Heart and Soul - What is Inner Transition? - 14 March

Over the last couple of months I have had several people come up to me and ask 'What is Transition Heart and Soul?' (or, as it's increasingly referred to - Inner Transition?) This is an opportunity to explore this question afresh and create how we can manifest this here in Norwich.

Some new inspiring thoughts have been film nights, deepening earth connection times and more.......some fresh and new ideas - budding shoots. So do come explore with me and also bless my new space in the heart of Norwich with YOU. Comfy chairs, peace and quiet and bountiful refreshment.

Looking forward to being with you. Naomi Duffield

Monday 14th March at 7.30pm, 86 St Benedict's Street* (new Mangreen space - next to computer shop, opposite Leigh keys, Grapes Hill end of St Benedict's Street)

Dragon Dreaming workshop - 18-20 February

A living systems approach to building projects and organisations for the Great Turning

We've got a lovely group together for this weekend workshop, and it promises to be a very enriching and sustaining time. There are still places left if you would like to join us at this late stage. If you're coming from out of town, we may be able to help with arranging accommodation.

John Croft, the facilitator for the weekend, describes Dragon Dreaming as "a way of making our dreams come true by running outrageously successful and transformative projects". The underlying purpose of this approach is about helping us maximise our creative potential on a scale never attempted before so that we can fully play our part in "the Great Turning".

The workshop will use movement, dance, painting, singing, experiential exercises and meditation practice. We will explore how to release the power of our ecological self and listen to the Dream of the Earth calling us forth to understand who we really are in the web of life.

John has trained with Joanna Macy and draws upon the experience of the Australian Gaia Foundation, indigenous Australian Aboriginal wisdom and twenty years experience of community building and teaching within the deep ecology paradigm.

Cost & booking
Cost: sliding scale between £95 and £190 (not including lunch) - please pay what you can.
Booking: Please email Tully below and send cheque payable to Transition Norwich with contact details to: Dragon Dreaming, c/o Contemplative Forum, United Reformed Church, Princes Street Norwich NR3 1AZ

7.30-9.30pm Fri 18th, 9 to 5 Sat 19th and 9 to 4pm Sun 20th February 2011

Further information
www.contemplativeforum.org/dragon-dreaming
tully@transitionnorwich.org

Dragon Dreaming - book your place now!

A living systems approach to building projects and organisations for the Great Turning

Dragon Dreaming is a way of making our dreams come true by running outrageously successful and transformative projects, as together we seek to maximise our creative potential on a scale never attempted before. Learn how to release the power of your ecological self and listen to the Dream of the Earth calling us forth to understand who we really are in the web of life.

Facilitated by John Croft, the workshop will use movement, dance, painting, singing, experiential exercises and meditation practice. John has trained with Joanna Macy and draws upon the experience of the Australian Gaia Foundation, indigenous Australian Aboriginal wisdom and twenty years experience of community building and teaching within the deep ecology paradigm.

Cost & booking

Cost: sliding scale between £95 and £190 (not including lunch) - please pay what you can.

Booking deadline: January 21st. Please send cheque payable to Transition Norwich with contact details to:

Dragon Dreaming
c/o Contemplative Forum
United Reformed Church
Princes Street
Norwich NR3 1AZ

7.30-9.30pm Fri 18th, 9 to 5 Sat and 9 to 4pm Sun 20th February 2011

Further information

www.contemplativeforum.org/dragon-dreaming
tully@transitionnorwich.org

RELATED EVENT: Be The Change Symposium - 7 November

A profound inquiry into how we might realise a bold vision: How to create an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling human presence on Earth. If you are ready to be disturbed, inspired and moved to action – with like-minded & hearted, deeply committed people please come. Bernadette Ryder will facilitate the day. She was one of the first Europeans to train with the Pachamama Alliance to bring the symposium to the UK and is now one of the UKs leading trainers. More info at http://in-rhythm.com/

Suggested donation £25 - £35 You are very welcome to turn up on the day with lunch to share although we would prefer if you could let us know: 01603 614460 http://www.blogger.com/training@transitionnorwich.org

Be The Change is at Inner Space, Maud Gray Court, St Benedict's St, Norwich. 11am-5.30pm.

Heart and Soul - The Power of Contemporary Spirituality - 11 October

The 'inner work' needed to support the transition to a more sustainable and earth-centred lifestyle is, of course, being pioneered by many beyond Transition and our Heart & Soul network. At a recent Pulse Group meeting, we took the decision to seek out partners and to initiate collaborative projects and events.

Our first collaboration is with Mangreen Trust – a Norwich-based centre for spiritual exploration and healing – who are hosting a talk by William Bloom of the Foundation for Holistic Spirituality.

William is one of the UK’s leading holistic educators and a renowned mind-body-spirit teacher. He will speaking on the theme: The Power of Contemporary Spirituality as a Practical and Holistic Approach to Developing Ourselves and Transforming our World.

His work, and that of the Foundation, is premised on the understanding that there is an emerging spirituality that is inclusive of all spiritual paths, both faith and non-faith. It is a movement that recognises there are many people without a formal voice who, through their living, are upholding certain core principles and values. These values include a recognition of our need to protect the health and sustainability of the natural environment for future generations.

William is a champion of this growing approach to spirituality, and an inspirational speaker who provides his audience with both new insights and practical tools for spiritual development. (Naomi Duffield/Heart and Soul)

When: 7-9pm, Monday 11th October Cost: £6 (special discount rate for Transitioners - full fee £10) Where: Mangreen Hall, Swardeston, Norwich NR14 8DD Contact: Naomi Duffield on 01508 570444 / trust@mangreen.co.uk Website: http://www.mangreen.co.uk/

The Eye of the Beholder - Heart & Soul meeting - 9 August

Heart and Soul Meeting: Monday 9th August at Mangreen Hall, Nr Swardeston, NR14 8DD

A time of being together in the sacred beauty of Mangreen, sharing communion with the land, each other and with Gaia. Bring food to share starting from 6.30pm. William Duffield will lead us through a tree prayer dance, a meditation and contemplative time in the Light Centre. The theme will be exploring how our ability to perceive outer beauty is intimately connected with our inner wellbeing.

Contact: William 01508 570444.

Heart and Soul - Process Work - 26/27 June

We had a very interesting meeting with Alex in May exploring the theme of ‘home’ in relation to Transition. There was a common thread of longing for a destination that we never seem to quite reach, and at the same time a collective wisdom that what we seek is not ‘out there’ but in the here and now of every moment. A curious paradox.

Do come and join us for our meeting with Helen Wells on Process Work, the Earth and our Shared Experience. This will be on Monday 14 June 2010, 7.30 - 9.30pm at the Bicycle Shop Café, upstairs room, 17 St Benedict’s Street. The session will involve practicing inner work (or meditation tools) for connecting to your deepest self and where you are the earth — an introduction to a way of processing world issues.

If you feel inspired by this, you might want to join Helen and Louise Warner for a two-day workshop, later in the month: Life Transitions, World Transitions - Saturday 26th June, 10-6pm and Sunday 27th June, 10-4pm. Based on Process Work developed by Dr. Arnold Mindell - an awareness practice for facilitating individual and collective change rooted in psychology, spirituality and social activism, using movement and image-making. Cost: sliding scale from £120 to £60. Contact: Helen Wells 01603 440047 / heavenwells@mac.com

For a full summer programme check the calendar or contact Liz Day: liz@anniemoxham.wanadoo.co.uk / 01603 456220

Theme Group Meetings - NR3, Heart and Soul, Resilience Plan - 8 and 12 April

NR3 are now meeting regularly again and the next meeting is a Seed Swap at Greta's house near the Whalebone pub on Monday April 12th at 7p.m. If you want to come then email helenofnorwich@hotmail.com

The last few meetings have mostly been lively discussion with some interesting input from two artists who are both setting up temporary residence in St Augustine's street. One of these artists Karen Steadman is promoting "Paint The Town Green" - an art project which aims to transform neglected spaces into stunning virtual community gardens. More details on this are available at www.artoftheordinary-steady.blogspot.com or contact Karen on 0770 848 5998

Heart and Soul A new programme of Heart & Soul meetings is kicking off this month – these will take place on the second Monday of each month, 7.30pm to 9.30pm in the upstairs meeting room at the Bicycle Shop Café, 17 St Benedict’s Street (01603 625777). Our first meeting on April 12 is on Inner Resilience, facilitated by Naomi Duffield.

How do you maintain inner stability in times of external change? What does it take to switch from consumer based values to more sustainable ones? What does it take to keep motivated? This will be a listening space, rather than a teaching session - all welcome. Contact: trust@mangreen.co.uk

Our Resilience Plan is gradually taking shape, with visions for the future supported by plenty of facts, figures and practical plans. We're planning to publish a first draft during April for everyone to see. As part of the Resilience Plan, we're launching our Millennium Babies project, to chart the progress of children born in the Millennium year. They will come of age in 2018 - what will the future hold for them? We're hoping to work with every school in Norwich to capture the visions of 10 year-olds and their ideas in shaping the future for a resilient Norwich.

Our first step will be a photocall with the BBC on Tuesday 13 April, so if there's a Millennium Baby in your family, do contact us asap if you'd like to be involved. More details of this exciting project to follow in the next bulletin! Contact: Jane Chittenden jane@janechittenden.co.uk or Tom Harper tomharper@ekit.com (Jane Chittenden)

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)