HOW TO HOLD SPACE:
Compassionate Systems Facilitation for Cultivating Generative Social Fields
Timeframe: September 2024 – March 2025
Eligibility: Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners
Facilitators: Mette Miriam Boell & Roger Burton
Program Manager: Jane Drake
Program Support: Troels Skytt
Resources: Class Listing
Community Calls
Launch Call
Global Contemplative Calls and Program Community Calls 2023-24
Here is the Convenings in Date Order as a document, and below is an overview of dates, volunteers and call details.
Programme Community Calls
The Program Community Calls are for capacity building, and also an opportunity for participants from the program to practice holding space for our group.
Global Contemplative Calls
The Global Contemplative Calls are an opportunity for participants from the program to practice holding space for a larger group.
PROGRAM MEDITATION LIBRARY
Included here are the meditations and practices shared during our community calls.
Retreat | Jan 12 - Jan 17 | 2025
A week-long in-person retreat on How to Hold Space
Venue: The Garrison Institute, Garrison, NY
Dear Certified Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners
The in-person retreat will take place at The Garrison Institute just outside New York, located at the banks of The Hudson River. We look forward to practice with you all here and dive into the practice of holding space for each other.
At this retreat, our faculty will facilitate practices to support master practitioners in deepening their own contemplative practice while also supporting them to build capacity to hold space for others plus time to practice new skills in a safe and supportive environment.
About Retreat
Most individuals’ lifestyles are hectic. Technology may make life easier, but it is not without stress. Our body’s natural state is not used to this rhythm, and periods of rest are becoming more and more important. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and dedicating time to ourselves affords us peace and strength to carry on our way of life. A retreat is an opportunity to step back from our daily lives to find a moment of rest, to get in touch with ourselves and find inner peace. Retreating is a way of taking time out and assessing our life decisions, helping us to bring clarity to the challenges ahead. It is a way of holding space for ourselves, so as to become capable of holding space for others.
In this upcoming retreat we will have two primary areas of focus:
First, to 'walk the talk', to hold space for ourself and others, it is necessary to take the time to deepen our own, individual contemplative practice through self-practice and by cultivating presence and compassion together in community, learning from each other.
The second focus, which is particular for this retreat, is to practice how to hold space. During our days at The Garrison we will practice holding space for each other, giving and receiving feedback and supervision on these processes, in peer- and teacher conversations.
Dear Certified Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners
The in-person retreat will take place at The Garrison Institute just outside New York, located at the banks of The Hudson River. We look forward to practice with you all here and dive into the practice of holding space for each other.
At this retreat, our faculty will facilitate practices to support master practitioners in deepening their own contemplative practice while also supporting them to build capacity to hold space for others plus time to practice new skills in a safe and supportive environment.
About Retreat
Most individuals’ lifestyles are hectic. Technology may make life easier, but it is not without stress. Our body’s natural state is not used to this rhythm, and periods of rest are becoming more and more important. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and dedicating time to ourselves affords us peace and strength to carry on our way of life. A retreat is an opportunity to step back from our daily lives to find a moment of rest, to get in touch with ourselves and find inner peace. Retreating is a way of taking time out and assessing our life decisions, helping us to bring clarity to the challenges ahead. It is a way of holding space for ourselves, so as to become capable of holding space for others.
In this upcoming retreat we will have two primary areas of focus:
First, to 'walk the talk', to hold space for ourself and others, it is necessary to take the time to deepen our own, individual contemplative practice through self-practice and by cultivating presence and compassion together in community, learning from each other.
The second focus, which is particular for this retreat, is to practice how to hold space. During our days at The Garrison we will practice holding space for each other, giving and receiving feedback and supervision on these processes, in peer- and teacher conversations.
The resources you find on this page are intended as a support for you to connect more deeply with your contemplative practice and the pedagogy of the Center for Systems Awareness. We ask you to please to take time for self-practice using the recordings and resources from our calls and meditation library.
We see this retreat as the onset of the next leg of our journey together. You will have the opportunity and support to integrate your learning and deepen your practice over the coming months.
Preparing for Retreat
In order for a retreat to function well and be successful for those participating, we strongly recommend you create intentional boundaries and consider how you’ll contribute to making the space sacred by planning in advance how you will sacrifice something or give something up that week.
Specific recommendations include:
- Commit to being offline (e.g. your phone, your computer, etc.)
- Consider what mental models you may hold about needing to be online for work and family/other commitments.
- If it is not possible for you to be 100% offline, we suggest you create a structure or practice that limits your online time. This might be one hour in the day every day in which you dedicate time to focus on your other work.
- Commit to avoid engaging in social conversations/social behavior the entire week.
- Adopt “fasting habits” relative to your normal communication with others.
- Be clear which specific people you will be in contact with during retreat week (e.g. spouse, children). Set others’ expectations that you’ll be unavailable that week.
- Remind yourself that you may fail in some of these aspects.
- How will you practice self-compassion if this happens?
35 Hours of Silence
- We have scheduled one “35 Hours of Silence” commencing on Tues, Jan 14 at 9:00 pm EST and ending Thurs, Jan 16 at 9:00 am EST.
- Prior to the retreat, please set loved ones’ and colleagues’ expectations about your participation for that 35 hour period.
- On Wed, Jan 15, Mette and Roger will facilitate each silent practice throughout the day. They will be the only people speaking to the group on that day. (As on-site manager Jane will also be available to attend to any urgent logistical needs should they arise.)
SELF-PRACTICE CONTEMPLATIVE LIBRARY
During our program we are exploring perspectives on our current reality and how this relates to our work and life.
As an invitation to establish a regular cultivation practice we have included a selection of additional practices from our contemplative library that can be used at different times of the day.
VIRTUAL CLOSING CONVENING
March 7, 2025
We end this program with a Virtual four and a half hour convening 9:00 am - 1:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.
To connect with one another and share aspirations for bringing these efforts into your own ecosystems.