Leaving - 8 July 2023

The theme of leaving brought up various recollections for participants as well as a sense of longing.  Songs were recalled and we journeyed from Simon & Garfunkel's Homeward Bound to Otis Redding's A Change is Gonna Come and connected along the way.  We also recalled through the sense of smell as well as a connection to our younger selves, that spirit that never truly leaves us.

We explored our thoughts on the theme of leaving and arrived at these words which melded together to form a reminder of our time together; 

We contemplated some paintings on the theme of leaving which gave room for connection to different images.  We then wove our explorations with words together with our responses to some oracle cards.  

Here is an excerpt from my word weaving:

Those warrior figures in my life have departed

Maybe we're all warriors though

We have our strengths 

we each stand on our own.

There are times when confidence must put up

its shield against that which would detain it

and stride on to take us in our chosen direction.

As Otis would say—It's been a long time coming

but a change is gonna come—oh yes it is.

We shared what we would take away from the workshop through our own words and one another's and felt that these tied in to own aspirations at the beginning of the session.  There was much to reflect upon and quite possibly more writing to come.

The next workshop will be on 16th September.  Theme to be confirmed.

Replenishing - 17 June 2023

 It was good to come together and share how we accessed writing for wellbeing and the roots of our practice. We explored our thoughts on the theme of replenishing both by definition and through free-writing. Here is the wordcloud we co-created:

Some mindful movements brought us to a quiet space where we were ready to dive into the first poetic resource and writing experience. We reflected on the power of sharing our written words aloud in the group. 

It is often enlightening to see where the writing and sharing takes us and today was no exception. Participants came away with gems from their own writing as well as the words from others in the group to take away for reflection and future recollection on the self discovery path.

Feedback:

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

 "I enjoyed being with people who were open to exploration in a safe space. I particularly enjoyed reading the poems out together. I liked the way we were inspired by each other and the alternate names intro." (Margaret)

"Having group discussions and expressing thoughts in a safe environment. Being heard and ideas being formed." (Loretta)

When asked if there were something that you would take away from today and practise at home?

"I enjoyed the meditation exercise and have incorporated into my exercise routine." (Margaret)

"Reading more mindful poetry. Good for the soul." (Loretta)

Other comments:

"I really enjoyed the session and found it empowering. I would definitely be interested in attending more sessions." (Margaret)

"After a long period of being away from these sessions, it was such a joy to come back and be part of a lovely group. I felt we all connected." (Loretta)

Communing - 4 March 2023

This was the first time I have offered a workshop on this theme.  It brought up a real sense of attunement to those in the space, to our breathing, where we simply 'were' in the space without identifying with our normal sense of self where we breathed together. This is echoed in the wordcloud we created:

We wondered how a shared experience, or a shared reading of a poem, or listening of our words, might then affect each person in different ways after the workshop.

The writing brought about discussion of lockdown experiences and how nature and online networking helped maintain a sense of connection and community. 

Firsts - 4 February 2023

 This was not the first time I have offered a workshop on this theme.  However, as ever with writing for wellbeing, the discussions, writings and reflections are very different according to who attends and what they bring and share.  

Today was no exception.  As we discussed some of our firsts, more firsts crept in and it is surprising how easily this theme promotes recollections of times pasts and imaginings of times that may come.  

Here is a word cloud of some topics we came up with for possible explorations as firsts.  Perhaps these can remind you of some of your own firsts or perhaps you can think of more?

The session brought up some recollections not often thought about and some evocative writing and reflections and ideas for further writing.

Amalgamating 22 October 2022

 We began by contemplating our writing alter ego and what writing brings to us.  We then led into some free-writing to mark the start of the workshop as we began writing together, joined in our zoom-box configuration.

We contemplated the theme of amalgamating and co-created a word cloud. It's always fascinating to observe the placement of the words in the arrangement.

A five element movement exercise and some quiet sitting helped to settle minds in readiness for the main writing exercise. The poem deepened our focus, taking time to build to an unexpected ending. This led the group into some more writing taken from self-selected phrases in the poem. We then considered the different strands of our self and our life and how these came together. Some rich insights, including some personal affirmations, emerged from the writing and sharing providing plenty of food for further reflection and further writing.

Brokenness - 14 May 2022

 We began by looking at some images on the theme of brokenness which initiated a lot of discussion in terms of what is implied by being broken and that the concept of brokenness invokes a conditioned need either to repair or somehow to return to wholeness.  We explored our responses to this and the discussion then brought up the concept of kintsugi (the Japanese practice of restoring broken crockery with gold so that the repaired fractures are clearly visible).  We considered whether certain things, once broken, could be fully restored and whether this was even necessary.

The group then created the word cloud below where, interestingly, the word 'kintsugi' is mis-spelt, indicating that the word itself in this image is 'broken'.

We then looked at two poems on the theme which inspired writing and discussion including whether anything is ever always whole.  All in all a rich and interesting session, promoting food for further reflection.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Feedback

Narayani created a warm, welcoming, nurturing online space in which it felt easy for me to relax and feel able to explore, share, be curious and connect with the others in the group.

 

I felt that the group reading of the poetic prompts allowed me to start reflecting on some new ideas around “brokenness”.  Then the opportunity to respond to the poem prompt with my own creative writing released another layer of emotion and allowed deeper exploration.  

For me, the most important piece of the workshop happened when Narayani invited us back into the group space together and we shared our reflections with each other.  Hearing others creative responses for me was the “aha!” moment...it felt like the collective wisdom of the group, gently guided by Narayani, led to some moments of beautiful and sometimes profound reflection and sharing.  I felt a real sense of personal growth, evolution and growth by the end of the session...it felt like a real process of alchemy had occurred! 

Other comments

This workshop was a powerful and profound experience for me.  Through the use of creative prompts, our own creative expression and the wisdom found in group sharing, I felt like I made some real shifts in the way that I see the concept of “brokenness”.   The way I have seen myself as either “broken” OR “whole” has been gently challenged— I feel like this workshop is the beginning of me stepping away from the binary of “being broken” vs “being fixed”

                                                                                                                              Sara

Regeneration - 9 April 2022

Participants enjoyed finding a gesture that represented the connection with the Earth.  The initial free write helped participants to explore the experience of stillness and reflect on life pace and change.  The group considered and shared their experience of the word regeneration.  The wordcloud below illustrates the restorative arena that regeneration evokes.  It is always interesting to note the placement of apparently separate words in relation to one another:

The poem elicited a lot of discussion which with many favourite lines in common.  There was a fair amount of interweaving of our words whereby similar themes were coming through in our different pieces of writing. 

The second exercise reflected invited reflection on our ancestry through metaphor which brought up recollections of people, places, foods and it was interesting to hear these diverse experiences with which we could nonetheless resonate.

We then spent some time reflecting on words we had written or heard from others that we appreciated and would take away from the workshop.