I had a 5 hour writing workshop which was composed of meditation, free writing and focused writing. It worked. We were not allowed to talk with anyone, read anything or check phones, it was just us and the space. (This was an online retreat on Zoom). It was not comfortable at first but it is funny how words fill the space, how the mind gets use to the space that is free. And there is silence which is like a soft cushion. I loved it.
I learned that it is important to create containers: the space- the time- the deadline to start and finish one thing. And start this with meditation and short free writing.
It was interesting that the wisdom our teacher shared was intersecting with the wisdom I learned in ICF converge. Our teacher told us the continuation of writing or anything is through Buddha + Dharma + Sangha. Buddha is wisdom, practicing, awareness, Dharma is the reflection, Sangha is the community and doing it together. In ICF converge when we were talking about how to become better coaches, how to be relevant in the new complex world with AI, the suggestion was the same : help your coachees, gain awareness, take action, reflect on the learning and bring it back to their community and connect with others. Also as coaches we would practice the same.
I practiced the sangha and the container principles two more times the same day: I joined two online meet ups: one was a writing meet up with 2 20 minute section and the other one was 3 pomodoro – work time with a partner (pomodoro: 25 minutes). What made a great impact was stating what my goal to accomplish was at the beginning and ending work when time was over. There was intention and there was the container and I should say I accomplished many things that I was postponing on my own. Sangha/ community/ doing it together is powerful.
What I noticed was I did not have a clear things I want to accomplish today list. I had a few things in my mind but I want to change is really to put them on paper for the next day. And another thing I want to work on is to create a container for answering the emails.
I am noticing the importance of social media. Not from a fear perspective: not like Ooooo, if you are not there you are losing mate! But more using the space that is available – that is even offered to us to make a difference, to contribute with something kind and valuable. To change the liquid solution and add more humanness and kindness.
There are so many opportunities to be kind during the day, I keep forgetting. And an important part of kindness start with being kind to ourselves. For me it means giving myself the space to breathe, write, create and move.
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