditions of man, which in general is that we do not know what the future holds. We do not know when we will die or lose someone we love. We do not know if we will get sick or otherwise have accidents that will radically change our lives. We must create meaning in our lives ourselves. We have a free choice and it is our own responsibility what we choose. Not choosing is also a choice. The essence of existentialism is that we must relate to these basic conditions, and that the way we relate to them is crucial to how fully we live our lives.