What pisses me off? Poorly planned presentations and not taking care of the audience. Maybe it’s because I drove 90 minutes. Maybe it’s because I had high expectations. Maybe it’s because any sort of collage process takes me deep fast.
What did I expect from a workshop on vision boards? Transformation and community as two heart-centered women came together to teach their Great Work. Sure I could stay home, carve out some time and do the board in the serenity of my studio but I wanted to be with other women doing art and visioning. Okay that sort of happened.
Lesson 1) I am the One who opens up with connection. Stand in your POWER woman. When the lead teacher takes no control of the room it’s hard to connect.
The heart connection needs intention, silence and reverence- it doesn’t happen in chaos. As a teacher the power of your presence carries the room through the rest of the day. In SoulCollage® we hold the space so people can dive deep. For me creating a vision board demands this same attention as your psyche/spiritual self is opening up to the possibilities…Future Seeing = Dreaming BIG. A teacher LEADs the experience and holds that bigger space with ease and grace.
I learned the heart connection is important and if it’s not there you’ll leave hungering and not know why.
Lesson 2) I am the One who holds Sacred Space. Mess is good. Midway through the teacher became more worried with getting the place cleaned up, putting scraps of paper away. Shouting “any scraps, any scraps here put them in this bag.”
For me this was too much. Being messy is part of the creative process, if the inner critic is going into overdrive about the room being untidy then maybe it’s time to rethink things. Collage is messy- there will be bits of paper everywhere.
I learned to be more Martha Stewart: plan ahead by putting trash bags at each table or deal with the paper scraps after the event.
Lesson 3) I am the One who is Shows Up on Time. Time is sacred; it’s a window of opportunity. Honor people who show up on time by giving them space to create. With 35 women in the room table space was already tight before we started. Then latecomers started randomly squeezing in here and there. Which meant stopping what I am doing, stopping the creative flow, move my images and vision board around to accommodate a woman who wasn’t considerate enough to arrive early to the party. Arggh!
Note to teacher: create a table for latecomers so they don’t disrupt the room. Then you can give a second round of instructions quietly rather than shouting “Make Room” and “HERE’S WHAT WE ARE DOING!” to everyone. I learned to honor people for showing up on time.
Lesson 4) I am the One who is the Teacher. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s my responsibility to vet the teacher before I dive in deep and open up. If you plan on teaching develop a signature speech for the training. As a teacher I still invest in speaking coaches to hone my craft. Teacher#2 hired a videographer to tape her presentation, yet the workshop felt sacrificed for her product and left me feeling a bit used. Videography needs to be invisible and seamless.
I learned the students are more important than the teacher’s agenda.
The day wasn’t a bust; I gave an intuitive reading from her vision board to a wonderful woman who is ready to create a new life. I left the session with an awesome vision board, my Big Dream in images and a few aha’s.
A good teacher is a practical mystic- creating sacred space she leads and nurturers, balances and becomes a witness for your experience to unfold in a magical way. In sync transformation happens.
