How to Use this Material.indd

							Teaching/Learning Communities:
How to Use This Material
                     by Tricia Webster www.triciawebster.com

Introduction: Working with Community and Content

Your Teaching / Learning Community may take many forms and include many different rela-
tionships: family, friends, colleagues, students, clients, parishioners, and so forth. As the im-
pact of the teaching and experiential processes provided on this site can be made either trivial
or profound, it is crucial that the sacred intention of the group and its members be clear from
the beginning. The group should consist only of those who freely choose to participate and
who feel strongly motivated to do so. In general, the experiences should be undertaken by
intelligent, resourceful people who are mature enough to have had sufficient life experience
to appreciate the psychological and spiritual scope of the deep work they will be invited to
participate in.

A note of caution must be added here. Some of these exercises are physically and psychically
demanding. General good health may be considered a prerequisite, especially when undergo-
ing processes designed to restructure -- at times to jump start -- and rebuild the body’s subtle
energy systems. You should exercise caution in doing these exercises in order not to exceed
your own natural limits and physical capacity. Sometimes less is more. The ancient magis pre-
ferred the teaching methods of passing on sacred traditions directly from teacher to student
so that should problems arise, they could be circumvented. This is why a supportive commu-
nity of attentive companions is invaluable.

People in community stimulate, support and evoke each other’s highest qualities. Working
in groups also helps eradicate one of the worst ills that afflicts homo sapiens: the tyranny of
the dominant perception. Having companions helps us to see that our different beliefs and
perspectives are enriching. As we recognize the enormous variety and richness of the realm of
the sacred in others, we stand in awe before the abundance of life. Working with a Teaching/
Learning Community also helps us bypass another insidious human failing --- the potential
for sloth. Self-discipline and good intentions have a way of evaporating without some consis-
tent external commitment.

And there’s a third important consideration. We live in a critical time in Earth’s history;
never has the ultimatum Grow or Die threatened us more. Working in groups creates
transformational synergy that we can travel in faster and deeper together than we can travel
alone. Through the evocation of one another we expand the base of our concern, developing
an enhanced relationship to our planet, and intensifying our recognition of its needs as well
as our willingness to respond creatively to those needs.

Thus, in working with a group, we should try to involve people who, in their faith in the
future of humanity and the planet, are willing to work together with constancy and caring to
develop and extend the presence of the sacred in daily life. Narcissists, psychic exhibitionists,
and “poor me’s” may offer more challenge and distraction than you need.
The Organization of the Group
Your group of co-voyagers should probably number not fewer than five, nor more than
twenty-five. It is helpful if there are an uneven number of participants, since some of the ex-
periences are performed in pairs, while one member of the group acts as guide.

At its initial meeting the group should assign members to take responsibility for obtaining
and preparing the setting or settings for each of gathering. This includes providing appro-
priate music and tape or CD players, art supplies, musical instruments and other materials,
as well as bringing food, beautifying the space, etc. During the sessions there should be no
intruders -- wandering dogs, curious children, ringing telephones. The setting is to be treated
as sacred space.

The Guide
The role of the guide is critical. This individual will orchestrate the reading, music and
timing of exercises. This role may be held continuously by one person, or it may alternate
among the members of the community. In a Teaching/Learning Community, rotating the role
of guide can be a wonderful experience for all.

In any case, the guide needs to be thoroughly familiar with the material, attentive to the tim-
ing of the group, and respectful of the experience of everyone in the group. The guide is not
to interpret the experience of others but rather to trust the process and the enormous individ-
ual variations that are possible. The group of co-journeyers must avoid the error that guide
equals leader. The job of the guide is to be understood by everyone as one who assists, who
enables.

The role of guide is an ancient one. It reached one of its most accomplished forms in the role
of the hierophant (sacred observer and revealer) of the ancient mysteries. In this tradition the
guide is the midwife of the soul, the evocator of growth and transformation. This means that
whoever plays the role of guide invests it with High Self.

The guide needs to have the capacity to be both a part of the experience and an observer of
the journey of the other travelers. In addition, the scripts and suggested events described here
are not cast in stone. They would gain much from any suggestions and additions of the group
and the guide.

Guides need to have read the process material aloud several times to themselves before the
group meeting, sensing the nature of the journey and allowing their voice and timing to
reflect that experience. The voice must not be intrusive, yet it must remain clear and in rela-
tion to the experience. Wherever music is called for, the guide must rehearse with the music
in order to integrate voice, sound, and timing of the process, always knowing, however, that
timing can shift according to the needs and experience of the group.

The guide may also want to have one or more “soul catchers” present. These are members
of the group selected because of their capacity to be sensitive to the needs of others. Thus
even while going through the experiences themselves, they will have a part of their conscious-
ness available to help others should this be required. It must be stated, however, that part of
helping others may be in knowing when to leave them alone and not intrude unnecessarily
on their experiences. Guides who have not made the journey solo may enjoy having a soul
catcher guide them through the experience once the group journey has ended.

Treading Gently
In working with this material, it is most important that members of the group refrain from
acting as therapists or theologians. Professional therapists and theologians may find this very
difficult, but it is imperative that they practice their profession only during regular working
hours.

Comments often heard, despite repeated pleas to refrain from making them, have included,
“You really are blocked,” ‘’I can see some enormous anger stored up there,’’ and even “You
clearly are spiritually immature.’’ Such remarks are inappropriate here, even if they seem ac-
curate and you intend them to be helpful. Accepting people for who and where they are in
the present moment is critical to the practice of sacred psychology. Each person is perfectly
capable of interpreting his or her own experience and can invite the comments of others if
desired.

One of the great advantages of sacred psychology is that it invites the participant to move
into high witness, to tap into forgotten wisdom, and to practice non-obtrusive spiritual in-
timacy with others. One is always in a place to see the other as God-in-hiding, and to be so
seen oneself.

Many of the processes given offered on this site allow for the practice of a deep empathy.
This connection can be maintained in a variety of ways -- the gentle holding of your partner’s
hand while she or he is describing an experience or reflections; eye-to-eye contact whenever
appropriate; and above all, careful and compassionate listening, knowing when to speak out
of your deepest wisdom, and when to maintain silence, communicating understanding and
respect through your eyes or gestures alone.

Sharing the powerful experiences and reflections that emerge from the processes we offer
on this site, especially when done by a group, requires people to enter into a state of mutual
trust. Be very careful not to overstep anyone’s boundaries. And please refrain from interpret-
ing someone else’s experience, or from offering advice. Also, after the sharing it’s often a
good and satisfying thing to express words of appreciation to each other for the sharing and
the trust given. One might say, for example, ‘’I’m honored that you shared your experience so
deeply with me.’’

Please, please, keep in mind that there is no such thing as doing any exercise wrong. This is
a journey of the soul. Each person will have his or her unique way of approaching it. In fact,
whenever possible, CHEAT! Do the exercise differently, or add other ideas or images or ac-
tions to enhance your process. And whatever else you do, throw self-criticism away. For one
thing, it’s not the style of the gods you’re invoking.

Scaling Material Up and Down in Size

        The material provided each month will typically amount to a full day’s time to explore
and experience, given some variation due to group size. For some, a full day experience may
feel too compact and intense, particularly if this type of work is new to them. Others have
found the condensed sequence to be extremely powerful. It can also easily be experienced
with four, two-hour sessions, or with two, half-day sessions. If you wish to expand on the
material provided, you can find many companion exercises in Jean Houston’s work (see Re-
sources).




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