Greetings from members of the Genuine Contact Community

Bonjour from Ivory Coast, Germany, Canada,United States of America,Venezuela, Sweden, and Switzerland

-Je vois que vous formez un duo terrible de facilitateurs francophones. Je pense à la joie qui serait la mienne de vous avoir ici dans une opportunité de collaboration.

-Michelle and Marquis this sounds like a good journey. And thank you as well for the appreciation of having 2nd or 3rd languages in the room still understanding each other, striving to learn more about ourselves and our working with others.

-How absolutely wonderful!  I have heard about your planning and anticipating and the excitement of all your work together... and now it is happening.  You sound glowing with energy. Will look forward to hearing more.

-I wish you and the group great joy with the workshop, and that it reap many benefits for all for a long time to come.

-What a great experience… and the snow!!!  Here in Caracas, it’s an average of 26°C.

-Great to hear from you – I can see the picture with snow, fire and warmth energy in the room – hmm – great! Thanks for letting us be with you on the journey!

- Oaoo, thanks for sharing the energy you are creating over there! Way to go! I wish you and your wonderful participants a lovely discovery journey!

-Thanks for this reporting. I’d love to be with you out there..


Thank you to all of you!
Marquis



. . that we see manifested in the material plane is but a shadow of that in the spiritual plane.

Edgar Cayce Reading 5749-3

Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Whole Person Process Facilitation: Val-David, Day 2 and 3

Surprise!



Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Whole Person Process Facilitation: Val-David

Bonjour tout le monde from Val David Quebec. Marquis Bureau and I are in the second day of our WPPF workshop, the first time we have offered it in French. We have a group of 10 participants in a beautiful setting here at Prema Shanti.
Our first day was very rich. Marquis and I had a detailed facilitation plan that we co created with Donna Clark and Rachel Assuncao...and of course as usual, the plan has not evolved at all as we thought it might....and yet the group has gone very deep with their learning already. In reflection, nearly all the content we wanted to cover was covered and discovered by the group through their questions, reflections, and contributions. We got to the Agenda part of the workshop after lunch, which gives you an indication of the rich discussion that happened about the Transfer in and Hopes and Fears.....
We talked about the four levels of consciousness and the whole person and right brain left brain in debreifing.
Our participants are great fun and full of energy. Many of them are consultants...and I am most proud to have our (to be clear..our being my husband Mike and I - Not Marquis and I) eldest daughter Jodie as a participant. Jodie has just taken a leadership role in her work in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team and she will be taking this back to apply in her work. Like Birgitt in Virginia Beach, I am a proud mother. Some of them are artists and the rest artists at heart....so the small group offerings are very creative.

We had about 10cm of snow last night, so the vista outside the meeting room is beautiful - trees heavy with snow and everything is white. A contrast to the fire, warmth and ambiance of the facility and the group.

There are many learnings for Marquis and I - our first time working together and for me I am working in French, which is my second language...and I function at an intermediate level....so yesterday I was reflecting on my deeper appreciation of those who come to our mentoring circles from other countries and who have English as a second or third language. I am exhausted each day with listening and appreciative of the group who encourage me to continue in French. Je parle mieux maintenant.

Well it is time for the small groups to gather.
Will write more later.
Michelle


Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Destination: Val-David, Quebec

We're very pleased to be offering in French, for the first time in Canada, Module 2 of the Genuine Contact Program: Whole Person Process Facilitation - Animation holistique in Val-David from October 29 to 30. Ten participants have accepted our invitation!

Photo: www.valdavid.com

Synergy and Diversity

Synergy and diversity are everywhere in nature. When autumn approaches, all of life that continues to survive begins to adapt to the season. It's magical watching the pelt of an animal thicken in anticipation of winter, as well as watching the bark of a tree thicken to protect itself from the cold. Insects burrow deep inside the trees to hibernate...

Source: Suzie Williams, Recipes for Synergy
Photo: Marquis Bureau, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, Canada

What's a Learning Community

A learning community is a group of people who meet together to learn how to function as a community and to create a community in which particular kinds of learning can occur. The task is to create a community and then use the collective intelligence of the group to learn new ways of thinking and behaving (my addition, new ways of being). As the members struggle to include all their perspectives, they begin to discover what impedes and what further their sense on connection. They also reflect upon their interactions and begin to discover more skillful ways of responding to each other.

As the members begin to interact. they soon discover that they way they relate to their differences presents an obstacle to their ability to learn together and to collaborate. A learning community does not create a way around the tensions that are inherent in the social koan of diversity but rather offers methods so that participants can develop themselves through these tensions. By steeping themselves in these tensions rather than rushing to eliminate or resolve them, the members of the learning community engage in a process of psychological and social transformation.

Source: David Goff

Practices for Transformational Learning

Studying patterns of psycho-spiritual practice across many different cultures, Angeles Arrien identified four universal components:




-showing up and choosing to be present

-paying attention

-telling the truth

-surrendering attachment to an outcome

Source: David Golf, The Social Koan