In Times of Covid
Difficult Conversations
Two years in and it's not over...
Whatever brought you here... I'm glad you've come! I myself have been feeling the desire to be that person who sticks her head in the sand and says "leave me alone" "go away", because I'm tired, tired of yet another horror story; be it Ukraine, food shortage, Geo-engineering, Bio-weapons or the World Economic Forum's attempts to create our future, whatever it is! I'm tired of it! I just want to get on with my life.
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I even thought it's time to move on and finish offering these free, Freedom Friday calls on the second Friday of every month. But I realised I'm wrong the last call showed me that we do need them and so I have decided to continue.
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The overwhelm and powerlessness
that keeps us stuck
In the next calls we might explore some of the following themes"What you are dealing with?" in the aftermath or these two years, "What do you need?" and "What is needed in the face of the situation we are in collectively?" and "Where - if at all- do I sense any uplift that inspires me?"
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I strongly believe that we need to start becoming more tactical. We need to start creating what we need in order to flourish and contribute in ways that enable us to feel a sense of belonging and purpose. There's nothing more powerless than being aware of what's going on and feeling we can't make a difference, that's it's hopeless and that we are alone! This leads to inaction, fatigue and the old story of certain individuals labouring away on their own trying to make a difference. And that leads to burnout!
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In the calls going forward I desire to create space to inquire into these aspects and create various breakout groups so that you have a chance to explore these themes.
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How to stop the gaping abyss between the narratives becoming wider
A problem that I've been aware of since way back, is how the gap between the narratives is becoming wider and wider. I see the same patterns of dismissal from people who have bought into one part of the narrative, yet dismiss another part without a moments hesitation! This is because the gap in knowledge is simply way too big to bridge and this is dangerous. It leads to dismissing people before we've gone to the trouble to understand as it's easier to discredit someone, write them off than being with the ambivalence their message might be causing.
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There are many complex layers of truth and reality within all of this. Having a simple map that helps us navigate the different territories that people find themselves in, is a way to keep the pathways for communication open.
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Building trust, creating space for disagreement, and getting curious...
During times of Covid many people have fallen out with friends and family over issues such as mask mandates, lockdown restrictions and vaccines. This has added to the burden of feeling alone during an already difficult time, when in fact we should be surrounding ourselves with relationships that give us a sense of belonging and safety.
Building trust and navigating difficult conversations is a process of unraveling and understanding where someone is coming from. To do this we need to come from a place of openness and calm. We need to hold a high level of discord without getting triggered, we need to stay open and curious, avoid jumping in and correcting what we perceive as wrong. Coming from a place of wanting to convince someone, is doomed to fail!
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All too often we start judging and blaming one another which simply leads to hardened fronts so that any further attempt at discussion is doomed to fail before the first word's been spoken. But now more than ever, it's important to have strong relationships and repair ruptures in relating.
In these interactive calls you'll get plenty of time to explore where your communication has gone amiss and begin to look at how you can improve it. Communication is a skill we can learn, it takes some practice and effort but it's so worth it, as it enables deeper intimacy and improves all our relationships. I believe, now more than ever, it's important to have strong relationships and repair ruptures in relating.
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These calls are specifically designed around themes relating to Covid and the pandemic. They are designed to give you tools and practice so that you can get through to people.
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What you need to know, before joining the call!!!
These calls are specifically designed around themes relating to Covid and the pandemic. To participate in the calls you'll need to have your cameras on. You won't be accepted if you aren't visible. Once you sign up you'll receive the Zoom link in an email. Please save this mail carefully as you won't receive another. The calls are generally ninety minutes.
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Please log on ten minutes before the call to make sure we can start on time. In order to get the most out of this time together make sure you have ...
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a stable internet connection
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your camera is working and you are visible
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good lighting you can be seen
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a private, undisturbed space so you can participate in the breakout rooms
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a good audio connection
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Sign up for the next Call here
Please read the instructions below before signing up
Every second Friday of the new month at 12:00 UK Time
calls are in collaboration with *Class Action Covid UK's Freedom Friday
Other opportunties to practice and join FREE calls
To join other calls to get support and practice how to communicate in these troubling times please go to Reaching People and sign up to their call list as well. You'll find masses of information on that site and you're welcome to join live Zoom practice sessions that take place on Thursdays at 4.30 GMT
Why Speaking Up & Speaking
Truth to Power is so important!
The interview below is Dan Astin-Gregory (Pandemic Podcast) interviewing Mattias Desmet, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Ghent University in Belgium.
In this interview Professor M. Desmet's speaks of ‘mass formation’ a psychological response not unlike hypnosis. He goes on to elaborate on what triggers and sustains this mass response, where it could ultimately lead us, why a minority somehow manages to remain unaffected, and whether there’s anything we can collectively do to break the spell before it’s too late.
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It turns out that speaking up and speaking truth to power has a major effect even when it seemingly doesn't ;-)
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