The Art of Witnessing another Human
{20 minutes}
The Art of Witnessing
Being with...
In this accidental interview with film-maker Nic Askew, we explore his non-method of witnessing other humans. For more than two decades, Nic has been bearing witness to humans, in the presence of a camera, and allowing something, or facilitating something to emerge, that is mysterious both to him, and to those he sits with in these sessions. In this video, Nic notices the difference between ordinary speaking, that seems to come from us, and a different kind of emergent language that arises through (perhaps at times even despite) us. He meditates on how this happens, what it might mean, and how we might go about creating the conditions for it to happen more frequently, because it is quite liberating.
Deeper, this film inquires into what it means to see someone. Not to look at them. What we usually see is, in fact, our conclusions about someone. How do we strip away this projecting so that we can actually receive someone?
Related Practices:
See Accompaniment. For something rather uncanny, reflect on this in relationship with Tiokasin Ghosthorse's first Deprogramming the Colonial Mind. See Reflective Listening . See Lee Mun Wah's Relational Mindfulness framework. See Tracking Physiology and Ways of Knowing. See Keywords. See Tell your Story. See Speaking from the Heart. See Heartfulness.Photography: | Licensed from Pexels.com, used with permission.