We gather both when the world feels broken
and when it feels radiant with possibility.
We gather to remember ourselves.
To make sense collectively of what we can’t on our own.
We gather because connection is essential.
Because there is profound healing in speaking our stories aloud
and experiencing the recognition and love reflected back.
We gather to be seen in our complexity and reminded of our capacity.
We gather to be inspired and uplifted by one another. To mourn. To heal.
We gather to be held in community.
We gather because we need each other;
because we are not meant to do this work of living, feeling, being — alone.
✺ Click image to download
When we circle in the learning communities we convene, we have the opportunity to honor the wisdom and experience of each person in the room. To allow ourselves to be students, and our students the teachers — and back again. To set powerful containers that inspire collective engagement, giving ownership to each individual. To create the right conditions that invite our participants to show up in their fullest capacity, and give ourselves permission to do the same. To do it together.
First, we need to know the why of our gatherings — to get clear on our purpose for the space we’re holding and understand what our participants are hoping to experience. Then we can proceed with a shared understanding that lays a powerful foundation for transformation to unfold. *While still leaving room — always — to be surprised! Sometimes why we think we’re there is different from why we’re actually there!
This week’s video includes:
Foundations of Engaged Facilitation
Collective Intentions + Agreements
add yours via our Community Platform
Rooting into the Why of our gatherings and infusing it into our agendas
Before you watch the video below, please watch the Welcome Video on our Start Here page. Then download your Workbook for Week One to guide your practice through the core teaching. ((You can type directly into your workbook, or print it out and write by hand.))
▷ Click the arrow below to watch.
Holding Space for Ourselves
Your imperfect evolution invites us to rise into our own capacity.
You show the way by being yourself — simply, fully. By naming your truth. By living your values.
We are eager for honesty and integrity, not curated perfection. We don’t expect you to have all the answers, to be unbroken, without fault or insecurity or hesitation.
Your humanness gives us hope.
We will recognize our reflection in the places where your wounds and wisdom meet, in your resolute but shaking voice.
As you shed old patterns and commit to your own growth we will be inspired to follow your lead.
…….
As holders of spaces and hearts and visions, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of caring so much for others and not holding intentional space for ourselves. Yet our capacity to stay present and generous and well-resourced in our work depends on our ability to show up for ourselves. It really does. (I offer these words to you, because so often, it’s exactly what I need to be reminded of.)
I know how truly difficult it can be to prioritize the practices that help us feel inspired, resilient, and well in our own lives.
This is not about judgement or shame. This is simply an invitation to notice — what’s working, what’s not — and make gentle shifts where desired over these next few weeks. Let’s use the context of this course to consider what space holding for ourselves looks like and feels like — and where and how we might do more of it.
Your workbook this week invites reflection on your space holding practices. The Audio Love Note below invites a bit of calm and grounding into your day. If you can, I recommend taking a couple of minutes to listen without distraction. To find a quiet place where you can get comfortable. Just click below to play.
Making Learning Come Alive
Space holding is energetic — without question — yet it is also about the physical spaces we create and convene. ((Even when we’re gathering virtually!))
This week, can you create a space in your home where you feel inspired, creative, grounded, and clear?
Perhaps this is an area that already exists but just needs some extra love. Maybe it’s clearing off a desk, setting up an altar, making your bed, pinning some beautiful pictures onto a wall. Can you add your “Spaces I Hold” manifesto from the Week One Workbook?!
Once you’ve given some energy to this special space, spend some time there. Breathe into the space.
>>> Take a picture of this space and share it on our community platform!
“Work is love made visible.” —Khalil Gibran
Expanding Our Learning Community
Every week you’ll be introduced to three new leaders and facilitators representing a breadth of styles and focus areas — from writers, to social justice advocates, theatre artists, painters, musicians, race relations facilitators, empathy specialists, youth organizers, and more. From youth to elders — and everyone in between — this collection of written interviews aims to showcase both the diversity and similarity of space holding practices, intentions, and outcomes.
*Notice where you see yourself and your practices (desired or existing) in these interviews — What resonates? What surprises you? What are you already doing? What might you want to try?
Alisha Sommer
Freelance Writer + Photographer
“To me, a teacher feels like someone who stands in the front of the room and instructs. I saw myself as a facilitator — as someone who creates the conditions for self-directed learning and experience.”
Christy Tennery-Spalding
Mentor, Activist, Writer, Mama
“That's the world I want to live in. For all of us to feel connected to our power and to one another as we move toward justice.”
Parfait Bassale
Musician, Artist, Empathy Specialist
“I use songs, personal narratives and reflective inquiry to guide conversations and reflections on issues of ‘othering’ and racism. Facilitation helps the process of introspection which is required for any meaningful transformation.”