TAOIST
PRESENCE TRAINING
Group Work with Servan Keondjian and Raisa Breslava
13th, 19th and 26th FEB' 7pm, LONDON
TAOIST PRESENCE TRAINING
Deepening your meditation and sense of self.
13th, 19th and 26th February 2019
7-9:30pm, Primrose Hill
£15 or £10 concession for those not in active employment.
.................................................................
In Taoism, Meditation is not simply about sitting quietly and going inward
(though this is a part of the practice). It also incorporates a full integration of
your physical and emotional body as well as how you interact with others
around you.
The more integrated you become the more you deepen your sense of self.
This in turn can help you discover your real boundaries with others. Testing
out your boundaries with others in a dynamic group environment helps you
get clear if the boundaries you thought you needed are really true for you. In
order to do this you must be prepared to risk exploring the vulnerability of
putting yourself forward, first in a partner setting and then in a fully
spontaneous group setting so you can then take it into your real life as a
permanent part of who you are.
FORMAT:
Sessions normally take place in two parts. In the first half of the session we
learn Taoist presence practices that support a deeper connection with the
body as well as developing some tools for interactions with others. These
practices used with others in the group, give you insight into how other
people can affect you, and how you affect them, while you are learning to
stay with your own centre through this process.
In the second part we move into a spontaneous group with the goal of
finding and learning to express and accept what is really true for you in the
moment. This adds aliveness and an unknown element that lets you hone
your presence skills in a more real world format.
GUIDELINES FOR THE SPONTANEOUS GROUP:
1. Aim to speak from the heart
2. Aim to stay in the present moment and in touch with your body. Avoid
‘discussions’ in the abstract.
3. Aim to keep all discussion about the here and now. Express what is going
on for you in relation to yourself and others in the group. The more
vulnerability you can explore in yourself, the greater opportunities you open
up, both for yourself and the group.
4. Aim to discover and refine your own honest and personal way to support
others in the above three guidelines.
The group process is sometimes dynamic and sometimes very still.
Miles Davis the famous jazz musician said “There are no wrong notes.” the
same applies in the group, everything that happens can be used for a
positive reason as you
develop the skill to do so.
........................................................................................
Things to check in with before deciding to come:
a) By-standing
The group is only for people that sincerely want to experiment with being
‘seen’ in this way by others. Individuals who want to stay closed diminish the
experience for the others in the group. Its fine, and even recommended, to
take your time though.
b) Fixing or being fixed
Its not a therapy group, trying to ‘fix’ or change someone is discouraged if it
is not an honest expression of what you are really feeling. Also going to a
group expecting to get fixed by others is a bad idea, unless you are really
prepared to say what you need upfront and are really ok not to get it.
c) Responsibility
Be prepared to be called on any irresponsibility. Blame or Complaint are
examples of irresponsibility. They make what ‘you’ are feeling about the
‘other’. Be sure you are grounded in the fact that what anyone and everyone
says, particularly about you ‘is their own story’. What you believe about what
someone says about you ‘is up to you’.
If you are offended in any way by someone’s comments, it tells you that you
already believe what they say (about yourself), or it would be irrelevant.
Realizing this, gives you the opportunity to change it.
Deepening your meditation and sense of self.
13th, 19th and 26th February 2019
7-9:30pm, Primrose Hill
£15 or £10 concession for those not in active employment.
.................................................................
In Taoism, Meditation is not simply about sitting quietly and going inward
(though this is a part of the practice). It also incorporates a full integration of
your physical and emotional body as well as how you interact with others
around you.
The more integrated you become the more you deepen your sense of self.
This in turn can help you discover your real boundaries with others. Testing
out your boundaries with others in a dynamic group environment helps you
get clear if the boundaries you thought you needed are really true for you. In
order to do this you must be prepared to risk exploring the vulnerability of
putting yourself forward, first in a partner setting and then in a fully
spontaneous group setting so you can then take it into your real life as a
permanent part of who you are.
FORMAT:
Sessions normally take place in two parts. In the first half of the session we
learn Taoist presence practices that support a deeper connection with the
body as well as developing some tools for interactions with others. These
practices used with others in the group, give you insight into how other
people can affect you, and how you affect them, while you are learning to
stay with your own centre through this process.
In the second part we move into a spontaneous group with the goal of
finding and learning to express and accept what is really true for you in the
moment. This adds aliveness and an unknown element that lets you hone
your presence skills in a more real world format.
GUIDELINES FOR THE SPONTANEOUS GROUP:
1. Aim to speak from the heart
2. Aim to stay in the present moment and in touch with your body. Avoid
‘discussions’ in the abstract.
3. Aim to keep all discussion about the here and now. Express what is going
on for you in relation to yourself and others in the group. The more
vulnerability you can explore in yourself, the greater opportunities you open
up, both for yourself and the group.
4. Aim to discover and refine your own honest and personal way to support
others in the above three guidelines.
The group process is sometimes dynamic and sometimes very still.
Miles Davis the famous jazz musician said “There are no wrong notes.” the
same applies in the group, everything that happens can be used for a
positive reason as you
develop the skill to do so.
........................................................................................
Things to check in with before deciding to come:
a) By-standing
The group is only for people that sincerely want to experiment with being
‘seen’ in this way by others. Individuals who want to stay closed diminish the
experience for the others in the group. Its fine, and even recommended, to
take your time though.
b) Fixing or being fixed
Its not a therapy group, trying to ‘fix’ or change someone is discouraged if it
is not an honest expression of what you are really feeling. Also going to a
group expecting to get fixed by others is a bad idea, unless you are really
prepared to say what you need upfront and are really ok not to get it.
c) Responsibility
Be prepared to be called on any irresponsibility. Blame or Complaint are
examples of irresponsibility. They make what ‘you’ are feeling about the
‘other’. Be sure you are grounded in the fact that what anyone and everyone
says, particularly about you ‘is their own story’. What you believe about what
someone says about you ‘is up to you’.
If you are offended in any way by someone’s comments, it tells you that you
already believe what they say (about yourself), or it would be irrelevant.
Realizing this, gives you the opportunity to change it.