Insights from ‘a little place of calm’ online workshop
Would you like to give groups you run the gift of a moment of calm, silence and peace? We tried this out during Facilitation Week #FacWeek, as part of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) England & Wales' chapter conference.
Inspired by recognising a need in myself to rest, I ran this short experience-and-reflect session for fellow facilitators.
"Welcome to a little place of calm online - experience a pause, some guided visualisation, birdsong... and then we'll discuss together how you could use something like this in your own work online. This is a session for anyone who would like to experiment with introducing calm, silence, stillness or other ways of helping participants slow down and let their wisdom emerge."
What did people say about why they came along?
It's a full-on week, exaggerated through Zoom, this feels like an anti-dote!
Frazzled Freelancer here... currently juggling 4 very different roles, a family, a farm and half term... and just grateful for the opportunity to even think about time out!
My nickname at school was ‘chatterbox’… I’m here to explore and grow the quieter side of me, and learn how I might help others to do the same
Seeking to experience a breather in a busy conference week. Find really powerful visualisation processes
Happy to have completed part of the pending stuff in between sessions :) Ready to relax a bit - love the bird songs
I'm interested in exploring calmness online. Online seems to usually be rather a frantic experience.
Need a bit of calm today
Feeling all a bit super productive recently, lots going on - but there hasn't been enough space and time to breathe......
My last few weeks have been manic and I recognise the signs of burn out forming. My go to activity over the last few months was closed off because we are back in lockdown so this week is about me and my learning. I am looking forward to 30 minutes of calm time..
Want to explore online tools with which I could offer a space where people can really chill out and relax (still wondering if that is possible online).
I did some facilitation training recently for ministers and lay leaders of a liberal faith community that has since asked for tips on creating sacred space online - I am quite sure that they have more experience of that than me...
Looking for some quiet space to digest a furiously busy and productive few months and ponder on what's ahead and what I've learned this week.
I was seduced by the idea of calm, I need to learn to slow down…
It is completely silent… I hear the wind outside. Thank you, Penny, for this space.
What did we try?
The calm, quiet things we tried were:
minimal housekeeping and preamble at the start of the workshop - just to respect each other's privacy.
having birdsong playing in the background, with an image taken from deep inside a beech wood showing on the screen, at the start of the workshop.
2 minutes quiet while people introduced themselves in writing in the chat
5 minutes of guided visualisation, paying attention to our bodies from head to toe and then deep into the ground where the Earth is supporting us. Cameras and microphones off
5 minutes of silence, cameras and microphones off.
What did we make of it?
Then we went into small groups to reflect - how was that experience? how can you use it?
This is the feedback which was pasted into the chat:
Demonstrated the importance of space in a workshop...
Collective silence has a great connecting power, even online
There is wisdom in silence, let's create space for it in our work.
The difference between this and doing this moment of calm alone, is the permission and the invitation to be still.
Less is more - we don't need to run the whizziest session to have an impact
The meditation bit was very good and reflection on it made it even more useful for me
Pausing for 5 min is like entering the Tardis…more space in the Tardis…more time in 5 min
So important to have some time to 'be' rather than 'do'. Very different to create a spacious silence, rather than giving people the same amount of time to 'think' about something
Give yourself permission to take a break - if you role model it, others will follow
Being given permission to stop
Allowing time for reflection and breaks is really beneficial - helped me see how it could be done...
Useful way to set a norm for deeper reflection and measured pace in the way the group will work together
or the first time in a zoom meeting I found it was an advantage to have my desk in the bedroom :)
Using quiet, silence and calm
We also talked about whether doing these things might seem 'scary' or 'risky' in a work setting. One approach is to signal to the group that this quiet time will only last for, say, five minutes. Another approach "I think the way to introduce anything that might be risky or scary is to do so as if it is neither."
Do let me know if you use any of these approaches, or something similar, in your own work.
Birdsong - there is a 60m downloadable file available to buy at birdsong.fm.
IAF has chapters worldwide, and there are always networking or learning meet ups being organised. Find yours here.
Making the Path by Walking
This piece was first published in the November 2020 edition of my Making the Path by Walking newsletter. To subscribe, scroll right down.