Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Retreats and Workshops

Check out the workshops that are scheduled http://seeds-4-change.blogspot.com/.

For a workshop or retreat customized for your group, please contact me to discuss options for group needs. Just like individual sessions, I try to make my services available to everyone, regardless of their material resources, abundance, or lack thereof. The needs of each group and the circumstances of the classes and workshops are unique and can be explored on a case by case basis. 

Much depends on how the workshop or class is timed and structured to fit the needs of the group. Is the class a one day workshop? Is the class a series of one-hour sessions? Are we building a three day retreat? It's all flexible, and it's all GOOD. I strive to build a collaborative relationship that is beneficial for EVERYONE involved.

The Sacred Labyrinth


Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation; continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love."   Caroline Adams
Seeds for Change Consultations' Labyrinth at Campbell Farm
We are all on the spiritual path... exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path.  Seeds for Change Consultations has its own labyrinth open for use by appointment.
A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. 
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience.  It is a metaphor for life's journey that we can actually walk.  It is a tangible symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego into the sacred place within our souls.
There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth.  A person may walk with the intention of addressing an issue in their lives, to pray and meditate. It is helpful to pause before you enter to center your thoughts on your intention.  You may or may not choose to walk the path in bare feet. You only have to enter and follow the path. However, your walk can encompass a variety of attitudes. It may be joyous or somber. It might be thoughtful or prayerful. You may use it as a walking meditation.
Walking  between the lines of the circuit, being aware that you are sharing the labyrinth with others, you may pass other walkers, or let them step around you. When you reach the center you have entered the most sacred space in the labyrinth. The center is a place to pause, reflect, and receive insight.
Walking the path back out of the labyrinth is a time for deep reflection and a chance to consider what it might mean for your daily living. Once you have completed your labyrinth walk, you may want to find a quiet place in the garden or inside to sit and reflect, to write, to draw, to make a collage card. My hope is that you will leave with renewed vision and a refreshed spirit.
When you walk a labyrinth choose your attitude. From time to time choose a different attitude. Make it serious, prayerful, or playful. Play music or sing. Pray out loud. Walk alone and with a crowd. Notice the sky. Listen to the sounds; most of all pay attention to your experience.
Some general guidelines for walking a labyrinth are:
·         Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet and centered. Give acknowledgment through a bow, nod, or other gesture and then enter.
·         Experience: Walk purposefully. Observe the process. When you reach the center, stay there and focus several moments. Leave when it seems appropriate. Be attentive on the way out.
·         Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an acknowledgement of ending, such as "Amen."
·         Reflect: After walking the labyrinth reflect back on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to capture your experience.
·         Walk often.


Holistic Life Coaching

Holistic Life Coaching is a one- on-one partnership where the coach encourages, educates and supports an individual as they develop a fuller understanding about their own life and changes they wish to make.  It is grounded in the belief of working with the entire person as an integrated WHOLE toward the understanding that all facets of a person’s life are inextricably intertwined. 

Holistic Life Coaching does not just address relationships, wellness or career goals but seeks to integrate the body,  mind and spirit in service of the authentic self.

Inner Journeys Dream Work

Inner Journeys Dream Work is grounded in Jungian psychology.  Working either one on one or in small groups we seek to hear the unopened letter from our inner wisdom in the service of wholeness.  All work is based on the Projective Dreamwork Model taught by Jeremy Taylor at the Institute for Projective Dreamwork in California. The basic principles of this work follow:

One
All dreams speak a universal language and come in the service of health and wholeness. There is no such thing as a "bad dream" -- only dreams that sometimes take a dramatically negative form in order to grab our attention.

Two
Only the dreamer can say with any certainty what meanings his or her dream may have. This certainty usually comes in the form of a wordless "aha!" of recognition. This "aha" is a function of memory, and is the only reliable touchstone of dream work.

Three
There is no such thing as a dream with only one meaning. All dreams and dream images are "overdetermined," and have multiple meanings and layers of significance.

Four
No dreams come just to tell you what you already know. All dreams break new ground and invite you to new understandings and insights.

Five
When talking to others about their dreams, it is both wise and polite to preface your remarks with words to the effect of "in my imagined version of the dream..." and to keep this commentary in the first person as much as possible. This means that even relatively challenging comments can be made in such a way that the dreamer may actually be able to hear and internalize them. It also can become a profound psycho-spiritual discipline -- "walking a mile in your neighbor's moccasins."

Six
All dream group participants should agree at the outset to maintain anonymity in all discussions of dream work. In the absence of any specific request for confidentiality, group members should be free to discuss their experiences openly outside the group, provided no other dreamer is identifiable in their stories. However, whenever any group member requests confidentiality, all members should agree to be bound automatically by such a request.

© Jeremy Taylor 2013

Unlimited distribution with proper attribution is encouraged

What is SoulCollage®?


SoulCollage®  is both an intuitive personal art form and a spiritual process.  It is a gentle, playful way of exploring one’s life, recognizing and honoring the different aspects of the authentic self and giving voice to the soul through collaged images.  Through a simple process of cutting and pasting images from magazines, participants create cards that will help them access their inner wisdom, quiet their thinking mind, allowing intuition and the work of the Spirit to have a voice.  All facets of our personalities, gifts, challenges, dreams—have wisdom and healing to impart. Over time,  participants  create a deck of SoulCollage®  cards that facilitates self-exploration and encourages self-acceptance.

Through this creative and intuitive process, aspects of the personality, archetypal influences, significant animal companions and individuals who have provided wisdom for a person’s spiritual growth reveal themselves through imagery. 

Once images have been created, participants are guided through an exploration of what they have created through journaling, dyads and small group experiences.  Periods of silence, music and poetry support the process of listening to that small still voice within.

No art experience is required and everyone can do it. All materials are provided for participants to create the beginnings of their own personal SoulCollage® deck of cards.

Introductory workshops generally last 3-6 hours.  Follow up 2 hour open studio and exploration sessions are recommended to deepen the spiritual practice and allow more time for creative exploration.  A 4-6 session series which includes the introductory workshop followed by a series of focused exploration sessions is ideal.


SoulCollage® Facilitators complete an 18-hour SoulCollage® Facilitator Training where they review the basic structure, principles, and guidelines of SoulCollage®. They learn how to make cards, facilitate others’ making, sharing, and reading of cards, and experience how to conduct basic exercises for an introductory workshop. Completion of the Training enables Facilitators to use the SoulCollage® logo, call themselves a “SoulCollage® Facilitator” and call their workshop a “SoulCollage® workshop”.  There are now almost 1200 trained SoulCollage® Facilitators offering workshops in 8 different countries around the world.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.   
                 The International Center for Reiki Training

Centering Prayer



Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

What is Sacred Listening or Spiritual Direction?

"Spiritual direction (Sacred Listening) explores a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human. Simply put, spiritual direction is helping people tell their sacred stories everyday.

Spiritual direction has emerged in many contexts using language specific to particular cultural and spiritual traditions. Describing spiritual direction requires putting words to a process of fostering a transcendent experience that lies beyond all names and yet the experience longs to be articulated and made concrete in everyday living. It is easier to describe what spiritual direction does than what spiritual direction is.
Spiritual direction helps us learn how to live in peace, with compassion, promoting justice, as humble servants of that which lies beyond all names."


Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv, Executive Director, Spiritual Directors International