Backyard to the Universe
Small Group Ministries
EXTERNALIZING, OR CREATING SPACE
Opening Words:
I can tell the story, the real way it happened!
But wait. What happens if you see things differently? What happens if my true story is not your true story?
Why should I doubt? I was there! I know what was going on.But wait. If you tell a different true story, does that make me a bad story teller, or just a story teller with a different perspective?
I know what the real story is. And I know why it happened and what it all means.
But wait. Maybe we could tell this story together…..and move it to another dimension.
Check-in: How are you today? What is going well? What are your challenges?
Topic/Activity: Guided imagery.
Find a comfortable position. Take a moment to center yourself, being aware of your breathing.
[Read slowly, pausing after each set of questions.]
You have just come home from an event that involved at least one other person in some aspect of religious education. This can be a positive event or have a negative tone.
Envision yourself doing a replay of the event or situation for a stranger.
Define the event or situation.
What was the setting? What was the atmosphere in the setting?
Who was involved? What was their role?
How were you involved? What was your role?
Slowly review what took place during the event or situation.
What questions does the stranger ask about the event or situation?
How did the situation or event end?
As you slowly move away from the vision and leave the stranger, what emotions do you feel?
If they are positive, what makes them positive? If they are negative, what makes them negative?
Return to this time and place. When you have returned, look up.
Share insights that came from the imagery. How do you make space so that you can see a situation from a different perspective?
Are you by nature more optimistic, or more pessimistic? How does this color the perception of situations?
What impact does your perspective have on the outcome?
How would you change your perspective to enhance an outcome?
Closing words:
"At some point in your life, you probably felt that life would be better if only "they" would change....But here's the rub: even if they all changed, you’d still be the same. Any real change must be in you, not in them. If you consider how difficult it is to change you, what real chance do you have of changing anyone else? Change, which is central to transformation, takes place in you and through you." SoulTypes, Robert Norton, Richard Southern, Jossey-Bass, 2004, p.105.
Likes and Wishes: How was this session for you?