Sunday, January 27, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Phases of Awareness & Skill Development
I am unconscious about a lot.
But I don't know what
because it is outside my consciousness.
I am not aware.............
I use the 4 stage model here below.
Most humans can understand it.
Some need help with stories.
I tell stories.
Then I use experiential exercises, with permission,
to dig below the known experiences of those present.
By necessity it means we all need to step
outside our comfort zones
where consciousness resides
where awareness resides.
Then follows skill.
But skills must be always proceeded by awareness.
Awareness is the consciousness we yearn.
Skill is the the competence we yearn.
It it is always about feelings.
Emotional literacy.
When I am facilitating a training session
I work on ‘awareness’ top of the bill.
The biggest block to awareness raising is::
Feelings.
Human feelings are with all of us
all of the time.
They often block our awareness
because they are in control of the person.
It is only when our own feelings are understood,
we need to be able to get in touch with them,
then we can then start on the journey to manage them.
Managing them is not controlling them.
Controlling means
Oppressing them
Suppressing them
Hiding them
Ignoring them
Running from them
Pretending they don't exist
Reacting by fight or flight in response to them.
Managing them is
Listening to them
Feeling them
Touching them
Energised by them
Loving them
Receiving the signals from them.
Only then can we be aware of another humans' feelings.
Then we can be conscious of new dimensions of awareness.
In self
In another.
Me, and you I suggest - are only conscious of certain things.
We are all different
so we are aware of different things.
I feel ignorant
because I am unaware.
Join me in the journey
in becoming
whole.
Becoming consciously competent in,
never all things,
but the more beautiful things.
I like this model::
Phases of Awareness & Skill Development
i) Unconsciously incompetent
ii) Consciously incompetent
iii) Consciously competent
iv) Unconsciously competent
“In everyone’s life,
at sometime,
our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame
by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people
who rekindle our inner spirit.”
(Albert Schweitzer)
BHP
Friday, January 25, 2019
I was talking with Queen one day telling her about my 5 Words question.
I was talking with Queen one day telling her about my 5 Words question.
"Can you tell me 5 SINGLE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE AT THE MOMENT?"
I started telling her about a teenager who, as a baby, had been dumped on a Social Services desk - abandoned as a baby.
And his struggles in life including time in prison before he came to our hostel.
I told her he had now left and was doing well living & working in the community.
One of his 5 words to me was::
‘HOME’
He then flowed with emotional explanation saying that this place, this hostel, was like home for him.
He could return anytime & always have someone he could share with chat with hang out with.
She listened well to my real life story.
The Queen only asked me one question::
“Why did he go to prison?”
I said::
“I never asked him Ma’am”
www.pipwilson.com
Thursday, January 24, 2019
When two men meet up after a gap of years! - Jim Jenkinson - we are back in touch !
When two men meet up after a gap of years!
I met up with Jim Jenkinson yesterday & it was wondrous.
WE first collided when we were at a YMCA Staff Conference in Malta.
He became active in the YMCA as a CEO of Rotherham YMCA.
Being active in the Y always includes belonging beyond your locally based work.
The YMCA is in Europe and almost every nation of the world.
People belong to a local Y and then we discover Europe & the World.
This is so stimulating and creative.
We have a world wide family.
We support each other.
EXAMPLE::
When the iron curtain came down the YMCA’s, who had been closed down under communism - and their buildings compulsory possessed by the regime, returned to its mission with young people & young leaders at it’s heart.
The movement in the non-communist Europe came together to support the re-emerging YMCA’s.
I joined the support group for the Bulgarian YMCA.
They had no building, finance and only, if I recall right, had an ex member who was 80 years old - a great man.
Jim and I met often at various events at home and abroad.
He was appointed regional officer for the Midlands.
Appointed by YMCA England and let loose to co-ordinate the work in the region.
Jim got me involved in facilitating training - used in joint conferences with CEO’s and Chairs of his local YMCA’s.
ALSO integrating young hostel resident and young members - ALL TOGETHER with CEO’s and Board Members.
So many experiences of working together until he moved on to become a teacher.
So our meeting was full of passionate story telling.
Updates & reflecting on the past too.
I can’t do him credit here.
I can’t do our time together credit here either.
🅱🅴🅰🆄🆃🅸🅵🆄🅻 🅷🆄🅼🅰🅽
THIS is a fun Q&A I did with Jim some years ago when I was Editor of a YMCA Staff Magazine backing the day = I love questions !
The Blob Tree in action in Finland & comments by Blob Tool users.
The Blob Tree in action in Finland
"The Blob Playground and Bullying pages have proved particularly helpful.
But intrinsic to all Blobs is their lack of specific identity.
They are sexless, ageless and without racial characteristics.
Even the youngest children can come to own the images,
finding in them Blobs that reflect their past and present circumstances
and how they would like to be in the future.”
Sarah Davidson
Slough Borough Council's Educational Psychology Service
*
Love your Blob Tree books and use them with all my counselling clients from 5 up to 95.
Work brilliantly with teenagers
who find it difficult to understand how they feel.
Annette Barker
Counsellor
Physiotherapist
Music Teacher.
BHP
Homelessness
Faith and homelessness: the further back you look, the further forward you can see…
Almost all homeless charities in the UK have their roots in the Church.
Some are obvious: The Salvation Army, West London Mission, Cardinal Hume Centre, Providence Row, Emmaus and The Church Army and many others.
Less people are aware that organisations like Shelter, the YMCA and Centrepoint were also established by church leaders and Christian activists.
Although not faith-based, St Mungo’s, was given this name because the founding activists thought ‘a Christian saint’s name would stop police hassling workers on soup runs’ because they would ‘think they were reverends’!
Relevant today
But faith is not just a historic factor – something which only relevant in a bygone age.
In the last 15 years, it has been churches that have been the key provider of new forms of emergency accommodation for homeless people, especially through the Winter Night Shelters. And it is people of faith who make up the majority of those who organise soup runs and direct support to people on the street.
And, as the ground breaking report Lost & Found made clear, issues of faith and spirituality are important to homeless people themselves.
It is important to reiterate this historic and contemporary reality. The contribution is easily overlooked because many smaller groups and churches do not have communications professionals and marketing budgets like the larger charities. Also, because faith is controversial and can make people nervous, it is easily air-brushed from the stories that modern charities tell about themselves.
St Martins-in-the-Fields
St Martins-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, is probably the best known church in the UK for its work with homeless people. It has been helping homeless people since the First World War and since establishing The Connection at St Martins (CSTM) is now one of London’s largest homelessness charities. Each year it helps 4000 people who are sleeping rough sleepers or vulnerably housed.
My good friend Pam Orchard is the Chief Executive of CSTM and the Vicar is Rev Dr Sam Wells, a leading theologian who writes extensively about the role of faith in social change.
St Martin’s has a fascinating history which they have been looking into with the help of Peter Wood. Peter has a PhD in social history as well as a lot of experience of working with homeless people, and is writing a book about 100 years of homelessness in central London.
In February, they are hosting an event all about the history of St Martin’s work with homeless people:
Keeping the Doors Open: St Martin’s and London’s Homeless in the 20thCentury, 6-8pm, 13th February 2019, at The Connection at St Martin’s, Adelaide Street, London WC2N 4HW.
I would really encourage people to come. I think it will be a fascinating evening, especially for anyone interested in how the church has responded to poverty and homelessness and what we can learn from the past.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)