THIS WORKSHOP IS CURRENT POSTPONED DUE TO FACILITATOR FAMILY HEALTH ISSUES. ONCE WE HAVE A NEW DATE, IT WILL BE RESCHEDULED.
Tuesday, April 20th. 1pm Pacific / 2pm Mtn / 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern
Online via Zoom for 2 hours
If you are in a different time zone, you can find your start time here.
Dealing with the discomfort of two opposing ideas or beliefs can, and often does, lead to various behaviors including addiction, withdrawal, or violence. We can feel disconnected from our self and others. We don’t feel whole, consciously or unconsciously. People find adaptive ways to live while holding two or more different worldviews. For example, many people today claim to have a Jesus worldview and a Trump worldview. In part, this is made possible by an “identity split” (not to be confused with a split personality or dissociative identity disorder). In these and many other cases we don’t feel whole. Sometimes we feel lonely, disconnected from our self, others, or from something larger such as our connection to the spiritual life.
When we learn to recognize these splits we can begin to live the principles of nonviolence and heal towards wholeness, oneness, union with all that is. We learn to recognize these splits, in part, by learning to become aware of the suppressed and denied parts of our Self. Techniques like noticing how we project onto others and practices like Jungian-style shadow work play an important part of our healing toward wholeness.
One constantly recurring theme in history is that human beings who try to avoid changing themselves always set out on a destructive course of trying to change the world or others. Most dramatically it insists on violence, the death of others, catastrophe, or war. Anything rather than change ourselves! To avoid the legitimate suffering of being human, we inflict untold suffering on others, and actually create more suffering on ourselves. It is the theme of hubris that seems to be at the heart of every tragedy.
Unless we recognize and admit our own personal and cultural viewpoints, we will never know how to decentralize our own perspective. We will live with a high degree of illusion and blindness that brings much suffering and violence into the world. Without such critical awareness of the small self, there is little chance that we will reduce violence. We must recognize our own biases, our own addictive preoccupations, and those things we refuse to pay attention to.
In this two-hour seminar, participants will begin to learn how to recognize four major identity splits. Participants will also discuss two stories that illustrate the various effects of the suppressed/denied self, projections onto others, and the impacts of being projected onto. Lastly, participants will be introduced to identifying projections and shadow work exercises. Through this session we will support each other in unmasking our false self and in distancing ourselves from our illusions in order to live a more holistic nonviolent life.
FACILITATOR
ROBERT FERRELL
About the Facilitator: Robert Ferrell, PhD is a psychologist and founder of Contemplative Interbeing. He is a long time trainer and educator at the university and corporate level. Robert is a Pace e Bene certified trainer, ordained minister, spiritual director, and graduate of Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation Living School.
Related Books for Reference:
Brian McLaren, Why Don’t They Get It? Overcoming Bias in Others (and Yourself)
David Richo, Shadow Dance: Liberating the Power & Creativity of Your Dark Side
William A. Miller, Your Golden Shadow: Discovering and Fulfilling Your Undeveloped Self
Gabor Maté, When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection
Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self