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We are pleased to introduce a new series of workshops on key foundational concepts in compassionate systems.  This series is designed as a capacity building offering for all alumni of the Foundations I – Introduction to the Compassionate Systems Framework workshops, offering opportunities to deepen your practice and learn tools and practices alongside a global community of peers.

The Foundations II series will include:

• Foundations II for Systems Change– a practical deep dive into Compassionate Systems tools and practices in education and workplace contexts.

• Foundations II for Systems Awareness– a focused opportunity to practice cultivating somatic and relational awareness, to work intentionally to grow our quality of attention, presence, aspiration, grounding and compassion.

Read more about this ongoing workshop series below:

Foundations II for Systems Change

The new Foundations II for Systems Change workshop is designed as a follow-up course for alumni of the Center’s introductory Compassionate Systems workshop. We believe this workshop is of value to educators who are using the Compassionate Systems tools and practices on a regular basis and who would like to gather new ideas of how to integrate the framework into their work settings. 

These in-person workshops are practice-based and co-led by Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners who work in a variety of educational settings.  We will deep dive into the dynamics of “stuckness”  in the system of education using advanced systems dynamics tools to illustrate the causes of unintended outcomes in education via archetypes such as “success to the successful,” “accidental adversaries,” and the “Tragedy of the Commons.” We will also explore ways of working through the “stuckness” with systems awareness and how we, through a focus on well-being, compassion and generative social fields, can identify leverage points in the archetypes and lead the way to compassionate systems change.

Through thematic practice circles, participants will learn from Master Practitioners as they share examples of how they have been using a variety of Compassionate Systems tools and practices in their contexts, providing opportunity for dialogue and co-design of new practical approaches.

In our Foundations II for Systems Change workshop in May 2023, practitioners from across the United States and around the world joined us in Ventura, California. This offering was a collaboration between the California System of Support (California Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence), the Center for Systems Awareness and the MIT Systems Awareness Lab. 

Visit our Programs page for upcoming workshop dates. 

Foundations II for Systems Awareness

An integral part of the compassionate systems framework is the focus on tools, practices, and approaches for cultivating somatic and relational awareness, to work intentionally to grow our quality of attention, presence, aspiration, grounding and compassion. All of which nourishes self- and other care and well-being, and the notion of “how we show up” with a dedication to consistently contribute to more generative social fields. In a time where humans are experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression, or even the milder symptoms of burnout and overwhelm,  in unprecedented numbers, it seems exceedingly important to develop strategies to stay healthy, sane and emotionally balanced even in the face of adversity or high-pressure work situations.

Through the Foundations II for Systems Awareness workshop, we will focus on the intricate relationship between ourselves and who we are in the world, and how we can make decisions towards greater emotional literacy, relational competences and cultivating self-care and, through these processes, become a better partner for ourselves and the people around us. 

We will work in-depth with the science of well-being, the systems awareness mandala and the understanding of generative social fields, through various tools, practices and approaches such as somatic awareness, cultivating our presence and compassion practices. As always, the workshop is hands-on, working through the tools and practices in small groups with a focus on the embodied experience of what these concepts mean and feel like for each of us, deepening the personal understanding of how we may change habits of thoughts, emotions and actions. 

This workshop is facilitated by Dr. Mette Miriam Boell in partnership with the two contemplative faculty of the Center for Systems Awareness, Hanneli Ågotsdatter and Søren Munk, who have worked with the certified compassionate systems master practitioners for years. We are excited for this first ever opportunity to bring their insights and experience as meditation teachers and practitioners to the wider community. 

We will offer this workshop at least once a year in different parts of the world, to accommodate the global community.  Visit our Programs page for upcoming workshop dates.