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and professionals who consistently displayed a desire to improve race relations within the local
community. Displays of leaderful actions occurred as members of the dialogues, participants, and
facilitators risked sharing stories and painful personal accounts of past and present racial
experiences and discrimination. The opportunity to tell these stories in the corresponding company
of others from the local community proved to be stressful and healing as participants confronted
their own feelings and witnessed the emotions of others around the dialogue circle. In order to
build a ‘safe Metasphere’ that encourages openness and lowers the barrier for risk and ‘entry’ to
the conversation having “I” Awareness seem to provide the formula:
Figure 6.1. Building the Metasphere as a Dialogue.
“Iwareness” is directed self-encompassing awareness of ones thinking, word usage and
actions (way of acting and interacting) within the Metasphere producing an engaged interactive
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