The Wheel of Life tool is a process where, in just a few steps, participants create a graphic visualization that is an assessment of various areas of their lives. In the end it gives a broad overview so the participant can see which parts of their lives are going well and which ones could be improved upon.
Wheel of Life tool is part of the Live Your Power workbook, which could be viewed as an in-depth course-length process. Find the full workbook at hostingtransformation.eu.
In order to get clarity about a topic or to determine your spiritual location, you go out alone into nature and trace this topic there. In the mirror of your environment, guided by your intuition, you receive “medicine”, a gift of impressions and impulses.
The Medicine Walk is an ancient and a modern practice. We have always made medicine walks into nature or pilgrimages, because the space out there gives us the possibility to reconnect. To reconnect with levels within ourselves that are not accessible to us through the mind alone, the deep inner knowledge about nature and being. It is a magical experience. Magical because it is animated by many different encounters – with plants, trees, animals, stones, branches, images…. All the living beings out there invite you to get in touch with them. For example, an encounter with a squirrel. You can ask a question about something specific that is on your mind and see/listen to what happens, what comes up as an answer while observing the squirrel. You can also let yourself be drawn to interesting places. It’s a free space out there, follow your intuition.
If you feel a burning question in you – take it with you on your Medicine Walk!
This tool comes from the Kaospilot school for creative business design and social innovation. It was used when students pursued their final projects, working individually on their chosen topic. The class came together weekly to support each other. The input from others helped to maintain a feeling of being part of a bigger cohort, even if everyone was working individually. Even when used with strangers it can elicit much gratitude towards the group.
You can use freewriting for various purposes, e.g. for reflection, integration, generating ideas or conflict resolution. Set a clear timeframe (10-20 minutes maximum) and start writing without stopping. If you have the intention to generate ideas, write down every idea you can think of about your topic, no matter how “crazy” it is. You can judge later (and no one else is going to read it). Don’t worry about correct grammar or spelling, that is not important in this exercise.
The Way of Council is an ancient and modern practice, a structure for holding conversations, where each participant truly listens and truly shares. From waysofcouncil.net : “Council offers a way of communicating that encourages attentive listening, as well as honest and compassionate expression. It makes room for new insights and understandings, wisdom in decision making, and healing. As a personal practice, a group process and a life-pathway, council is an intrinsic ingredient of our education at any age and especially important for families, guides, teachers, therapists, caregivers or anyone whose work involves groups.”
The Pro Action Café is a space for creative and action oriented conversation where participants are invited to bring their call / project / ideas or whatever they feel called by and need help to manifest in the world.
The Three Horizons are an underpinning structure for conversations about the past, the present and the future. This framework examines behavioural, social and organisational patterns using three distinct lenses, called Horizons. These map the shift from established patterns of the First Horizon (past and present), that are no longer fit for purpose, to the establishment of new patterns in the Third Horizon (forecasted future), via the transition activity of the Second Horizon (current changes).
It’s a facilitation technique that can be conducted with flexibility, depending on the audience, the context of the workshop, any specific themes of change for the horizons etc. Core elements involve defining each horizon, identifying patterns and behaviours that reinforce each, and then exploring the kinds of transformative responses that will ultimately bring about change. The aim is to understand how the third horizon of the future can become the established status quo of the present. This can be analysed for numerous purposes, including how to assist in the transition. The details emerge via participant engagement and interactive discussion.
The First Horizon – H1 – is the current dominant system, representing ‘business as usual’. Society relies on these systems being stable and lasting, and for better or worse, much of our daily lives and lifestyles are intertwined with this paradigm. As the world changes, the norms, patterns and systems of H1 begin to feel out of place, inappropriate and, in extreme cases, a threat to future horizons. Business as usual will eventually be superseded by new ways of doing things, and actually contains the seeds of its own demise.
The Third Horizon – H3 – emerges as the long term successor to business as usual. Fringe activity in the present continues to grow into the flourishing status quo of the future. H3 consists of completely new ways of doing things, with some trial and error, but many of its characteristics end up being much better fitted to the world that is emerging than the dominant H1 systems. Pockets of this future can already be found in the present.
The Second Horizon – H2 – is a pattern of activities, ideas, innovations that are disrupting the way things are done. Communities, companies, people, various groups all pioneer new approaches in response to the ever-changing world around them. Some of these innovations will be absorbed by H1, incorporated to prolong its life, while some will aid the transition, and set the stage for the radically different H3 systems to blossom. The disruptions of H2 can be harnessed to manage the collapse of H1, and thus support the more wholesome H3 systems to be embedded in the new H1.
Open Space Technology is a method for dialogue in which the participants themselves set the agenda. It provides an opportunity for people to engage deeply and creatively around the issues that are most important to them, by allowing them to self-select according to what interests them most.
Discussions take place in small groups. A number of different discussions take place simultaneously on a variety of topics, which are connected in some way to the central theme of the event. A series of these small group conversations happen over the course of the event.
Anyone is welcome to suggest a topic for discussion, and participants can choose which conversations they partake in.
Guiding principles are a defined set of statements or intentions that represent the ethos and culture within a group, community, organisation etc. They are precisely worded and ideally concise, while epitomising the values that the group’s mission and vision are based upon. They provide clarity for new members joining, as well as for existing members when navigating challenges or making major decisions that affect the direction the group will go in. Depending on the group, these can be reviewed and adapted over time if appropriate, or they can be non-negotiable fixed points to anchor the group in what they’ve set out to achieve.