HOW TO HOLD SPACE:
Compassionate Systems Facilitation for Cultivating Generative Social Fields
Timeframe: August 2023 – March 2024
Eligibility: Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners
Contemplative Faculty: Hanneli Ågotsdatter & Søren Munk
Facilitator: Mette Miriam Boell
Program Manager: Miho Kito
Program Support: Troels Skytt
Resources: Class Listing
Retreat | Sep 24 - Sep 29 | 2023
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.
The exercises you find on this page are intended as a support for you to connect deeper with your contemplative practice and the pedagogy of the Center for Systems Awareness. We ask you to please go through the program for self-practice so we are all up-to-date with with the practices.
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, Sep 26 at 9:00 pm EST and ending Thurs, Sep 28 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, Sep 27, Hanneli and Soren will facilitate each silent practice throughout the day. They will be the only people speaking that day.
Retreat prework
This practice was filmed and recorded at the Garrison Institute, NY, during the 'How to hold space' retreat 2022 at the Center for Systems Awareness.
The purpose of the personal mandala practice is to create an overview of our personal life, our personal mandala so to speak.
A mandala is a tool to structure a story, our experiences, our practice or sometimes even our life. It is a tool to simplify the flow of information, to better understand the depth and complexity of a situation.
When we gain an understanding, a deeper level can be revealed, and at one point we may be able to let go of the story all together. At least this will be the invitation in this practice. Keeping in mind that it is a practice and that we don’t demand specific results from ourselves, but knowing from our practice experience that the more clarity we gain, the less cluttered our mind is and the more we support our presence to come forth.
In this practice we will look at four domains of the personal mandala.
You will need four sheets of papers and something to write or draw with. You may also want to keep your journal within reach.
Through this practice the sheets of papers will represent four different domains in our life and we will place two of them in front of us, to our left and right, and two of them behind us, to our left and right.
The four domains we will be exploring are:
- Foundation. The basic survival aspects of life.
- Passion. Spontaneity and the sheer joy of being alive.
- Expression. Finding my place in the world.
- Heartfulness. Receiving and giving kindness, love and compassion.
In the imagery of this video we explore the park around the Garrison Institute. The Garrison Institute is situated north of New York City. Originally a Christian monastery, it has been converted into an open center which, in the wording of the institute itself, is “a place to find inner peace, contemplation and deepen one’s spiritual practice.”
SELF-PRACTICE AS PREPARATION
During this program we will explore 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 prepared a morning and an evening practice for you.
And a guided contemplative practice with Hanneli, a canalization exercise called crown - root, which are focusing on the capacity of connecting our grounding, foundation with our mental ressources and higher potential. This is a sitting practice where the breath and the awareness are closely interwoven.
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.
VIRTUAL CLOSING CONVENING
March 14-15, 2024
We end this program with two consecutive half-days, 9:00 am - 1:30 pm Eastern Standard Time daily.
To connect with one another and share aspirations for bringing these efforts into your own ecosystems.