20 November - Boundaries, coming back to myself

 We began by considering how we portray ourselves publicly versus privately and the expectations of others as to how we come across.  We tuned in to these Soul Card images in terms of the energies of others crowding us, what we send out to others and how we might feel when we are centred.

We explored the idea of coming back to ourselves and what that meant. Responses were varied but shared common themes of finding the true self, valuing time, our connections and being kind to ourselves.

We created a word cloud around the theme and it was interesting to see where the words fell and in particular the colour which could be liked to a warning colour or one of joy that appears in flowers. Yellow is also thought to be the colour of friendship.

We practised a visualisation that restored our own energy and we anchored that to recall when needed.  The poem enabled further exploration of the theme. whether in terms of self protection or going beyond boundaries.  To round off, I will share my own writing from the final segment:

When I create my own protected space

I feel that I am somehow valiant

in a war of boundary breaking.

I am quiet, I calm and ground.

When I let go of thoughts of others

there is more space for me to breathe.

My breathing slows, my belly softens.

I am quiet, I calm and ground.

When I do, the storm calms

and maybe the clouds in others also recede.

What if we were all to calm?

Perhaps the earth itself could breathe....

9 October - Perseverance

 This theme naturally touched on how we had all needed to persevere and keep on keeping on during the pandemic.  The gestures we made in the intros helped to embody the word that would accompany participants during the workshop.

We used some oracle cards to start us off and it was interesting to hear the responses elicited from the colours and interactions in the images. We then co-created a word cloud of words and phrases around the theme which helped us to flesh out our ideas about and approaches to perseverance:

Everyone enjoyed the poem and found the subject of the poem to embody the theme of perseverance and which enabled ideas of new horizons, fragility and inner reserve to emerge. We developed this into an image that we could keep in mind to take us forward.  It was also useful to look back at phrases we had written, either our own or that we had heard.

Online Workshop - in the space between

The theme provided an arena for discussion about recent experiences which included how participants had been feeling during the course of the pandemic and the activities they had or had not been doing, including reading and writing. Participants were generous in what they shared and it was helpful to hear authentic experiences as this encouraged the group to open up to one another.

It was interesting to explore the theme and here are some words and phrases that arose:

The poem was thought to be inspiring and elicited journeys to dreams, recollections of childhood and inner worlds, reflective spaces and opportunities to appreciate ordinary moments.

This was the first workshop of the longer format and it was good to have more time to share and respond to one another's writing.  

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Feedback:

Asked "What did you particularly enjoy or was a highlight of the workshop for you?" 

 

"I loved the theme of the workshop as it was very pertinent to where I have been feeling in my life’s journey currently.  But I think the theme brought up many thoughts and feelings  and differing perspectives for our group so it was really interesting to hear everyone’s reflections and contributions so thank you to everyone today ! .

 

I think for me the highlight was the beautiful Poem which was really rich with “food for thought”, reflection and contemplation."                 Paula (Dog Washer/ Social Worker)

"I enjoyed the workshop very much.  I found it well planned, with enough variation of talk, writing , reading out our own work (if we wanted to) listening and responding to writing.  The length/ timing of the sessions meant my interest was sustained throughout.  I felt we all had enough time but there was no pressure to share or even respond to writing if we did not want to.  I loved the stimulus poem the tutor sourced and it was perfect for the theme of the workshop.  I also enjoyed the short visualisation/meditation before writing.       Gill (retired teacher)

Other comments:

Loved the Space to do the Tai Chi  / meditation  also loved the bit about letting go allowing “other stuff to go back to Source” and “us to come back to our self”… recognition of transference … group think. Thank you for this!!"  Paula (Dog Washer/ Social Worker)

"It made me remember how pleasurable writing can be." Gill (retired teacher)

Online workshop - Going Away - 19 June 2021

Selected some oracle cards prior the workshop. The Pure Dream card speaks of “following your intuition, developing your imagination, dreaming big and thinking about things with an open mind, connecting to the inner child and being naive”. The second card -Instincts - chimes with that and the third, speaking of embracing every lesson every moment, also attunes with the concepts of writing for well-being, of allowing the words to flow onto the page.

Today’s workshop was a smaller group than anticipated and it was more like meeting friends around a coffee table and doing some writing together and sharing and chatting. It felt very natural and quite freeing, even via zoom.

We explored the theme of “going away“ and produced a word cloud (shared with permission of participants).

The writing brought up recollections of places lived in, places travelled, places to revisit or to explore as well as things that have been bought while away and what we’ve done with them (or not at the case may be). We talked about the idea that it can seem so easy to purchase something while away with the intention of doing something with it when we get home and perhaps, on reflection, realising that it has been sitting in a bag for quite "some time".

We talked about how we prepare ourselves to go away and how we are while we’re away, meeting the people we meet, also the dilemma of wishing to make the most of the place we’re staying, such as a hotel or B&B, but then perhaps wishing to keep to ourselves to avoid using shared tables or eating spaces and all that goes with that.

There was food for thought as to which writing exercises could be used or developed afterwards as well as sitting with some of the material that came up and possibly exploring further.

Feedback: Asked if there were something that you would take away from today and practise at home, what in particular would that be and how might you use it?  

 

Definitely the Wordcloud.  I really enjoyed this and would like to use it for my own personal free-writing and possibly when explaining journaling techniques such as ‘clustering’ to others. Also I like the idea of writing from Oracle cards.  I have a box of angel cards at home and I think I might pick one daily for a week as inspiration for some morning free-writing. (Laura Merritt)

11 May workshops - Air + Writing to Taste Life

It was good to be back at Goose Green and to offer the last of the elements - Air.  We connected through a poem that praised air and later co-created a new poem through interweaving lines from one another's words.  This involved mindful listening and selection.

I then dashed off to Brompton Road Library to take part in the Cityreads series of events around the book "Sofia Khan is not obliged".  As some of the group were expecting a talk on food, it was wonderful that everyone was willing to find out about words for wellbeing and to take part in the workshop.

Here is a selection of feedback from the two workshops:

What did you particularly enjoy?
"Starting with a word and building forward was inspirational for me." - Brajesh

"Having the quiet, space and relaxation to allow myself to think, focus and express myself in writing," - Jan

"Sharing ideas with others and hearing their contributions." - Noreen

"Participation, sharing experiences and hearing beautiful stories." - Tania


Something you might take away
"Writing regularly (without judging it)." - Brajesh

"The realisation that writing down feelings and thoughts helps to clear your mind and get rid of anxiety with a better understanding of yourself." - Jan

"Starting to write for me." Maria

"Write for the joy of writing." Parishma

"Learning that sharing, regardless of what I think is good or bad is important." - Tania

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Other comments
"I would like to go to other similar events about writing." Donna Costa

"Thank you - a very enjoyable two hours." Maria

"Longer session needed.  Would love more sessions" - Tania

Goose Green - Water Workshop 9 March

It was a blustery day on 9 March and it was good to be cosseted away in our writing space once again at Goose Green Clinic.

We reviewed our writing practice since the last session with one participant having kept their  playful "earth" nameplate from the previous workshop in view in their writing space to maintain the good feelings and momentum from our last session.

We then created a new nameplate and played with its sound and movement as a means of introduction.  We reviewed our "ground rules" for working together and dived into our first free write.  Then some releasing and flowing movements followed by some mindful breathing.  

We contemplated what "water" meant to us then read and discussed a poem to connect to this and wrote from a favourite line or phrase.  We then explored our relationship with water in some more writing and rounded off with some "messages" from stones.

Here's some of the feedback:-

"I enjoyed all of it.  Gentle approach is nice.  Good balance." - RP

Asked "what did you particularly enjoy? 

     "the poem, very thought provoking.  Helped me to think about my relationship to water" - Emel

 "The lovely stone at the end.  I feel cheered and energised by it." - RP

Anything you would take away from today?

     "the use of meditation and movement before writing" - Emel

Further comment:

     "I like understanding how to read my work without feeling the need to explain" - Emel

It was good to explore the theme of water with this group!  I'm looking forward to our next workshop on 6th April on the theme of fire + light.

First workshop at Goose Green Clinic - Earth - 9 February 2019

The series of workshops got off to a good start at Goose Green Clinic.  We were in Bodhi room which is a quiet space to reflect and write.

We reinvented ourselves by way of a nameplate as a means of introduction.  Then, after agreeing how we needed to act in order to feel safe to share and writing these up on my handy portable flip chart, we spent a few minutes doing some releasing and calming movements followed by some mindful breathing and a grounding practice.  This helped participants flow into their first free-writing exercise to arrive on the page.

We then contemplated what "earth" meant to us then read and discussed a poem to connect to this and wrote from a favourite line or phrase.  Following this, we each selected a tree wisdom card to polish off the session.   

Here's some of the feedback:-

"I felt safe and relaxed."

Asked "what did you particularly enjoy? 

     "its gentleness"

     "The small group.  The lovely room.  The mix of exercises.  The respect for time.  The measured approach."

Anything you would take away from today?

     "calm, peace, stillness"

And an unsolicited note about the facilitator:

     "I thought you were terrific!!  Professional, but light hearted too."

What a lovely group of participants!  I'm looking forward to our next workshop on 9th March on the theme of water.