image by inuit artist Germaine Arnaktauyok
For 7 years I’ve offered a course on the art of holding space. When I first started out I had listened to a Ted Talk with Chitra Aiyar. In the talk she mentions her work with communities with minorities on campuses in the US. She states in the talk ‘When we compare, we can’t connect’.
The more I’ve worked with the content and people, that statement has changed for me. I think it’s more a case of ‘When we compete, we can’t connect’.
Of course in many ways they are linked, the ‘compare and compete’. We compare all the time, it’s natural. When it takes over, the energy can change. I’ve been down the spiral so many times. The compete element feels more intense. It’s not one that brings the heart to heart feel. It’s been a key learning of mine I think. To feel safe enough to let the story of having to fight my way through to get anywhere, rest.
It’s also something that often gets glossed over in the spiritual settings. We pretend it doesn’t exist and we stick to the love and light. We stay with the all positive feels and suppress what also exists when people come together. I think most of us have, well I think all of us have. In business, in all kinds of groups - the spiritual is no exception, the competition has a certain effect on how we connect. I’ve seen it in the yoga world, the meditation world, the shamanistic the the the. And as mentioned in myself. Something we don’t talk a lot about. It’s not really pretty and comes with some level of shame or ick. Which makes it grow in intensity.
I work with this a lot. Relearning how to be in ‘it’ with fellow humans, myself. And it is a huge part of the foundation of my work.
As a people we are increasingly recognizing the importance of coming together in a different way. To heal our stories of being in community and the ways we walk this Earth.
AND we meet edges here. That may surprise us at times. Wounds and past experiences that were not easy and are brought into the room with us.
Creating space for all of that and the chance for us to witness the brilliance in ourselves and others is powerful. Healing a story and experiencing the ability to be here as a whole entire being. I love this work so much. The honeymoon and the chaos.
