participating at different levels. The four core players were Anne, Beth, Lyn G. and Fran. Others who contributed were Maddy, Shannon & Jeroen. Their contributions were immensely valuable
, each in their own way.
Fun Gong show co-hosted by Al & Addy!! Great team hosting!! The photos will only give you a clue…..
We finished the day with Kinesthetic Modeling led by Beth. We used sacks of ‘holy scrap’ and built models first in small group and then as one large group. The project was done in silence and then debriefed. Most people felt most comfortable in the small groups and eventually found their place in the larger group. The debriefs were very informative.
Dynamic Continuum is a process choreographed and led by Anne to help us see where we are on the ‘continuum scale’. It’s similar to the horseshoe model we’ve used in the past where each person lines on the horseshoe one end being comfortable and the other end not comfortable with the concept presented, such as ‘conflict’. Anne’s movement based exercise allows room for the concept that all situations are dynamic and can change moment to moment. The middle of the circle is where we feel connected to the situation or each other…..and the outer edges of the circle is where we do not feel connected. Anne presented concepts such as you’re at a common meal, you’re at a common meal and you’ve had a hard day, you’re cooking a common meal. It was fun the see the visual of where people feel connected and where they do not.
We shared a nurturing and delicious lunch! Thanks Ted, Martha & the kid cook crew!!
Saturday March 7 opened with Beth presenting ‘Our Stories’. In order for our minds to compile the vast amount of information that comes our way we form ‘mental models’ based on images. Most of these mental models are formed by the time we are 6 or 7 years old. And we all have different mental models, kind of like ‘different languages’ even though we all speak English.
From these unique mental models we create stories. Some of these stories unite us and we acknowledged that these exist and are working well in our quest of collaboration and community living. And some of these stories separate us. These are the places we bump into each other, feed frustration, lack understanding and generally create conflict. We chose to look at the stories that separate us in small break-out groups and then shared the stories with the larger group. This is what separates us.
We discovered that what is underneath these stories is usually a deeper story like I’ll die, I’ll be kicked out from the tribe and left alone to die, I be disconnected with life yet remain among the living in the tribe. Frightening and scary stuff!!
Hi Welcome to the 2009 Heartwood Retreat! Celebrating and sharing a bit of our experience!
Coming Home: Where is my place in Heartwood?
Where do I belong? Premise: Everyone has a place and every place is important! Our voices help us to find our place. Together we make up a 'system' called community. Any system perpetually seeks to be in balance. We continually shift and change personally and as a community. How do we dance this dynamic continuum? And it all boils down to......We're all Bozo's on this Bus! Where's your place?
