The Whetstone Ethos
The Whetstone process is rooted in the following ethos:
Groundedness: The quiet state of being connected to oneself, others, and the world, as your unique, immutable presence. You are you, as you are. You are here, as it is.
A Way: We each have a unique style or way of living our lives. The art of living life well is through recognition of and refining the way in which we greet life and move through it. Our way is experienced by ourselves and others. It leaves a wake. What our experience? What is the wake we leave?
Clarity and Discernment: Through inquiry and perspective, a person can reach an intuitive understanding and clarity, and practice discernment so that actions and choices have the most resonance personally, and relevance systemically.
The Physical and Metaphysical: Buckminster Fuller defines the “scenario” of Universe as including both the physical and the metaphysical. We do, too.
In and of the World: We are equipped, as human beings, to transcend our positional subjectivity, and can experience being in and of the world. Being in and of the world naturally sources us as human beings.
2+2=4: Recognizing reality as reality—separate from our interpretations, contexts, and beliefs—can prove to be a challenge for our identity, but it is the work we seek to do. Being right about reality isn’t useful because it is an ego-position. Reality has no position. It is neutral. We seek to recognize reality and be neutral about it.
Mystery: Life is mysterious. We do not shirk from not knowing, not understanding, not predicting, or not controlling ourselves, others or life. We surrender to the mystery of life, trusting its obfuscation as part of the design, as are we. We practice our agency as a dance with the mysteriousness of life.
Simplicity: We allow the profound power of simplicity. We seek the simplest, most effective, most authentic path forward. Being oneself is natural, and therefore the simplest, most effective way to be in life. If we are being natural, if we are being authentic, life becomes simple, straightforward, and powerful.
Getting F-ed Up on Purpose: Possibility, transformation, reinvention, disruption, change agency—all of these things will mess a person up. If you’re not messed up, it isn’t possibility/ transformation/ reinvention/ disruption/ or change. We meet the discomfort of the process with gentleness, courage, compassion, and normalization. We prepare for and welcome getting f-ed up on purpose.
© 2021 by Marita Bollici. All Rights Reserved.
