Tools for Person Power is a two-part series (attend one or both) exploring two interrelated concepts about our individual and interpersonal dynamics. Join us for this interactive online workshop!
When: June 7 & 14 10:30am-12:00pm PST
Where: Google Hangouts (online)
Cost: Sliding scale (suggested payment $25-50)
Metta takes a broad spectrum approach to nonviolence, often ranging from the broad theoretical context and the “new story” to practical advice for activists, from spiritual practice to social change. In this course our friend and associate Maja Bengtson will be focusing on some of the psychology of the personal and relational self, from a perspective of Nonviolence.
Part 1 (June 7): Dynamics of Personal Integration
In this online workshop, we will explore the inner dynamics of “Integrative Power.” Integrative power has been named by Kenneth Boulding, and can be considered an aspect of what makes nonviolence work: “I will be authentic, and it will bring us closer together.”
At any point in time, we human beings can find ourselves somewhere on a spectrum between Integration and Disintegration. I define Integration as “being in touch with that place inside that anchors me into my belonging”. When we’re not in touch with that place, we experience degrees of Disintegration, with increasing levels of emotional discomfort and intensity, as we move along the spectrum.
We will discuss these concepts, learn to recognize the levels of Disintegration, and explore a range of methods to use towards re-integration.
“Wholeness can be scientifically defined as Integration” – Dan Siegel
Part 2 (June 14): Story of Me – Working with our Personal Narratives
In this online workshop we will look at the places we bump up against ourselves, despite our best efforts, despite all our strategies and all our efforts to do things differently, or even nonviolently.
The workshop will include a brief presentation and discussion on the concept of Narratives – “the stories of who I am” – as well as exercises to help audience articulate some for themselves.
Since narratives form the blueprint of how we see ourselves, we go through life mostly unaware of them and their impact. They create the basis of “normal” , the filter through which we understand and get feedback from the world around us. They become sneaky self-fulfilling prophecies!
The good news is that with some understanding and tools for detecting and re-designing them, and for how to make the new ones stick, we can effectively upgrade our stories to better match current reality.
About Maja
Maja Bengtson has a MA in Counseling Psychology with a Specialization in Conflict Resolution and Organization Development. She has worked with personal development since 1991, including a decade with Nonviolent Communication (NVC). She’s certified as an Integral Coach (TM) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Metta Center for Nonviolence.
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By: Stephanie Steiner
As Director of Education at Metta Center, Stephanie Steiner is also a peace educator and yoga teacher based in San Diego, CA. She earned her MA in Peace Education from the UN-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica, and she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger (2003-2005). Her passion for nonviolence is deeply rooted in her yoga practice, and she aspires to apply nonviolence in all aspects of her life. Stephanie is currently a graduate student at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she’s specializing in Community, Liberation and Ecopsychology.
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