Hi Trainers!
Here are some of the resources I want to share with you all.Ā Please reach out if you have any questions.
Peace, joy, creative hearts,
Anne Marie
training handout Autograph Treasure Hunt
(Click link above for the autograph sheet handout) Feel free to change the search items to anything you want!
I give the group about 5 minutes to look through the search items and see if they have any from their own decks and they lay them out in front of them.
Then be sure to offer some guidelines about not just collecting autographs and moving on but on making a connection with the person about their card…etc.Ā ALSO… very important… give them some examples of how to respond to others’ cards besides “That’s beautiful.”Ā Stress that it’s all about MAKING A CONNECTION with someone.Ā It’s not a contest! No prizes, just the excitement and satisfaction of seeing other peoples’ cards.
Then half of the group goes over to the other half and starts looking at peoples’ cards and getting autographs.
After 15 minutes (or whatever time you have), the groups switch.
At the end, if you can, allow 5-10 minutes for a free-for-all where anyone can go anywhere, including the Trainer’s deck.
Fun for all!
Agenda
FYI- here is the agenda that I use for the Training. It took lots of trial and error to get this “right.”
PS In the blank space of the upper right corner of the agenda, I place a 3″ sticker (easily created on Zazzle.com) using the SoulCollage Facilitator logo
inner journey script- indra’s net
(Click link above for the script) I use this, or a variation on this, after a short talk about Indra’s Net, so they can experience it in a visual, inner, more real way.Ā Feel free to use this however you want (just please don’t give them the script).
After the inner journey, they have time to briefly journal on their own about it.
Then I show pieces of the Seena Frost Memorial video as follows:
00:00 – 3:00 – Intro in Seena’s voice
10:06 – 17:12 – History of SoulCollage, Seena’s journal (Kylea and Jim)
20:21 – 21:42 – Kylea/whale cloud
37:55 – 41:06 – Seena’s voice/images at her final Training
49:51 – 51:15 – Seena’s voice and her cards
52:21 – 56:00 –Ā Miss Ann Thrope and clowning around
After that, they put their jewels on our Indra’s Net.
Then I give them each a little jewelry box with a large acrylic colored “Gem” inside. I got the gems on Amazon here.Ā THANK YOU TO KAT KIRBY FOR THIS IDEA!!!Ā And I put a label on the outside of the box with this quote from Seena;
We are all jewels in Indra’s Net,
reflecting each other’s light
a thousand-fold.
Thank you, Seena Frost!
When talking about Facilitating, I always try to make these points:
a.The word “facilitate” comes from the French word “facile” which means to make easy
and this is what facilitating SoulCollage is all about… making the process easy for those who come to us. It’s very different from teaching which is more left-brain, didactic…etc.
b. We are to be the “guide on the side, not the sage on the stage.”
c. Before speaking or answering a question when leading a workshop or sharing SoulCollage in some other way, always use this acronym; W.A.I.T.Ā which stands for
Why Am I Talking?Ā (this is another good twist on “Who is it for?”) and usually makes people laugh.
Good discussion starter for limiting what and how much we share in a workshop, especially about our personal stories.
Workshop About Workshops
I allow a 2.5 hour slot of time to give a workshop on giving workshops. This is OPTIONAL but everyone usually attends anyway.
Before they come in, I have the room set up as if I were doing an Intro to SoulCollage workshop. I have one table of people images set up near the door, and one table of backgrounds on the other side of the room.Ā There are glue sticks, scissors, frames, and mat boards on each table, as well as pieces of lined paper and pens. Soft music playing. My “Welcome to SoulCollage” table easel up and in full view…etc.
I greet them at the door as if I don’t know them… “Hi, welcome to our SoulCollage workshop, I’m Anne Marie, so glad you’ve joined us today.” I invite them in to the room and ask them to choose 2-3 images from the people table on their way in. “Just sift through them and pick up the first 2 or 3 that you are drawn to. You don’t need to know what they mean, so don’t worry about that at all.Ā Later, you can come back and take more if you want…”
When they are all in and seated with their images, I introduce myself and do a 5 minute brief overview of the process using my table easel. NOTE: I have .jpg images of all my Intro to SoulCollage easel pages, just email me if you want me to send them to you.
Then I say something like, “What sets SoulCollage apart from other collage processes is that we speak FROM the image instead of ABOUT the image.” I give an example, then invite them to do the same with one of their images.Ā In a smaller group, everyone can do this; in a larger group I have them do it in groups of four at their tables, after saying their name and where they are from. Also offering them the chance to “pass” if they don’t want to do it. (Permission and Protection!)
Then I lead them through the Quick Cards exercise where they each make one card, and then walk them through the first two questions of the basic journaling process:
1, Who are you?
I am the one who…
2, What do you have to give me? or What gift do you bring me today?
The gift I have for you is… or The gift I bring you today is…
Usually, this whole thing (from when they walk in the door til the journaling is done) takes 45 minutes and when I tell them that only 45 minutes have passed, they are SURPRISED and AMAZED and they all indicate that they feel much more confident about actually leading a workshop themselves.
After this discussion about Facilitator Eyes on how the Workshop was facilitated, we move into a left brain discussion about giving workshops using this outline:
1. Why (setting an intention)
2. Who (who is going to come, target audience)
3. Where and when (location, timing)
4. How much (money)
5. What (to bring)
6. How (various agendas and topics etc)
There is lots of discussion and ideas coming from the group as well!
Amazing Things
After the ritual at the very end of the Training, I play the song Amazing Things by Jana Stanfield and invite everyone to hold hands and sing along on the chorus.
As you read the words, I think you’ll see it’s the perfect punctuation mark to close the Training.