- by Samantha B. Fortune, Bricklyn Eagle Health & Science correspondent, with a postscript to the article by Duane Sandville, Outland Affairs Correspondent
- July 16, 2021
Summary of article: Residents of Bricklyn are invited to use the just opened Meditation and Mediation (M&M) tents. Learn why there’s an increased interest in both meditation and mediation, and how the two are linked.
Residents of the Realm of Bricklyn can now use the just-opened “M&M” tents — currently located by Lake Bricklyn. Reservations can be made through the Bricklyn Parks & Recreation Department.
There is no fee for use of the tents, but since demand is expected to be high, advance bookings are required.
The colorful red and blue tents link meditation and mediation in an exciting way. Use the blue tent for meditation, and the red tent for mediation.
The Use of Mediation in Bricklyn
Both M&M practices have long been popular in Bricklyn. For any disputes involving less than 7,500 CuDos 🍩 (approximately $5,625 U.S. dollars) mediation must be used before filing in Court.
Mediation is also in keeping with the long-time emphasis among nearly all Inland communities to look for consensus in resolving disagreements.📍
📍This is part of the Danish inheritance shared by Inland communities. In Denmark, consensus building has long been a favored practice, in politics and in governance, including at the neighborhood level.
➤ Perhaps Bricklynites have also taken to heart the words of the late 18th Hasidic master and storyteller Reb Nachman of Bratslov:
“The whole world is full of quarrels: among the nations, in every city, in every home, among neighbors, in the workplace. … How does one find time to waste on quarrels? Therefore, everyone should take this to heart and learn patience and not waste one’s days in quarrels, large or small. One should restrain one’s emotions and anger and live in peace with all.” Quoted in Siddur Lev Shalem (The Rabbinical Assembly, 2016), p. 299.
For more words by Rabbi Nachman of value when mediating.
Just What Is Mediation?
Land use attorney Edith Netter discussed mediation in an article in the Planning Commissioners Journal. As she explained:
“Mediation is a voluntary, informal process of dispute resolution. A person who is not a party to a dispute and is neutral in relation to it, assists two or more parties in settling a dispute.
The mediator’s role is to establish, with input from the parties, the negotiation process, and to assist the parties in resolving the substance of their dispute.
The mediator does not function as a judge or arbitrator, and does not render decisions or make recommendations. It’s a ‘bottoms up” process, not top down.
A ‘successful’ mediation is one where all of the parties believe that they have negotiated a result that is better than that which they could otherwise have obtained. Successful mediation processes often result in settlements or recommendations that include solutions which are different from those that were proposed by either party.”📍
📍From Edith Netter, Esq., “Mediation: A New Way to Resolve Land Use Conflicts,” Planning Commissioners Journal (March 1992). Use the link to read the full article.
Bricklynites’ Growing Interest in Meditation
In addition to their longstanding use of mediation, Bricklynites have shown a growing interest in meditation, as a way of both calming and focusing themselves. In fact, use of meditation has soared in recent months due to the daily “unexplained” thunderous booms that have been shattering the peace and calm of the Realm.
➤ The Bricklyn Eagle has a team of reporters working on an investigative report on these ear-piercing, body-shaking, heart-pounding booms. While many Bricklynites attribute them to “anger from the Gods,” we are looking into other, more scientifically-based explanations.
Linking Meditation and Mediation
Kenneth Cloke, Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution, has written that: “There is a natural affinity between mediation and meditation,” noting that “both recognize the simultaneity of unity and opposition; both acknowledge the presence of diverse and multiple truths; both seek a middle way; and both encourage us to have a complete experience of our conflicts, allowing us to evolve and leave them behind.”
Trained as a mediator and arbitrator, Cloke says that meditation is especially useful for mediators themselves, as it improves their “ability to remain calm and balanced in the presence of conflict and intense emotions,” while also encouraging a “greater willingness to move beyond superficiality in conversation and move into the heart of whatever is not working effectively.” What’s more, Cloke has found that mediation, improves mediators’ “creative problem solving skills, and ability to invent or discover imaginative solutions.”📍
📍Kenneth Cloke, “Mediation And Meditation: The Deeper Middle Way” (2019). Retrieved July 16, 2021. See also “Meditation and Mediation,” Family Court Review, Volume 43, Issue 2 (April 2005). Retrieved July 16, 2021.
With this background, the Bricklyn Department of Parks & Recreation invites all citizens of the Realm to make use of the new Meditation & Mediation tents! ✥
On right: An aerial view of the new M&M tents, located close to Lake Bricklyn. The train will make a flag stop to let you off and pick you up. Crossing gates to allow access to the Lake will be installed next week.
➤ Tents or other small structures for meditation are not uncommon, and can even be found in LEGO Inland Communities across the globe. Take a look, for example, at this short video of one such calming place of meditation.