BIGUP


Julie Benson
Julie Benson

.... for sending me this tee shirt all the way from the US

Gifting me!
hey hey
loveitloveit

REIMS




..... INVASION OF THE SHEILAS

.... an early start from Romford .. .. .. ... ...

...... and Joan me and the Sheilas were off through the channel tunnel to France and a Small City called Reims - the home of ~Champagne.

I was all booked in the last two days - hotel - two meals out - car insurance and off we zoomed.
Three different iPods in the car player ..........and ~~~~~ zoom along almost empty motorways and ......
One and a half hours to the Chunnel, 45 minutes in the tunnel, and then about two and a half hours to hmmmmm.
The motorway had been painted either side by Jack Frost and we were treated to silver lined trees on each side .............. thanx to the minus four ........

We stopped only once for the loo and a conference call I was involved in for next week - and bingo!

Ten minutes in the Hotel and we were off to the Cafe de Palais were we sat in historical surroundings and sipped a bottle of local brew together.

Outstandingly beautiful is
just the non stop conversation and catching up between the four of us.
We flow so beautiful.
Level Five family we are.
So good to be together ....... the Sheilas will both be in Miami next week - so this is heaven on legs
- just loveitloveitloveit.

I don't know if you have met the Sheilas but they are our adult children - now friends.
The accept me!
They call me Dad.
(The only ones you know)
They call me to order.
Demand I lose weight.
Tell me straight about overwork.
Drink in what sorta things I get up to.
Love
Love ME!
Menu advice!
Encourage me.
Love me.
I am their Dad!


.. clicked on line after the first day but frustrated by a Hotel with wifi manfunction!
More later.

The Blob Tree







..... one new way, for me - even though the Blob Tree is 25 years old, to use the Blob Tree in a group, large or small, is to ::
1 ask all to ponder for few moments .....
2 then walk in one human mass and
3 stick up on the projected Blob Tree two post-it notes.
4 One colour of 'post it note' to describe how they felt at the start of the event - and
5 another colour post-it of how that feel now.

As the humans retreat to their seats we can see a 'feelings map' without an exchange of words - little threat - freedom to do/not - self reflection - journey inward to clock those feelings - ownership of feelings - motion ......

You may not have seen my blog before and my often quoted ::
"Motion Changes Emotion"

All can see the range of feelings ....... it is great for the individual and the whole .........
If it is a portable screen - the post-its begin to fall off to the floor - as do our feelings as the group moves on - hopefully not downwards!

I suppose it would be good to mention a few other ways I have used The Blob Tree ............ I know thousands of humans that use it in new different ways than me ....

...... Donna Summer to you ........

bhp


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Beautiful

Imperfection










A question I have asked a few times at the start of residential conferences is ::

"Describe the first time you ever slept away from home
- without your parents/family? "

Right on context because we all have in common the fact that we are away from base.
We lock back to early childhood experiences.
We all get the video player in the head turning over - start to see those experiences in pictures in our head - see the humans - smell the smells - hear the sounds - even 'feel the feelings'.

Sometimes there is tears due to a bad experience.

( Joan, my wife, had to go and stay with an Aunt when she was eight because her Mother had TB ....... and she thought she had died because she was in isolation, it was a killer in those days, she just could not see her. It was a ugly period and well remembered.)
Often there is a joy in the faces of those sharing - it was an adventure - life experience - step towards adulthood ............. and more significance - as you will remember ...

Interms of Level Five ::
It is a level 2 question. It is fact from the communicator and we cannot argue as we would with an opinion (L3)
It can trigger L4 = Feelings ..... but only if the communicator wishes to enter that level.

Why not pull a pint and pull that question out - only good in terms of getting to know someone = self revelation. Only good in terms of building a bigger picture of the other(s).

lovetoloveyoubaby
Donna Summer song!!

...... away tomorrow ............. drinking Champagne hey hey
........ in Champagneland hey hey


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Beautiful

Imperfection

Look around you – there are people around you.
Maybe you will remember one of them all your life and later eat your heart out because you didn’t make use of the opportunity to ask them questions.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

...... I am away and still out of eMail 'send' - but I get yours ok ....... I am in 'the country' ......... even the mobile phones are avoiding the rest of the world .......... but I can get wifi to do this blog and ......

It is on. Both the Sheilas have time between jobs for this w/end so we are all, the four of us, off tp Reims to drink Champagne and be together hey hey.

I am between jobs too, away from home too, so will not be touching home ground much in the next eight days ........ then I will be at home-base-office to get back to you or get my act together. I think I have a w/end off just before Valentines Day (have a nice gig planned shhhhh) and then I am away for four week-ends on d trot .............

hope my diary commitments are not too boring ........ so I will tell you how I feel ::

'Why am I afraid to tell you who I am'
is the title on the front cover of my favourite book .........
and on the back ::
'...... because if I tell you who I am, and you don't like who I am, that is all I have.'

I am feeling a wee bit tired right now - two days intensive facilitation with no breaks and a late night.
I feel good inside.
I feel satisfied that I have come into contact with two new groups and feel that both have accepted me. I feel I have not oppressed them or stimulated any insecurity in them ........ at the same time I have worked to stretch and develop them .......... and - as usual - myself.
My eyes are a wee leaky ...... back to top of the paragraph.

I feel 'beautiful imperfection'
I never think I am beautiful in the handsome stakes. But I believe I am beautiful in the 'human becoming' journey ................ if I felt I was at a stand still I think I would feel 'not-ok' and that brings my imperfection to the surface.

I want to be uncomfortable - uneasy - yearning -
I want to constantly refresh the irritation ........
I want to disturb my comfortable .......
I want to comfort my disturbed ......

.......... stay with me here ....... I will stay with you for eternity .........


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.... and I cannot eMail you back from here even though I am receiving you .... ...... .... sorry!!