Because it is truly Spirit-led, each session is different. I simply open myself, and facilitate how I am led. The focus is spiritual rather than mental or psychological. There is a teaching component and a spiritual experience component. The teaching/discussion times reflect and support the participants’ topics of concern. There is always a theme for each group meeting that emerges organically as we do our work together.

Some of the topics we may discuss/deal with: surrender, service, creating sacred space, keeping space clear, not taking on others’ stuff, how to clear space, creating a spiritual container for your work, how to accept and work with the shadow parts of yourselves you haven’t wanted to see or don’t like, how to help your head to become more accepting of your deep heart work, dealing with your inner critic, etc.

We begin each session by creating Sacred space together, sometimes with a prayer or ritual, sometimes with a simple grounding exercise. From there, we may move into discussion immediately. Often, however, there are periods of silence as Spirit works with us individually and as a group. Sometimes we even find that we “swoon” or go into a kind of Zen-like restful state.

Often people have told me that they feel as if they’ve had the equivalent of a good night’s sleep just by virtue of spending the time together on the call. We may do deep or intense work with grief, fear, or anger, or a bit of all three. We often have a lot of laughter. Each person is always free to share, but it is not necessary to talk or share to get the full benefits of being on the call.

You will want to have paper and pencil available during the calls, as well as a comfortable and quiet place to sit or stand or walk, water to drink, and perhaps a snack or small meal prepared. It is also perfectly OK to take care of any personal needs you may have during the call. Just make sure that if you’re moving around or if there is background noise, to mute your phone.

On the other hand, if you are processing some deep emotion, please do not mute your phone unless you absolutely have to; your emotional work will enable others to go deeper, and will spark others to deal with whatever it is in themselves that resonates with your processing.

We will practice compassionate witness: for a great example and explanation, here is a link to a short video in which Thich Nhat Hanh describes the practice of compassionate witness.

The short answer is Yes. Building on my solid background and training in group dynamics and family systems, I have been leading groups and creating community for more than 30 years. I have a gift for being able to create a safe space for transformation and spiritual community to happen. I also have been leading these kinds of transformational groups over the past few years by teleconference; most participants have valued it so much that they have continued beyond their initial commitment.

Comments I hear over and over are “I can’t believe how close we feel”; “I never thought I would be able to go this deep”; “Everyone held such a beautiful space for me to work”; “I feel so connected.”

It is not the size of the group that matters, but the quality of the group. A tiny group does not necessarily make the best community. Because you all share a deep spiritual commitment, you will recognize each other; you will very quickly feel a sense of kinship and connection. You will find that you have found your “tribe.”  That said, because I want each person to have the opportunity for personal attention, I am limiting the group to a maximum of 12.

I have found that doing this kind of work takes a good block of time. We need time to let go of whatever else is going on in our lives, and to become fully present. The work itself also has a rhythm of diving deep, shifting, and then strengthening. We need a significant length of time for all of those components to happen (and they sometimes happen several times over, so we experience several deep shifts or changes during the time of a call).

You may have heard the famous saying: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

How many times do you stop to put yourself first? It’s so easy, no matter what your situation, but especially as a parent, to schedule yourself last, and by the time you get to setting aside time for yourself, you’re either too tired, too depleted, or you somehow never get the time! These calls are a once-a-month opportunity to commit this time to take care of yourself. When you have filled your cup, you will be able to be more present with those you love. Particularly for those of you with kids, this could be a huge opportunity for them as well. You could schedule a play date or a dinner-and-play date: The kids will enjoy the time spent with someone else, and you will be able to rejuvenate yourself so that you can be more present the rest of the month.

One of the benefits of this group is that you’ll have a deeper understanding of what spiritual commitment is and what it means to you. You will also be connected with a group of others who share a similar level of commitment to their personal and spiritual work – and that adds to the potency of the group sessions.

One participant said this: “Because of the commitment, we have a very strong container, and that’s how the magic can happen.”

My hope is that you will attend every session. It’s true that life happens and you may miss one session for a good reason. If you miss more than one session, we’ll need to have a discussion because I highly value creating a safe container for the whole group. Sometimes we “climb the mountain” very quickly! Once you have made this commitment, payment will be due for every session even if you have to miss.

This group is intended to be available to anyone, regardless of where you are living.  In fact, not only have we had international participants, but we’ve had people traveling during previous groups who have connected from all over the world.  I will be using Zoom, which has free connections via phone, tablet, or computer, from many countries.  Also, payment(s) can be made via credit card or ACH.  The payment link will work no matter where you live.