Coaching
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
I’m thrilled to have been shortlisted for the Life Coach of the Year Award at the 3rd AnnualAssociation of Professional Coaches, Trainers and Consultants Achievements Awards and I’d really appreciate your vote!
The APCTC Awards Ceremony is now in it’s third year and they’re being held at the Novotel Hotel in Birmingham on March 1st.
I’m honoured to have been acknowledged and nominated by the APCTC for my work as a Life Coach & Trainer and I’d like to thank everyone for their support and good wishes.
Details about the awards, my profile and how to
vote can be found
here.
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Monday, January 27th, 2014
The following excerpt (sent to me by one of my former coaching clients Paulina Richards) by Tyler Perry, uses the metaphors of trees to describe the quality of friendships. I found it really helpful as in the last few years I have found that many of my close friendships have fallen by the wayside or have not been what I or the other person expected. It’s been helpful but not always easy to evaluate the role and contribution I have played in all of this.
Reviewing my history of friendships over the years has helped me gain insight and understanding into my own personal journey with friendship. Just today I wrote a piece about my first day at infant school. We had just moved house so I joined a week or two after term had started and was immediately cast into the role of the outsider. I was the newcomer who spent a lot of time on the sidelines feeling alone before I was gradually accepted. But I don’t think I really ever let go of that experience which included being bullied.
When it came to college I had a really close friend who was like a sister and one day, that was it, no announcement, no upset but it was clear the friendship was over. Perry’s analogy places her in the Branch category. See what you think.
Tyler Perry’s Friendship Tree Test ………..
I have this tree analogy when I think of people in my life, be it friends, family, acquaintances, employees, co-workers, whomever…They are all placed inside what I call my tree test. It goes like this:
LEAF PEOPLE
Some people come into your life and they are like leaves on a tree. They are only there for a season. You can’t depend on them or count on them because they are weak and only there to give you shade. Like leaves, they are there to take what they need and as soon as it gets cold or a wind blows in your life they are gone. You can’t be angry with them, it’s just who they are.
BRANCH PEOPLE
There are some people who come into your life and they are like branches on a tree. They are stronger than leaves, but you have to be careful with them. They will stick around through most seasons, but if you go through a storm or two in your life it’s possible that you could lose them. Most times they break away when it’s tough. Although they are stronger than leaves, you have to test them out before you run out there and put all your weight on them. In most cases they can’t handle too much weight. But again, you can’t be mad with them, it’s just who they are.
ROOT PEOPLE
If you can find some people in your life who are like the roots of a tree then you have found something special. Like the roots of a tree, they are hard to find because they are not trying to be seen. Their only job is to hold you up and help you live a strong and healthy life. If you thrive, they are happy. They stay low key and don’t let the world know that they are there. And if you go through an awful storm they will hold you up. Their job is to hold you up, come what may, and to nourish you, feed you and water you.
Just as a tree has many limbs and many leaves, there are few roots. Look at your own life. How many leaves, branches and roots do you have? What are you in other people’s lives?
I found it a helpful model for making an inventory of friendships. It is similar to a model I was introduced to some years ago by US Life Coach Laura Berman Fortgang. She introduces these three levels for evaluating your friendships:
- Rocket friendships are the kinds of friends who fire your up whenever you are around or in contact with them.
- Floaters are friends who are more neutralised. It’s easy to be with them but it is not that engaging or energising. They’re dependable, but there’s not a lot of challenge. There maybe a lack of depth and real connection missing from these relationships.
- Sinkers are the kinds of friendships where you realize that your energy is drained or decreased when you’re around or with these friends.
One of the ways you can really stretch yourself with your friendship evaluation is to as well as taking an inventory of your friends take an inventory on how you imagine your friends see you in any of the above roles.
- What friends experience you as the sinker/leaf people?
- What can you do to change or sift this relationship?
- Is it time to let it go?
- What friendships are your rocket or root friendships?
- With who are you the floater/branch people? What would move this friendship into a rocket or root relationship?
- What friendships is it time to let go of?
- Who are potential rocket or root people who you might have overlooked in your life?
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Tuesday, December 31st, 2013
On a recent coaching supervision course the course facilitator Miriam Orriss made the following comment, “What you observes changes.”
When we make time and space in our schedule to write and reflect on our coaching and supervision we can both in subtle and significant ways improve our practice and become better coaches as well as human beings. The reasons for these are varied.
Using writing to reflect on our work as coaches means that we are raising the standards of our profession by examining what we do, how we do it and the impact of what we do.
Creative writing as part of a regular writing practice can develop and cultivate the resourcefulness of the inner coach as well as becoming a form of self-supervision.
Writing literally has the power to impact our thought processes and behaviours at molecular and cellular levels as well as help to change previous neural pathways.
Writing creatively and therapeutically can move you into spaces where you activate and connect with the innate and often underused wisdom of the inner coach and the inner supervisor.
Writing is a way to challenge how we think. Very often when we write we are not aware consciously of what writing will reveal to us. Writing can help individuals cultivate new perspectives that inform the way you do things both on and off the page and within the context of our coaching and supervision.
There are different approaches to use creative and therapeutic writing in your work as a coach and a coach supervisor:
- Writing up your notes after a coaching or supervision session is an excellent form of best practice for our industry.
- Writing a dialogue in the voice of an observer and reflecting back on your sessions is another.
- Using the dialogue method to have conversations with your clients and supervisee’s on the page can be a way to explore both conscious and unconscious dynamics in your coaching and supervision relationships.
- Get creative and introduce creative writing activities into your coaching and supervision sessions. Use writing prompts (words or sentences which clients can use to free write or free associate with) and also write about dilemmas and issues, which often allows the real issue to surface on the page.
I own a small, portable writing kit that I travel with to coaching and supervision sessions away from home. The kit consists of a small plastic wallet containing coloured pens, blank index cards and a collection of writing prompts.
Writing prompts are small slips of paper or card each transcribed with a single word or sentence and sometimes images, which clients can use to bring their attention and focus to the present moment.
Invite your clients to randomly select a prompt form your collection and write for five minutes. They’re free to record any thoughts or associations that is stimulated from the writing prompt. Equally they’re free to write about whatever comes to mind whether it’s directly about the word/sentence or whether it’s about something current that is on their mind.
Using this method at the start of a coaching or supervision session can be a way of clients becoming more mindful and can help clients access an entry point that allows them to quickly to sink below the surface of their often busy lives and make connections with what is really important and meaningful thereby making better use of the coaching and supervision space.
This year as a result of completing a brilliant on line class entitled Journal For Your Life with Susannah Conway http://www.susannahconway.com/e-courses/journal-your-life/ I filled two business journals (which was one of the activities in the on line class), which are notebooks separate from a personal journal where you gather creative ideas and goals about your business and plans for developing it.
What’s great about keeping a business diary in this way is that I have a completely different relationship with it. Why? Because I only write in bright, luminous colours (black, blue and red ink are banned from their pages) so every page feels like play and I find it much easier and stimulating to implement many of the ideas I have seeded on their pages. This way work and running my own business has a much stronger element of fun and enjoyment that I have had for a long time. Why not give it a try?
In my final post on this blog for 2013 I want to leave you with a gift, which I hope will inspire you to write even more and enjoy the benefits of writing in 2014.
I’ve written a simple guide on how to start and keep a journal that includes over 40 blank pages for your journal notes, pages for writing your to do lists and lists for just about anything, along with designated pages for jotting down notes and queries as you go about your daily business. There’s also over 40 inspirational writing quotes that will help you to stay motivated both on and off the page.
It’s all free and there’s no sign up. Just click the link and download your free copy of The Journal Journey Guidebook 2014 here:
If you have clients and colleagues who you’d like to share the resource with please feel free to share the link.
Wishing you all the best for the new year and look forward to serving you with more tips and insights on coaching, writing and creativity on the blog in 2014.
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Tuesday, December 10th, 2013
Leadership Wisdom from Madiba Nelson Mandela
A great light and leader left our world on Friday 6th December 2013. Mandela’s death as in life has highlighted the blazing legacy he left for the world.
His life has been reported in detail since his death on Friday in newspaper across the world. In today’s blog post I share 7 Leadership wisdom’s Mandela’s life has gifted us with along with 7 Leadership Activities that invite you to reflect, review and evaluate your own leadership journey and prepare your leadership for 2014.
1. It’s not who you are but how you lead that matters most.
Mandela showed exemplary resilience, coming from a poor background, growing up in the oppressive, apartheid regime, surviving imprisonment and emerging to become the country’s first ever Black president. His CV was stunning.
Leadership Activity
Create a courage CV that charts the times and places in your life where you have been courageous and brave.
2. He demonstrated leadership at all different ages and levels of his life.
From being appointed as a youth leader in the ANC, to his imprisonment on Robben island Mandela modeled integrity refusing to accept privileges given to him if the same was not offered to his fellow prisoners. Mandela refusal to be treated differently is a reminder of the need for values, to stand our ground and to speak up for what matters most.
Leadership Activity
What will you make a stand for? What will you or do you speak out against? Write a letter, blog post or article, whatever takes your fancy regarding a concern or issue you feel strongly about.
3. Killing Your Enemies With Kindness – Revenge or Reconciliation?
Mandela taught the world a very important lesson of leading from the heart. He chose reconciliation over revenge at the way he and millions of black South Africans had been treated by the Apartheid regime. This public act of forgiveness, compassion and heading from the heart and not the head is perhaps one of the biggest peacetime acts of these modern times.
Mandela transcended hatred, fear and the most appalling violence towards other human being, by going inwards and changing and shifting his perspective from the inside out. As one newspaper quoted, Mandela killed Apartheid with kindness.
His heart inspired leadership demonstrated for the world to witness the enormous healing potential of reconciliation and forgiveness and changed the political and humane landscape of South Africa. Forgiveness allowed Mandela to escape the past and create a new future and for this he cannot be faulted.
Leadership Activity
What person, conflict, challenge or difficult situation might you try to change or gain a different perspective by killing it with kindness?
4. Mandela Was A Natural Coach
Mandela’s leadership toolkit was awash with the kinds of communication skills that make you not just a good leader but also a great leader. Qualities that made him also not just a good coach but also a great one. His ability to be empathetic, to forgive his oppressors, his tenacity and determination to understand his warders and to feel what it was like standing in their shoes was remarkable.
In the articles I read about him over the weekend there were numerous examples of this humble, who in the same breath was articulate, clear and compassionate man who would ask questions first rather than tell. It takes a bigger man to go stand in the shoes of others who have treated you in the inhumane manner Mandela and so many others had been who had died as part of the apartheid brutally, but he did.
Leadership Activity
This week really pay attention to the quality of your listening? How would or do you rate yourself as a listener? What are the areas for improvement? This week listen more and ask more and see what the responses are.
5. Mandela Benefitted From The Wisdom Gained In Solitude
Perhaps fuelled by those years of solitary confinement and the accompanying silence that became his constant companion, grew Mandela’s spaciousness and capacity for deep listening and in turn being listened to. There was the true story of Mandela’s meeting with Maggie Thatcher who apparently listened to Mandela for 50 minutes without interrupting.
I imagine it was the time spent in solitude and silence, which allowed Mandela to do the invaluable inner work that distilled much of his former views and beliefs and offered him different perspectives and approaches that saw him shift and transform his leadership to a different vibration and frequency. When you take the word silent and change the letters around you create the word listen.
Leadership Activity
Book time in your diary before the end of the year to spend at least half a day in silence or time spent just with yourself. You can be flexible about the degree of silence you enter into so you might spend time on your own in a busy public space like an art gallery or museum or you might just have quiet time alone at home.
Use the time alone as a time for reflection, contemplation and a form of recalibrating. Observe your response to time alone. What did you struggle with? What was good about having the space? How could more time alone add value to your leadership?
6. Mandela’s Life Journey Offered Hope
Mandela’s leadership journey stands amongst many of the greats of our times as a story of hope and resilience and possibility. You could not make this story up least alone the horrors and trauma’s that underpin the fight and cause that Mandela took on. His leadership legacy reminds us that there is work for leaders at all levels of society and that our name could be that name, that person that makes a real difference to others.
Leadership Activity
What one word will describe your leadership focus for 2014?
7. Mandela Was A Man Who Owned His Strengths As Well As His Flaws
Mandela was not a man without flaws. Reading into personal accounts of his life before and after imprisonment one recognizes that here is a man that did not always get it right when it came to his family and his children. Understandable as this is it was not a fact that was hidden from the world and in fact this may have contributed to the acceptance of Mandela because of the vulnerability and humility that was often apparent in his leadership. Leaders benefit greatly from the qualities of vulnerability and humility. Both activate courage, bravery, compassion and wholeheartedness.
We can create and nurture environments where leaders respect honesty, where they are not afraid to share when they have messed up, got it wrong or missed the point. We need to create more space for leaders to show their human side and not wipe them out or condemn them as soon as a flaw, fault or mistake is discovered. Of course there are limits to what will be deemed acceptable in terms of errors but what we can learn from Mandela is that progress not perfection helped to magnetize his leadership presence and make him revered and loved on the global stage across race, gender, social class, political beliefs, economic and social positions.
Mandela left a trail blazing leadership legacy.
Leadership Activity
What’s Your Leadership Story?
If you were to write a personal account of your leadership story and the wisdoms gleaned from your leadership journey to date what would your story be? We’d love to post your leadership wisdom’s inspired by the Mandela legacy on the blog. Please email to: info@jackeeholder.com with a photo and your contact details by Tuesday December 17th 2013.
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Monday, October 21st, 2013
Over the years I’ve really enjoyed working with different writing kits and card decks that I’ve used on a variety of workshops, courses and retreats. This has grown into a collection of card decks and kits that are focused on writing, coaching and self-development. I also have some card decks in my collection, which introduces the different energy’s of the trees we live with, which I’ve posted on my tree blog.
Card deck and kits are a great way of stimulating and engaging learning on workshops and retreats. I’ve never had a participant whose been disappointed when I’ve introduced card decks and kits onto our programmes, in fact the opposite, these resources have always been welcomed.
I also use them as part of my coaching tool kit when working in one to one coaching sessions. They can be a really helpful tool for getting unblocked or for finding a new way in or a different perspective around an issue that is being explored. Some of the decks can be used as a prompt at the start of the session as a form of free association to see what connections there might be to the card, word or image that has been selected.
In the early days when I used kits and card decks a lot more many people would express their resistance to using the cards thinking that they were tarot cards mainly because tarot cards are presented in similar packaging and design it was easy to see why this assumption was made. I always take care and time in explaining that these are different from tarot cards although those with the names Oracle in the title might be more closely aligned to the tarot card decks. I always offer using or working with any card deck or kit as an option.
For those of us who are either visual or more kinasethic learners a card deck or kit can be more stimulating and motivation for learning and reflecting.
Card decks can quickly go out of print and circulation so it’s good to catch them when you can. I’ve grown my collection over 10 years with a vast majority of my card decks coming from Hay House. However I have stumbled over a couple in second handbook bookshops and charity shops including a Tree Oracle Kit and Phases Of The Moon Kit.
I’ve listed below the title of the writing kits and card decks featured above starting from top left to right:
The Observation Deck Naomi Epel, The Writer’s ToolBox Jamie Cat Callan, Tree Affirmation Cards Victoria Sofia Lewis (I snuck that one in), The Complete Writer’s Kit Scott Edelstein, A Creative Writer’s Kit Judy Reeves, The Writer’s Workshop In A Box edited by Sandra Bark, The Writer’s Retreat Kit Judy Reeves, Inner Outings Charlene Geiss & Claudia Jessup & The Autobiography Box Brian Bouldrey.
Here’s a list of the self-development & coaching card decks and kits starting from top left to right:
Labyrinth Wisdom Cards Tony Christie, Archetype Cards Caroline Myss, The Letting Go Cards Melodie Beattie, Best Year Of Your Life Debbie Ford, Tips For Daily Living Iyanla Vanzant, Wisdom For Healing Cards Caroline Myss, The iFactor Cards Ken Barnes, Goddess Guidance Oracle cards Doreen Virtue The Healing Cards Caroline Myss, Karma Coaching Cards, Coaching Cards For Relationships, Coaching Cards For Business Owners, Coaching cards for Everyday Use, Coaching Cards For & Coaching Cards For Managers (coaching cards all available from http://www.barefootcoaching.co.uk/category/catalog/Coaching%20Products), Soul Coaching Oracle Cards Denise Linn, Self Care Cards Cheryl Richardson, The Spa Deck Barbara Close & Susie Kushner, The Healing Deck Monte Farber & Amy Zerner, The Daily Affirmation Cards Cheryl Richardson & The Grace Cards Cheryl Richardson.
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Tuesday, September 24th, 2013
The Mindful Writer, Coach & Practitioner: Free Talk
Mindfulness extends into many areas of our personal and professional development as coaches. In today’s talk Executive Coach, speaker, trainer and creative writing tutor Jackee Holder shares a series of writing approaches and practices that will cultivate mindfulness in our work as coaches both on and off the page.
Drawing from sound research from her latest book 49 Ways Ways To Write Yourself Well: The Science and Wisdom of Writing and journaling you will learn about:
- The many therapeutic benefits creative writing about our work and ourselves contributes to your health and well being
- How to heal yourself with Mindful writing
- How writing regularly is a form of mindfulness practice and for many extends into a spiritual practice that enhances who we are which further impacts on the quality and engagement of how we coach.
- How writing mindfully invokes stillness, the art and heart of being and deepens our connection to our intuition, creativity, inner wisdom and resourcefulness.
- How writing mindfully activates the wisdom and resourcefulness of your “inner coach”
- The research that underpins and supports the therapeutic benefits of expressive writing and how this can be incorporated into our one to one coaching work and our work with teams and organizations.
Jackee is passionate about writing and reading as mindfulness practices and believes that through mindfulness practices we can grow and development ourselves holistically as coaches both on and off the page.
FREE TALK on 12 November 2013
Click here to register via Eventbrite
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Friday, August 30th, 2013
Recently I’ve been on the receiving end of lot’s of No’s and a stream of disappointment’s.
No I don’t have time be involved in the project you’ve invited me to be part of …….
No I can’t do this interview for your website ………
A close friend didn’t make it to my birthday party in May and it hurt.
Last year I had a fierce conference with the organizer of a conference I was part of. I wasn’t convinced that our conversation came from the heart. I left the conversation still feeling sludgy. Something just didn’t feel right. It felt like the professional veneer was in operation, a bit like, ‘we need to have this conversation, but we are not really having the ‘real’ conversation.’ A reminder from Susan Scott author of Fierce Conversations who writes about the seven principles of Fierce Conversations which includes, ‘Come out from behind yoursself into the conversation and make it real.’ Obviously I had my part to play in our professional niceness.
Month’s later I found out that the same conference has a new international location with pretty much a repeat line up of the same presenters and I was not invited.
I’m guessing our conversation did not go so well.
Since the publication of my new book I sent out copies to a long list of respected colleagues and authors. Not one person sent back an email commenting on the book or it’s content. The question is what do I make of the silence? What is the conversation or conversations I have in my head?
After several not going so well conversations in my head I plucked up the courage to ask one of those people who had been sent a copy of my book why they hadn’t responded. I was surprised by the feedback. In this person’s view unless I specifically asked for feedback they were under the conclusion that it wasn’t required or expected. Hey, it helps to check things out before jumping to conclusions.
This is one of the many reasons we protect ourselves from having that difficult conversation in the first place or going that extra mile, or taking that leap of faith. We’re afraid of rejection, of being refused or not hearing anything at all. It feels far too risky and scary. This is the icky stuff we avoid at all costs.
I see it all the time in organizations. People protect and fiercely defend themselves against any possibility of being made to feel vulnerable because they’re so afraid of feeling vulnerable, humiliated or even the slight amount of discomfort.
But on closer examination No’s are often in our favour .
Looking back I needed to have the conversation with the conference organizer. It was part of my learning curve, a part of me being assertive, of not swallowing my feelings, of having the courage to speak out and making a stand for how I felt I had been treated. It was better to have had the conversation even in the likelihood of the outcome than not to have had it at all. The cost to my emotional and mental well-being had I not spoken out would have been to my detriment. A cost that is not always obviously visible, but can be silently depleting ad harmful.
In an organisational context Susan Scott reminds us in her Fierce Conversations Training that, ‘ it is the unreal and missing conversations that are costly – in terms of morale, engagement and performance.’ Read more about Fierce Conversations and the work of Susan Scott at http://www.fierceinc.com
Would it have been better to have not sent out all those books? No, I genuinely sent out books to teachers and writers whose work I love and respect as a gift. Once I returned and reconnected to my original intention of sharing my work without expectation my anxiety and angst about the silence evaporated. It was no longer an issue.
It made the way for me to clearly see how many people have come back to me from different places than the sources I was trying to push. You could say the minute I became unattached to acknowledgement from my peers, my tribe of readers who appreciated and validated the work appeared.
One could say that the No’s and silences have paved the way for a lot more Yes’s.
Since the experience of being on the receiving end of a string of No’s several things have happened.
I’ve treasured and deepened my appreciation of my own work and writing
I’ve gathered a range of connections and ideas for workshops and retreats based on the books content which I am really excited about
I’ve become more aware of my personal impact and how my own presence and power can sometimes not be perceived in the best light.
I’ve accepted that the international conference was not to be a part of my journey and that I could let it go. As soon as I did this so many new writing opportunities and events presented themselves.
I showered myself with compassion and forgave myself for how hard I am on myself. I made re-committed to walking my talk.
I was reminded to go where the energy feels right and where I’m wanted. How often do we waste our good energy and time trying to make other people like us or squeezing ourselves into places and events that are clearly not the right fit.?
Easier said than done when working in an organization and that person just happens to be your boss.
We worry and get anxious that these difficult and sticky conversations will be held against us.
And sometimes they are (but we can manage how we respond and live through these times) and sometimes they’re not.
But we can find a way through when they are….
It helps when thought leaders like Brene Brown words express exactly what we feel. Her research on vulnerability expresses many of the complex emotions that exist in the different layers of our daily interactions and rejections of each other which vulnerability is made up of,
“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” Check out her website at http://wwwbrenebrown.com
Then there’s the other end of the spectrum.
Recently I had the most gorgeous conversation with someone who said No to a work proposal but said it with compassion, who took time out to make an appointment to speak with me. Who made notes and observations about what worked about what I was presenting and what was missing. It felt clean, clear and felt like our conversation had no load.
I bounced out of her office feeling like I had been given a gift. Evidence that No’s can be said gracefully and leave the other person feeling energized and inspired.
I often say to writers, that for every ‘No’ they receive from a publisher means they are getting closer to a Yes. You’re getting closer to that publishing company who has your name on it.
Oh did I not mention that in the last month I’ve also had an avalanche of Yes’s and requests all from unexpected places and sources. They’ve been coming out of the woodwork hard and fast. And they’re all on point. Interested in my work, interested in me, and the energy feels way, way different.
I know that when we trust the process no matter how hard we push if we just relax our grip the right doors open.
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Thursday, August 15th, 2013
I am delighted to share the Ted talk by one of my former BBC Mentor Scheme mentee’s Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa.
Click here to watch http://vimeo.com/69534997
I wrote about Tokunbo in an earlier blog post click here to read: http://www.jackeeholder.com/coaching/mentor-inner-views-part-3-2/
and he just keeps going from strength to strength.
He’s now heading up the O2ThinkBiG http://www.o2thinkbig.co.uk
Check out their website as they are doing some really cool stuff.
Albeit one cannot tie him down now for the busyness you can see how all the years experience is now being utilized in so many different ways in his new role.
Nothing we do is ever wasted. He spent years in terms of time and energy building the Origin’s Young Men’s project in South London with the dynamic Pablo Reid and then moved on to head up as Editor in Chief Catch 22 Magazine.
Tokunbo has worked hard to get to where he is and it has not been without its struggles and challenges. I have witnessed his resilience grow and develop and watched him grow and get comfortable and confident in his own original style and uniqueness as a leader..
I met Tokunbo when he was aged 17 when I was heading up the BBC Mentor Scheme and I saw his potential then ( he was bursting with enthusiasm, had a way of articulating the truth with empathy and compassion and within an instant I knew we had to recruit him to the project) and I am witnessing the awesomeness of his potential manifested abundantly now. He is now mentoring and inspiring young people to Think Big… The circle continues….
The seed of his potential has grown into a mature tree with many more branches still waiting to stretch and bring forth even more…..
Enjoy his inaugural TED talk on the power of potential. Need I say any more?
Tok’s as he is known to his close friends is a natural born leader.
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Friday, August 2nd, 2013
My third creative adventure this week happened yesterday again in the evening. I had purchased myself a ticket for an event, which was part of the local Nunhead Cemetery in South London and described as, “ a surreal performance at dusk in the trees, chapel and avenues of Nunhead cemetery.”
Organised by Arbonauts performance collective, Biped Monitor is experiential theatre including a cast of physical performers, a choir of 20+ local singers, classical musicians, soloists and operatic works inspired by William Blake and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
A cemetery is an unusual setting for a play but given that it is the home of so many who onced lived, a perfect setting for stored stories in one place.
I find it rewarding to have something creative to do in the evenings that drags me from collapsing on my sofa or reminding myself of how much work I still have to do.
The whole atmosphere around the event means that as a spectator one is invited to be present and to be really there. From the start we were asked to switch off mobile phones and not to take any photo’s to distract the actor.
We arrived and were instructed to stand behind a green line. Then in batches of seven or eight we were invited one by one to slowly walk the gravel path that leads to the ruined chapel in the centre of the cemetery. Lining the path from top to bottom were the choir draped in whote robes.
Our walk along the path was accompanied by choral singing, chanting and reciting imitations of animal noises. It was enchanting and at moments haunting.
I liked the fact we had to walk on our own without speaking even though the woman behind me overtook me and walked briskly forward overtaking several others. Her fast walking, despite being invited to slow it down reminded of a conversation in a DVD I watched last week entitled The Way where a father (Martin Sheen) is walking the pilgrimage of The Camino de Santiago, a Catholic pilgrimage route to the Catholic cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain following the death of his son whilst walking the pilgrimage. One of Sheen’s companions along the way comments that he is walking so fast he is missing everything.
I won’t go into everything about the Biped Monitor production, lets’ just say it was haunting, evocative and bizarre in places and I am still unsure about what I was watching. But it was captivating and a sensual experience to watch dusk fall and to see the actors shadows lengthen against the backdrop of the walls of the chapel ruins. The light was superb as dusk fell. I just wished we had been allowed to use our camera’s more at that point (I did steal a few shots, albeit on the iphone, not very good though) towards the end).
Following the performance what I really connected with is the value and the importance of slowing down. The mindful walk along the gravel path at the start of the performance reminded me of how many times during my day I could do with slowing myself right down, taking a breath and becoming more mindful. So many of my coaching conversations are about slowing down. Of making time to breathe and smell the roses as a way of really fine tuning our awareness and capacity to make better, more informed choices rather than rush to make quick and hasty decisions that have not been thought through.
Yesterday morning on my way to a coaching session in central London I was shoved several times by individuals whose whole bodies were contorted signaling a non-verbal message, “Get out of my way. I’m in a hurry.” I kept stopping noticing and breathing and using each moment to return if even for a few seconds into my own body.
My creative adventures this week has made me remember how important it is to make this time to feed my own creativity and what it does for the thinking quality of my own thoughts and how this enables me to deepen into my work as a coach and a writer on many levels in a way that makes me more alive and helps me create work and words that have meaning.
I plan to create an Autumn/Winter 2013 Creativity Curriculum Class for the next six months to continue this creative input. I have an eclectic taste culturally so I am open to being fed creatively from many sources.
Why not join me by creating your own CCC. I will be posting more events as I complete between now and December 2013.
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Friday, August 2nd, 2013
My creative adventure on Tuesday evening took me across the river from South to North to the Hampstead area of London.
I had signed up for another School Of Life event: Drinks with Virginia Woolf.
The rain held off and the sun wavered in and out of the clouds as around 70 gathered to hear a collection of interesting facts and stories about the writer Virginia Woolf.
I am no great reader of Woolf’s work but her name pops up everywhere in literary circles and is often a common quote in books on creative writing.
I have on several occasions written about the need for one’s own space something that I feel strongly about and live by inspired by the title of one of her books: A Room Of One’s Own.
The School of Life continue to take learning outside of the usual class room environment and take it out into the natural world in a way that to me is engaging and stimulating.
So our setting for the evening was amongst the stunning grounds of Fenton House a historic gem tucked away in the lush and lavish, leafy lanes of Hampstead.
The air of money hangs in the air as you pace yourself up steep hill towards Fenton House passing the former homes of the likes such as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. This was the house and garden that was recently featured in the excellent BBC drama series, Dancing On The Edge a true story about a black Jazz band in London in the early 30’s.
Fenton House is a 17th century Merchants house with a walled garden which includes a rose and vegetables garden and a delightful Apple orchard. Plenty of time was given to roaming the gardens whilst having conversations revolving around themes emerging from Woolf’s work.
Alexandra Harris, author of Virginia Woolf, passionately presented the evening. I really enjoyed the way in which she shared some great stories and lesser, known facts about Woolf, her work and her writing. For example many photographs of Virginia Woolf are often showing her rather grim faced when in fact Woolf had at times a real love of life.
In one particular photograph Woolf is getting ready to go for a walk and has an appointment and needs to get out of the house. Perhaps this is reflected in the seriousness and purposefulness in her look.
I came away really keen to read more of Woolf’s work based on a more intimate understand of her and her writing.
Find out more about the School Of Life and their series of Nights Out events and other classroom and sermon activities: http://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/eurekatouroflondon-912/
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