Heart & Soul

One of the things that makes the Transition movement unique is its recognition that we need to address our problems spiritually and psychologically as well as practically. Whether at the level of education and awareness, in group and community processes, or through commitment to a spiritual practice, it’s about changing consciousness as well as changing our way of life.

The first Transition Town in Totnes formed a group dedicated to this aspect of the work and they called it ‘Heart and Soul’. Taking our cue from them, we have formed a Heart and Soul group in Norwich. Our purpose is to explore how we can build inner resilience to help us all make the shift from a high-energy consumer lifestyle to a life-sustaining one.

The Norwich group has been meeting since October 2008. During this time we’ve explored what’s important to us in the context of Heart and Soul, and what makes us tick as a loosely-bound community. We’ve had some lively workshops and discussions on a variety of subjects, including Clowning, Authentic Movement, The Work That Reconnects (Joanna Macy), The Dreaming of Norwich, Soulcraft, the Endorphin Effect and Collective Intelligence.

We initially described the group as ‘Heart, Soul, Art, Culture and Wellbeing’ but have now narrowed this down to: anything relating to consciousness, psychology and spirituality. This might include, for example:

• bringing psychological and spiritual awareness to our view of self, community and the natural world.
• reconnecting with nature.
• creating community celebrations, and rituals to mark seasonal and other transitions.
• learning and sharing skills in communication, group process, interpersonal dynamics, and conflict resolution.
• expanding our capacity for presence, stillness, joy, creativity, empowerment, love, and aliveness.

We have formed a small ‘Pulse Group’ who are meeting regularly to help create an enabling structure for Heart & Soul work. We’ve decided that the group should be no more than six, and every 6-12 months we’ll open the membership up to new members.

We would love to hear from you if you would like to run or organise a workshop or if you’d like to join the Pulse Group.

Jo Guthrie - joannaguthrie1@yahoo.co.uk
Liz Day - liz@anniemoxham.wanadoo.co.uk (01603 628892)
Jo Mack - jomack@talktalk.net
Naomi Duffield - trust@mangreen.co.uk

Click the following link for The Story So Far - a narrative put together by a member of the Heart & Soul group, reflecting on the themes and concerns that we explored during our first year.

Click here to view / join the Heart and Soul email discussion group (Google Group)