Reading & Recording a Generative Story

I am initiating this thread to capture some reflections about sharing generative sequences through reading or recording. During the last week, I've done this twice with two people outside of the crew. The first time was with Jennifer (a connection that was formed in the offers&needs market I attended through starter cultures) and we went through some (~half) of the sequences (we are connecting again this evening to complete it). The second time, at Jennifer's request,, was with her husband Robert - he & I went through the entire set.

Beyond the contents of the sequences which are hopefully good, gradual, and generative, the thing I felt most drawn to tend to was to constantly tend to a subtle sense of orientation that a listener needs in order to be able to relax into the present moment.

I expect this may evolve into a document, but for now, am starting it here as a conversational thread.

1: Contextual Preparation

I am not sure if this is mandatory, but I felt this is something I wanted to do. An explanation of what is about to happen:

1. You are going to hear a description of a digital space.

2. That description is going to come in the form of a generative sequence.

3. The generative sequence will guide you step by step into an experience of the space.

4. A generative sequence is like Origami folding instructions: it is much easier to give a description of how the Origami figure comes into being, than to give a description of what it looks like in the end.

5. If, as you listen, you encounter questions like "what does that mean" try to have trust that answers will be provided to you. Try to release the question and stay present with each step in the sequence.

6. I will let you know when a sequence is complete and we will have an opportunity then to discuss it.

I could feel a compulsion arise in me to say something more specific about what will be described. I was then grateful for the two opening sequence which are there to create context. I realized the compulsion came from a place of wanting to explain or justify myself and became amused at that. I feel that ANY attempt to pre-empt the experience of the generative sequence would be detrimental to the generative experience.

Reading One Generative Sequence

1. Explicitly state the beginning of the generative sequence.

2. If numbering is available (currently not available in C1) state the number of steps in the sequence.

3. Sate the name of the sequence.

4. State the short (usually one short sentence) description of the sequence.

5. State each of the transformations in sequence.

6. Explicitly state the end of the generative sequence.

Reading One Transformation within a Sequence

1. If numbering is available (currently not available in C1) state the number of the transformation in the sequence.

2. State the title of the transformation.

3. Pause shortly.

4. State the contents of the transformation.

5. Linking to another sequence. If the transformation points to another generative sequence that will elaborate on the contents of the transformation AND has NOT yet been introduced, acknowledge the link with a statement like: "This will be further elaborated in a later generative sequence." This may speak to questions that arise for the listener and may build trust by signaling that (the unspoken out loud!) question will be addressed. Do NOT name or say anything about the sequence that is pointed to as that can distract from the flow of the current sequence.

6. Pause shortly.

Reading numerous Sequences

I am assuming here that:

1. A set of generative sequences are being shared to form a whole experience.

2. That to some extent, they are already organized into subsets (see the section structure in C1).

3. That the output is a linear sequence of audio files that together capture all the sequences.

4. That there needs to be an explicit decision of what goes into each file.

5. That a single audio file can contain more than one generative sequence.

6. Therefore, there needs to be an explicit arrangement of how generative sequences should be grouped and delivered (be it through live reading or recording).

Most of the following points are about orientation within the entire collection of sequences:

1. If you are going to bundle together more than one sequence state that in the beginning. Indicate at least the number of sequences that are going to be presented and if possible a short statement about the coherence that holds them together.

2. Read each generative sequence (see above: Reading One Sequence).

3. Pause shortly between each sequence.

4. Indicate clearly when the bundle of sequences is complete.

Having said all that ... :)

I asked Jennifer how she would feel about an audio recording and she had very clear feedback: the one-on-one LIVE reading experience is a powerful and intimate experience.

In case anyone else is doing or intends to do readings of the GP I want to point out two specific choices I tend to when I do readings.

Joining the first two sequences

I always read the two sequences "A Practice Space" and "Welcome" as one uninterrupted sequence:

• When I each the "Welcoming" transformation in "A Practice Space" I do not mention that it points to another sequence, instead I continue directly into the "Welcome" sequence.

• When I complete the "Welcome" sequence I return to the main "A Practice Space" sequence and resume reading from the "Joining" transformation.

Omitting Value Agreements

Unless I have an explicit motivation to hint at the money exploration I have been omitting echoes of value agreements:

• In the "Practice" sequence I have been skipping the "Enter into a Value Agreement" transformation.

• In the "Practice" sequence, in the "Enroll" transformation I've been skipping the mention of the value agreement and reading it "You can enroll ..."

• In the "Seed Space" sequence I've been omitting the "Shaping a Value Agreement Vocabulary" and the "Shaping Value Agreements" transformations.