The Workshop Workshop – Facilitating Transformation

Welcome to the Age of Aquarius – in the aftermath of four years of Trump’s presidency, in the middle of a deadly pandemic, surfing wave after wave of collective grief and rage over the culture and systems of white supremacy and toxic patriarchy and unapologetic capitalist greed, one thing is clear: the way forward takes us through the wreckage of the myth of individualism – the fantasy that any of us is an island, or can do it alone. We are being asked to respond by taking up the Aquarian perspectives of collective intelligence and interconnectedness. To use the tools of imagination and manifestation to create new stories and forge new, more equitable structures. To invite the healing of personal and social/cultural trauma so that positive changes might be sustainable; so that further and ongoing adaptation is possible.

Workshops are, by nature, potentially psychoactive containers that can reliably create the conditions for learning, change, and growth. They can give us places to do “the work,” whatever that is. More and more of us are answering the call to serve and teach and lead through facilitating workshops, and trying to figure out how to make it work online and over Zoom. How do we create rich and intimate settings online? How do we support participants in experiencing the connections and conversations necessary for transformation? How do we prepare for the time when it will be safe to come together in person again, but it might not feel like it in our nervous systems? The limits of this moment in time are both extremely challenging and deeply liberating.

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT CREATING AND FACILITATING TRANSFORMATIVE WORKSHOPS, IN A WORKSHOP

I’ve designed this meta workshop to as a container for radical facilitators. Together we will contemplate approaches from the traditions of depth psychology and somatics and the expressive arts. We will ground ourselves in helpful concepts from traumatology and interpersonal neurobiology. We will play with new practices and learn more about what works and why. And we will apply it all to what we, personally, are called to teach by cooking up new, original workshop curriculum. If this is resonating with you, it’s possible that:

• You are currently facilitating groups or teaching workshops, and would like a container where you can be held in your own development as an artist of transformation, and discover and create what’s next for you and your practice.
• You have felt the call to begin to teach your own group workshops and processes, but haven’t felt sure where exactly you want to begin and how to do it in a good way. You’re ready, you just need some structure and support.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• A 4-month process that will move you from finding inspiration to taking creative action.
• A warm, supportive small-group experience with others who are interested in deepening their understanding of facilitation practices and creating their own offerings.
• Weekly readings, presentations, and meditations to nurture and inspire you.
• A weekly group container for processing, held on Friday mornings at 9am PST.
• A monthly one-on-one session with Mindy to deep dive into questions and attend to inner and outer obstacles that arise.
• Opportunities to practice facilitating, test out new tools, and receive supportive feedback.
• A final project where your new workshop comes to life.

THE COST 

The cost to participate is $800. Monthly payments of $200 are welcome.

THE DATES AND TIMES

One-on-one sessions will be booked on an individual basis at mutually doable times.

Weekly process groups will be held on Friday mornings from 9-10:30 am, beginning Friday, March 12th and going through Friday, May 28th.

The final month of the workshop – June – will be used for practicing and integrating. A day-long practice day will be held on Friday, June 11th, from 9am-4pm – with possible changes made depending on the needs of actual participants and their creations. A final closing group will be held on Friday, June 25th from 9am – 11am.

HOW TO REGISTER 

Visit the registration link and make a $200 deposit to secure your spot in the group. Registration deadline is March 11 or when cohort is full.