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From Me to We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness

Guenther, Stacey K.
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2327-4672
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1641561758205484

Abstract Details

2022, Ph.D., Antioch University, Leadership and Change.
To be human is to be a member of myriad groups. The universality of groups in our lives poses an important area of study for social scientists investigating human flourishing. Additionally, inquiring into the evolutionary potential of groups may begin to inform new ways of addressing the intractable issues we face as a human species. While most empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, or group doingness, this study explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, which is an intersubjective phenomenon that has been called coherence. Intersubjective coherence is often written about from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, as well as from a practice perspective, but it has rarely been investigated empirically. This interpretive phenomenological investigation of coherence inquired into the phenomenon through the facilitation of two group coherence treatments immediately followed by group interviews. The study’s design enabled the exploration of coherence from the intersubjective perspective, allowing for participants to make meaning of their coherence experiences in community. Findings revealed what it was like for participants to experience coherence, how the groups shifted into coherence, and the antecedents and outcomes associated with coherence. Additionally, five meta-themes, Direct Experience of Interbeing, Constructive Disorientation, Co-sensing, Metalogue, and Best Me, Best We, were identified revealing a broader context as well as the ways in which the participants made meaning of the experiences. A key outcome of the study was an empirically-based definition of coherence: coherence is a group-level phenomenon wherein members experience a collective shift into a heightened state of connectedness marked by a quieting, slowing, and calming of the group climate, an activation of an enlivened intersubjective field, and a calling forth for members' best selves resulting in an acceptance and celebration of differences among members. The shift is aided by skillful means, and members are able to process and make sense of the experience through somatic, emotional, spiritual, and creative ways of knowing. Coherence experiences are often accompanied by individual and collective awakenings. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Donna Ladkin, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Jon Wergin, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Judi Neal, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
322 p.
Organizational Behavior; Social Psychology; Spirituality
coherence; intersubjective; groups; group development; beingness; transpersonal; consciousness; ways of knowing; sensing; co-sensing; facilitation; mindfulness; contemplative practices; meditation; collective; leadership; change; transformation; awakening; phenomenology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Guenther, S. K. (2022). From Me to We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1641561758205484

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Guenther, Stacey. From Me to We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness. 2022. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1641561758205484.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Guenther, Stacey. "From Me to We: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Group Beingness." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1641561758205484

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1641561758205484
359
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.