Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
My SOUL
I love my friends
neither with my heart
nor with my mind.
Just in case heart might stop,
Mind can forget.
I love them with my soul.
Soul never stops or forgets.
Rumi
A #child from birth to 5 gets 478 #negative messages a day.
A group gathered around a pile of sandwiches at lunchtime-ish.
After the consumption washed down with mugs of tea -
always quick when breakfast has been missed -
I kicked the group off from the informal chat
into a leader led process which they are used to.
I handed out a paper which said that
a child from birth to age five gets 478 negative messages a day.
"Don't."
"Stop that."
"You little ..........!"
The paper had a list.
I spent very little time with that but moved on quickly to -
I asked everyone if they saw a glass half empty or half full.
I went around the group and everyone commented.
All gave sincere reflection to the question
and a large percentage of the eleven
present spoke in the negative.
Introducing the session very informally -
I suggested we look at the issue of
'positives and negatives'.
The next step was a try with something
never attempted with this community before.
Everyone was given a slip and asked
to write their own name on it and
into the hat it went.
Mine too.
The draw resulted in all having a name
which was not their own.
My plea then was for each to say something positive
about that person.
Even if they had never met before - a reality.
It was fantastic.
Everyone did it
even if some struggled and
had to be helped/encouraged by the group members.
The brother to his sister was the slowest response.
A real struggle.
Also a 'first time' member of the group
with a total strangers name in his hand.
He did it.
It was an affirmation communicated well
about her clothing.
He did it.
I felt good to see and hear the words stumble out.
Real.
Then I moved in with some other questions;
1 Do you remember positives or negatives mostly from you life experiences?
2 Do you normally speak mostly positive or negative?
3 Do you think positive or negative?
4 What are the feelings when you get a positive or negative?
They did it.
We did it!
Now we are talking about humans in the group who have met some pretty harsh experiences of;
- being rejected as a child
- seeing a friend stabbed to death
- abuse
- mental health issues
- alcoholism
- drug misuse
- and multiple issues for some.
Not only did they say that the negatives in their lives
have an impact now,
they said what they were -
owned them and not pretending and
hiding behind a mask.
Faces stilled.
You know how sometimes
the skin becomes drawn and passive -
it is because the interior human is being disturbed
and comforted at the same time.
Disturbed through the recall of life experiences.
Comforted by the support of the group -
the realisation that they are not alone -
and the first time facing of reality as it was.....
and maybe is.
It was fantastic and powerful.
The session moved to close with
a reaffirming of the objective
which had been floated at the start.
1 Thinking and practising being positive.
2 Considering our reality in our daily lives. What do we do by habit?
3 Choosing to go down the positive route - a strategy for a new life.
I floated, lastly - these four life positions - soul positions - psychological positions;
1 I am not ok ................ you are not ok
2 I am not ok ................ you are ok
3 I am ok ...................... you are not ok
4 I'm ok ........................ you're ok
..... and they said which they were .....
because they had become aware of themselves
................ and to tell it
..... 'how they were' was important .
........ I hope you can position yourself 1 2 3 or 4 ............. ?
The other groups I lead are very different -
and never the same people.
Also;
Different objectives, styles, tools.
......... and a stumbling to get close
and be
and become
"work like you don't need the money
dance like no-one is watching
sing like no-one is listening
and
love like you have never been hurt"
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Today's story
Walking along a car pulled up
with pile of 20's in asking
re local #skateboard park
As he drove off he said
"For an older man you are right cool"
Saturday, September 13, 2014
From an ex Greenbelt Board member - thanx
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To all the stewards who manned gates, campsite and venues, pre-festival, early mornings, late nights and through the night too (many offered to take on extra shifts when the weather was wet);
To our incredible access team who helped festivalgoers with additional needs to manage the site more ably;
To the great volunteers in our children's and youth teams who made sure all ages were engaged, challenged, nurtured and having fun;
To the beer tent and wine bar teams, pulling pints and smiling;
To the operations teams who make sure the entire festival runs smoothly - duty managers, control room, front desk and venue managers;
To the teams making coffee and tea in The Tank, contributors', angels' and volunteers' lounges;
To the amazing and colourful team who drove our golf buggy taxis around the site;
To those welcoming people arriving at the box office and festival reception and providing information in the info booth;
To everyone serving in the G-Store shop, selling tees, hoodies and recorded talks;
To those selling tins of beans and pints of milk in the Milk & Honey general store;
To the team recording the talks in the venues and duplicating in time for sale;
To the volunteers recording film in the GTV;
To the photographers seeing, framing, snapping and uploading;
To the team in G-Source who looked after all the exhibitors from other charities and their volunteers;
To everyone backstage at the Glade, Canopy, Roots and Big Top;
To the volunteers on stage compering all of the venues;
To the volunteers looking after the caterers and traders;
To the early birds and site vibing teams who transformed the fields and woods into a fab festival;
To all the volunteers who look after our contributors;
To all the volunteers who look after other volunteers;
To everyone involved in keeping the festival safe - our medics, fire crew, event safety, noise control, safeguarding and counselling;
To volunteers who helped to book the programme, music, literature, ideas, worship, performing arts, comedy and visual arts;
To everyone behind the scenes, making payments, counting cash, sorting data, writing blogs, making up-to-the-minute decisions in meetings, liaising with press, photocopying, emptying bins, packing boxes, loading vans, driving trucks, making tea, fetching and carrying;
To the teams from Oasis and Frontier Youth Trust who ran the detached youth service, the team from YMCA Coventry who ran the showers and the team of local volunteers who met in Geddington Church to pack the bags for the communion service.
To all of you from up and down the country and from further afield, from 16 to 76, from all churches and none, from student to Bishop of Colchester!
To all 1476 of you. Thank you to every single one.
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Latest Vacancies Nationwide
Jocks from Glasgow, Taffies from Cardiff, Scousers from Liverpool and Cockneys from London.
By my friend Johnny Ringwood
I don't usually to voice my opinion,
but on this occasion
Regarding the spilt from Scotland I feel I should.
On my mothers side her father originated from Ireland and her father from Scotland,
and on visiting these places I definitely felt an infinity both mentally and physically.
Back in the fifties I was a crew member on a cargo boat called the Taranaki,
our crew was was very mixed,
we had
Jocks from Glasgow,
Taffies from Cardiff,
Scousers from Liverpool
and
Cockneys from London.
The trip lasted 7 months during that time we were more than just a crew
we became very close some of these fellas became life long friends.
On the stern of our boat flew the red ensign which is three quarters red
and the the corner is the Union Jack.
That flag meant UNITY
and that in my humble opinion is how this tiny island island must remain.
Group work which helps us move along.
My work with groups is a challenge.
Not only do I aim to communicate
but I aim to create an environment
and opportunity
for everyone there to communicate.
Yes listening!
Yes verbally and non-verbally
expressing themselves.
One big issue here is something
I have good conversations about.
The issue of our own sensitivity to ourselves.
If we are not aware of our own feelings,
in touch with them,
it seems to me we are in a struggle
to understand other humans.
So many people I know
do not know how they are feeling,
being able to put a word to a feeling.
I am happy.
I am frustrated.
I am angry.
I am low.
I am bitter.
I am at peace.
I am .......................
you fill in the space about your feelings now.
Think of the last time
when you and your
closest/loved one/friend/partner/colleague
had some sort of conflict?
For instance::
* a sharp unthought out exchange
* a nasty comment
* a put down
* a sarcastic remark
* a raised voice in anger
* a step back into non-communication
* an hour of silence between you
* feeling annoyed about the other
* or maybe some other behaviour or feeling.
Have you done that?
If so - move to the .......
Second question.
At that time, which you have recalled,
was you feeling one or more of the below::
1 Hungry
2 Angry
3 Lonely
4 Tired
Usually, in my experience,
we are at our worst
when one or more of these is alive in us.
Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.
© Pip Wilson
Friday, September 12, 2014
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