Layering The Learning

You have an RAS.
I have an RAS.
Everyone has an RAS.

Do you know what an RAS is?

It stands for Reticular Activating System, and it's a neural network in our brain located in our brain stem.

It's job is focused on motivation, behavioral awareness, and overall consciousness. It sorts information to determine what's important and what's not.

When you buy a new car, and then see that same car all over, that's your RAS at work. The quantity of cars hasn't changed since you bought yours, but your awareness of those cars has changed.

Whenever, I read a book with an organization, my RAS is on high alert for any relevant information that I can share with the group.

Here's and example.

On Wednesday, I was talking about trauma-informed care and systems. I learned about these 3 responses to traume:

• Trauma Sensitivity - actively avoiding anything that would ignite a traumatic response
• Trauma Informed - when you acknowledge, pay attention to and , hold space, for trauma as it comes
• Trauma Focused - when you intentionally talk about trauma in different ways.

Since I had just lead 2 book circles on The Culture Map by Erin Meyer in Monday, my RAS was activated toward culture.

As such, I decided to play with the above framework, but apply it to culture.

It looked like this:

• Culture Sensitive - actively trying to avoid stepping on any cultural toes and hurting people's feelings, or getting defensive if anyone points out your cultural "insensitivities" 
• Culture Informed - acknowledging and paying attention to cultural differences as they arise
• Culture Focused - intentionally talking about culture and making it a big part of the conversation, rather than something to touch on, or avoid

I shared these musings with the 2 groups on Wednesday, and asked them what they thought of this idea, and if anything was missing.

"What about 'Culture Unaware?' " someone asked.

She went on to say that it's not that she is avoiding culture, but that in her day-to-day workings, it's not top of mind. Now, in reading the book, she leans more toward culture informed or culture focused. (Thanks to her RAS.)

One of the joys of my work is the ability to layer in the learning above and beyond the books we read.

Everyone that comes to a book circle has their own unique experience, and their own unique perspective, and my job as the facilitator isn't to train them in the work, but to hold space for them wherever they are, and to give them multiple opportunities to expand from there.

Through our live sessions, our group chats, the learning partnership, the reflection questions, and the actions for integration, we are creating multiple layers of learning, and keeping our RAS primed on the subject over the course of months.

What's your RAS focused on today?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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