Deep Reflective Listening - This can happen in individual sessions or in group work. We learn to be still—to pay attention to what is said, and to what is left unsaid. We tune ourselves to hear beyond the words to the message of the heart. We learn to listen to the body.
Accessing Emotions - Group work is often helpful in getting in touch with our emotions. Listening to each other’s stories in a safe and confidential setting encourages us to empathize at a deeper level. When the door is opened, we are more able to identify our own emotions learn self-compassion.
Exploring the Shadow - The person we perceive ourselves to be is not always what those around us observe. In shadow work, we begin to understand that some aspects of who we are have not been allowed safe space to grow. These aspects, nevertheless, carry a great deal of energy. They may be what we consider as positive or negative traits. Either way, when not acknowledged, they arise unconsciously and cause a great deal of harm, especially in close relationships. Identifying, owning and bringing the shadow parts forward is difficult and humbling work.
Honoring Grief & Loss - We cannot change what has happened to us in the past. We can, nevertheless, reframe the way in which it affects our present lives. In Grief & Loss workshops, we “explore, embrace and honor” difficult things in our personal history. Telling the story in a safe and confidential “container” provides the context for an experiential process in which we reverently acknowledge, accept and integrate grief and loss.
Dealing with Trauma - The most important element here is to understand that trauma is stored in our physical body. When we are confronted with a difficult situation, we have three options: fight, flight or freeze. When the latter is our only possibility, the trauma remains trapped and exacts a toll physically and emotionally until it can find release.
Dream Work - Dreams that visit us often contain important information about things in our lives that remain outside our waking awareness. By “re-entering” the dream in a format called “dream-tending”, we explore the energy and images that contain surprising insight.
Discovering our Mission - Each of us has a unique mission in this life. Working together to affirm each other’s gifts can result in a statement that provides focus for our endeavors. A mission statement typically contains two parts—the kind of world we wish to create around us and how that can be accomplished. My own mission statement is as follows: I create a world in which grief and loss can be fully known, by leading and teaching from the heart of sacred scripture and doing my own work.
Understanding Basic Archetypes - This orientation, based on myth and wisdom literature, acknowledges aspects of human character that are shared across religious and cultural backgrounds. Understanding our own and other’s personalities in the context of a larger framework helps us to live with less judgment and more compassion.