Every time I ask my subconscious for a metaphor about my work, I get the image of a fertile field. I don’t bother to notice whether it’s empty or full, because it’s apparent from the image that what’s grown in it isn’t what is important. What is important is the potential of the field itself. I’ve written before about “ground” versus “form.” What we’ve come to notice and value in our modern world are the “forms,” rather than the ground. Most of us tend to dismiss and ignore the space in which things happen. My work is about the space. We could think of this space as the creative potential that’s present in any situation. We could call this space the group imagination; I often call it third space.
I often remember a quote from Eckhart Tolle: “Most people confuse the Now with what happens in the Now, but that’s not what it is. The Now is deeper than what happens in it. It is the space in which it happens.”
So on that note, I’m excited about the new class I’ll be teaching at the Sophia Center in January 2010. Click on the “Classes and Workshops” link to get more information about registering.
Creating the Fertile Field: Exploring Creative Process at the Group Level
In this experiential course, we will use creative process to explore the concepts of imagination and “third space” at the group level. Through individual creative expression and intuitive ways of knowing, we will explore the “imaginal world” of the group itself. Although our arena in this case will be our own group, every relationship in one’s life also has an “imagination” or “soul” associated with it. Thus, although this course may be most helpful for those of you who lead groups, teach, coach, or mentor (or who wish to move into this sort of work), since we all live and work in relationship, the results of our group exploration will apply broadly.
Third space and the imaginal world are places of expanded knowing and intuitive wisdom; they are the great unknown of inspiration and possibility. We could define the imaginal as a realm that is just beyond our ordinary, everyday rational intellectual capacities. When groups of any size come together in meaningful ways for a shared purpose, there is a larger wisdom available to draw upon, a wisdom that lies within the center of the group itself. This wisdom lies at the heart of the creative process, and in this course, we will explore that larger, creative wisdom.
Our inquiry will foster connections for both the individual and the group as a whole. Each participant will connect with and develop his or her own voice, personal vision, and unique leadership style. This course will be purely experiential, and it will involve a myriad of expressive forms such as collage, writing, various visual art modalities, and community celebration.
Any individual thread can break, but the more threads that are woven in, the stronger the tapestry. The diversity of individual stories, reflections, hopes, and dreams are what make the Sophia tapestry rich.
The shape, texture, and weight of the pumpkin worked each of us metaphorically, influencing our thoughts, writing, and conversation.
