Imagine – The Way of Council
Imagine sitting with a group of people who have experienced anxiety and/or depression for whom making a commitment to leave their home and come to a group experience is a grand act of courage. Imagine the group growing in trust and acknowledging that this may be the first time they’ve ever experienced safety.
Imagine a group of eighth graders at a time in life where being bored or tired are often the only safe responses to “how are you doing today?” Now imagine that group sharing openly with each other on any number of topics including what it is like to be their gender and witnessing the other gender’s joys and challenges without an eye roll amongst them. Now imagine further those children asking to facilitate a council in which the adults sit in the center and they ask us questions such as, “how did you think being an adult would be and how did it actually turn out?” And imagine that after carefully witnessing our responses, the youth facilitators asking, “well adults, do you feel heard?” Oh yes!
Imagine showing up to Occupy Victoria and calling a spontaneous council and a group forms including university students, homeless people, middle class people, mentally ill people, men and women. Imagine the container holding as the notion of “the other” disappears.
Imagine a world in which community after community found itself sitting in circle, sharing facilitation, allowing each person to show up in his or her full vulnerability and holding each in the wholeness of their full humanity. What would it be like if council was held regularly in your workplace, where speaking and listening from the heart was the norm and where what is truly emergent and holistic is given space to manifest, where the individual ego quiets in favor of allowing a truth to emerge that no one tries to claim ownership of? What if you held council regularly with your family? With your lover?
Imagine circle after circle, changing ourselves, changing our relationships, changing our world. I invite you to attend The Way of Council 1.
The Way of Council 1 Workshop
Council 1 will be held as a non-residential workshop on the beautiful grounds of Royal Roads University on May 27 – 29. It is possible to stay at a local B&B or arrange for accommodation at Royal Roads. I will be co-facilitating with Hilary Leighton, PhD, who brings authenticity, enthusiasm and a soulful sensibility to teaching and learning. A tireless advocate for a more consciously connected world, she is a lifelong student of Eco psychology, mythology and depth psychology. Hilary holds an MEd, curriculum and instruction and an interdisciplinary doctorate in education, human psychology and environmental studies. MBTI Certified, she is also an Integrated Body Psychotherapist in private practice and teaches Laughter Yoga.
To Register:
http://secure.royalroads.ca/cscourses/the-way-of-council-training-level-i
For more information on The Way of Council, please see the following websites:
www.councilinschools.org
http://www.centerforcouncil.org/
Charting Your Course, a four-week transpersonal coaching course for women in transition begins May 12. This course is for you if:
-
You have aging parents or parent loss.
-
You have or are facing an "empty nest."
-
You are re-entering a profession or seeking a new one.
-
You are in relationship transition.
-
You suspect there is something more to you and for you.
-
You are seeking greater meaning in your life.
Charting Your Course Plus Package: $200 for the course and one individual coaching session during the four-week course.
Charting Your Course Online: An online course option is available. Contact me for more information.
Let Go of What Has You, a non-residential weekend workshop for everyone. To be held June 17 – 19. Please join Linda Riley and I as we journey towards self-discovery and learn to let go of what keeps you from moving forward. Spaces are limited to maintain intimacy and group safety is paramount. Early registration offers a discount so don’t delay. Register now. Contact me for more information. If you have been thinking about this for a while now is the time to start taking care of you. Sometimes we hold onto things that do not serve us. It might be ideas, beliefs, fears, expectations, even people. Letting go sets us free and opens the door to healing. Spend a weekend discovering what keeps you chained and learn how to let go so that you can begin your own Personal Transformation.
Trim Life Weight Release Program – this newly revamped six-week program created by The Wellness Institute and The Cleveland Clinic is not a diet. It is a life changing program that tackles the emotional causes of over-eating while using the power of your subconscious mind to make healthy changes in nutrition, exercise, mindfulness practices, and more. Ongoing follow-up group sessions will be provided at a nominal cost.
I'd be most grateful to you for sharing this newsletter with those you feel might have an interest in the offerings.