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.

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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....