Instructor Retreat- the aftermath

May 12, 2012

By Andrea Carter



The 2012 Instructor Retreat set sail on Carnival Cruise Line named "Inspiration" and it was more than Inspiring - it was heart, soul, and true connection.  The premise was to get as many of our Instructors to one place to work on ourselves, come together as a group, and create a space for acceptance and nurturing of our talent.  If I could bottle what we created together at this retreat and pass it out to everyone in our matrix we would never feel alone.

The cruise began with a meet & greet where Karla Kadlec, (one of the most creative Instructors I know), graciously took us through icebreaker exercises.  It was fun and quirky and really opened the space for our connection to begin.  The last exercise Karla Kadlec and Beth Sampson helped me formulate hours before running it, connecting from the heart by gazing into the eyes of each person who was coming into the sacred space we were creating.  Instead of feeling awkward or shy or judged, each person really was seen and nurtured in the initial meet & greet. 

Our second day we frolicked in the morning on Catalina Island, enjoying the beautiful coffee shops and connecting with people in a very casual way.  We then moved into Gilly Adkins work - Intimate Connections - where it opened the heart connection for us to feel safe yet vulnerable, open and honest.  It enabled us to look at our wounds, to share our feelings and truly look at how supporting each other is not just a necessity, its crucial for our development.

The third day, we were at Ensenada, Mexico and were able to explore in the morning as well.  When we came together, Lasha Watson, took us through a brilliant breakthrough session.  Exposing the belief of "I'm dying" and how it ripples through our matrix as individuals and as our whole.  It was very powerful, and it definitely brought forth conflict in the mind - demonstrating how our underlying beliefs anchor us into trying to justify how we are behaving.  Lasha also presented a FreeFall concept, whereby everyone in the group was enabled to reach that pure freedom.  From there we ventured into the materials that Amanda Rollefstad, Mel Buzek and I have been working on to standardize our Access courses.  We were thrilled with the groups response and the comments that were brought forth.  The group has also taken it upon themselves to help us out by submitting their feedback electronically - and some have even mailed me their written copies!~  What a blessing to have Instructors work together as a team that will benefit us as a whole!

Our last day together was one in which we all felt the shifts dramatically.  After doing a lot of work with MindScape techniques on my end and seeing the changes that occur with constellation work, I thought combining them would be a wonderful way to address our whole matrix.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Constellations, it essentially is a 3 dimensional group process.  Each individual present, takes on the energy of another person that makes up the matrix.  What I've learned in my own studies is that working with constellations can heal deep wounds - often in families, children will sacrifice their own best interests in attempts to ease the suffering of a parent of another family member.   I was fortunate to have Jeanette Belivaqua to consult with prior to the session just to get her feedback on our whole idea and I was extremely happy for her advice as some of her comments were very critical to our shifts - Thank you Jeanette for your input!

What transpired was that we spent the whole morning - all 3 hours - just working on the constellation.  It was more than powerful, and we look forward to seeing how the whole constellation exercise takes shape and ripples through the matrix.  I pondered for a long time writing it all out, however because of the intimacy of the group and the trust and bond that was formed in the session, the details will remain within the group dynamic.  We really look forward to doing a constellation in 2 years time though for our next Instructors Retreat!  Hopefully more of our Instructor Body will be able to participate next time!

After everyone regrouped from the constellation, we took some time to do individual sessions on our personal interpretations and our attachments to the constellation.  This was also powerful because it gave each individual the opportunity to also process their own beliefs about it.  It also gave each one of us the ability to take personal responsibility for our own feelings.

Once we finished sessions, we then moved into MindScape.  I led the group in addressing our underlying attachments and we worked on some deep healing of what is holding us back as individuals.  We also did a quick dabble in forgiveness for our Matrix as a whole. 

Mel Buzek then led us through the high demands and necessity for compassion for our IBA group as a whole - AND the necessity for professionalism to become more of our focus.  We are currently working on updating the standards and code of ethics, and the realization that our public needs this has never been more evident.

I feel humbled and so blessed by the Instructors who came and made this a priority, because we feel things within our Instructor body as a whole - we are not separate - everything each one of us does affects the other.  We can make a difference and on this cruise we all felt that.  The work that was done will affect the whole dynamic, and we look forward to the next one in 2014.  Karla Kadlec recently emailed and mentioned that we did our first retreat on the sea, representing the water element - perhaps the next one should take on the energy of fire - Sedona anyone?

In warmth,

Andrea Carter

Certified MindScape & BodyTalk Instructor

 

 

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