Please Read Before Workshop

Shared Presence: When a people gather to explore the truth that arises in the moment in an atmosphere of kindness there can develop a group consciousness. It is experienced as enhanced clarity, an open hearted love for each other and beyond. This group energy is juicy and wonderful but the image of it cannot be our goal or it will not arise. It is a by product of the pursuit of clarity, truth and kindness, being really awake here, now. Shared Presence is not a product of thought or thinking. It is not something we can understand. It is a quality of being that we bring to consciousness.

Intention or Commitment: There are levels of intention or commitment. For a group to progress the intention must be gently and firmly sustained. It is like a promise to yourself and the members of the group. An intention needs to be set to pursue truth with kindness and ever clearer awareness. Awakening from unconsciousness requires work to see the subtle patterns that keep us blind, that would send us back to sleep. Truth and kindness can become a compass for guidance through life. A group setting makes it possible to practice truth and kindness for a manageable period of time making it stronger in your life.

Keeping the Conversation in the Present: Now is the only moment we have. The past is gone and the future hasn’t arrived. Long excursions into the past or future take energy away from the experience of the present moment. Again, observe the impulse that motivates you to want to escape the present moment and learn from it. Sometimes a short reference to the past or future is helpful when it clarifies the present.

Trust: Developing an atmosphere of trust may be the most important ingredient for entering shared presence. Participants must feel safe. This requires a level of kindness that is considerably greater than is found in society at large. There are ways of using language that help maintain trust. Owning your own feelings is very important, especially if negative feelings arise. When making a statement of feelings the speaker uses “I” statements like “I feel bored”, or “I feel angry”, instead of “You bore me” or “You make me angry”. These “I” statements are not only safer for the group but they are also more accurate. These statements help persons take responsibility for their own feelings instead of escaping valuable self knowledge by blaming others. The expression of anger and impatience require great care for trust to be developed and maintained. The expression of anger or impatience can be helpful to the process if it is always guided by kindness toward self and others.

Openness: In addition to the efforts each group member makes to maintain a safe space that individuals can trust to share in, a willingness to be open, even curious, is also necessary.

Taking Response-Ability: The degree to which group members take responsibility for their own feelings is directly related to the success of the group and the growth of the group members. If you maintain the ability to respond to thoughts and feelings that arise instead of blaming others for them you have more freedom of action, more possibility of being creative in the moment. On the other hand if you allow the discomfort of a thought or feeling to send you into automatic hiding by falling unconscious or blaming others, you are stuck, cut off from possibilities. If you are very conscious as thoughts and feelings arise you can just allow them to be while you watch and feel your own response. At times they will melt away or they may lead to a memory or a burst of insight. Some thoughts may consistently arise over time.

Knowing Truth and Maintaining Kindness: Knowing the truth does make you free to act and be, while maintaining unconsciousness restricts your possibilities. How the truth is expressed is extremely important for presence to develop. It is also extremely important to be kind in expressing what you see as truth, kind to yourself and others. If kindness is always intended then the words chosen are less likely to trigger the unconscious or painful reactions in others. Many painful and even harmful social situations are because of unconscious people emoting at each other. Both persons are blind and imprisoned by their lack of clarity. Some families are locked in unconscious patterns for years wasting their precious energy and potential on shadows. Sometimes expressing the truth without triggering the reaction of an other seems almost impossible however it is important keep trying. The support that a group can offer can help participants remain peaceful and observe their reactions and become free of them. What we think is truth and what we think is kindness must always be held in humility with the realization that our perspective is limited. We may be after truth but we cannot get there without kindness.

pg 1, Shared Presence