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.

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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. 

Crossings - 19 March 2022

 We began with introductions and sharing what inspired us which in this instance, without any prompting, was all connected to light.  We then wrote about how we recalled our own “crossings” and how these manifested and what we could learn from them. 

We created a word cloud in response to the theme and as ever it was interesting to see where words sat in relation to one another:

 The poem promoted a lot of discussion and reflection in the writing in terms of how the images had been portrayed in words, which was inspiring.  We then looked at some different sets of images and explored how the writing for each chosen image related to one another and what emerged from the pairing.  Interestingly, there was one image that the whole group chose, perhaps because it is such an iconic one that referred to childhood.  Can you guess which one it is?

Finally, we looked back through what we’d experienced during our time together and shared what we would take away from the workshop and from one another and this helped to deepen connections.  

 

Here’s something I wrote that the poem reminded me of on an “ordinary” day:

 

I’d been watching a pair of leaves dance by the allotments

entwined with silver threads spun by spiders 

The breeze called its own tune

and the pair could not resist

They were lifted up as they twirled

but then the wind would drop

The rising and falling was like waves of rhythm 

conducted by nature

I could hardly bear to turn away

so entrancing was this interplay

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)