Ethical Growth & Unfolding

It is our view that we are living in a period of time marked by a shift of consciousness for humans across the planet. We are exploring the idea that we are entering the time of community awakening, the times of the guru are less useful. These could be exciting and dangerous times as not all who are courageous enough to lead have the necessary skills and experience to inform the participants of the risks, how can they be if there is limited awareness? There maybe blind spots regarding the skills needed to create the ethical container or no interest or capacity to make time for the hard work of integrating the experience when people return home.

 

At the Centre for the Great Turning we are remembering with curiosity and guidance what is involved to facilitate transformational spaces. We know there is a need to learn from mistakes made and be open to feedback so the system can learn and grow. We know also that the maps and paths to eldership are fragmented, and we need elders for the work.

 

Evolving a system for ethical growth and unfolding.

First we became involved in rediscovering rites of passage processes that help children cross the bridge into an adolescent psyche. These highly organised community events support families to acknowledge the change and develop systems to continue the work of integration. They involve the three stage stages of; separation from society and the known; entering liminal space where shifts in identity can occur; and the return back to the community in a new way.

 

Then we became aware of all the life stages and the thresholds that exist between them. Stages such as; becoming a young adult, entering the midlife, becoming an elder and facing death. Our work now is to develop new knowledge and understanding about how to assist people to move wisely through these passageways with a community of support and maps to guide.

 

Questions we are contemplating:

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Can we enter transformative spaces and in all honesty guarantee safety? 

We are curious to observe that life systems appears to follow the principles of order and disorder. Chaos precedes new structures coming into being, the question is how can we provide the forms to do this well and look after people in the process as they move through the necessary chaos of inherited embodied belief structures shifting and changing?

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How we GIVE CARE to the ethics of growth and unfolding.

 

1. We encourage the participation of elders in as many retreats as it is possible. They bring us guidance on every stage of the development and facilitation of the event.

2. We encourage contact after the retreat, this includes zoom calls for free. Planting seeds is only one part of the process, we need to weed and water if we want them to grow. Often the going home is the most difficult part.

3. Our teachers are trained and work by professional conduct ethics as are described in the Open Floor International training. We have spent many years studying with teachers of a wide variety of traditions, this learning includes times when we have given away our power and been hurt.

4. We facilitate using consent models where participation is optional at every stage of the course.

5. We are constantly working to develop awareness of the elevated state that can happen when groups come together to sing, dance, meditate, do ritual together. We recognise that this elevated state can be risky in as much as students can project on to the instructors qualities and capacities that do not exist. One strategy we use is a constant willingness to be humble and share the lumps and bruises. We disclose and aim to manage the power imbalance that happens when participants project their gold onto the facilitator. We keep learning. We are especially aware of these dynamics when working with young adults aged 18-35.

6. We aspire to be transparent about our intentions and created a charitable trust to help manage the wryly egoic ambitious tendencies to want to grow bigger and bigger. Our courses are fairly priced and where possible we will offer the opportunity for koha.

7. We attend supervision with mentors to help us keep us honest and true to our aspirations.

8. We appreciate feedback and will make changes.

9. We attempt to make our language clear and welcome questions about the stages of psychological wholeness.

10. We tend to run smaller retreats because we value intimacy and personal connection.

11. Got something else for us in this topic, let us know.