Second in being supporters and guides on trekking the pathway of ---
“Leaning In, Telling The Truth Or Taking The Dare,” a cornerstone of our small “zones of peace” building efforts. (Taking the "dare," at New Horizons could mean inviting back whatever consequences come of not telling the truth in our GAME. The term is also used to simply mean "taking the dare" to tell the truth and/or hear the truth of others.)
In other words follow our lead, if getting out of chaos is something you want! And have the courage and determination to go after.
Based on Mahtma Gandhi’s words of wisdom –
“We do best to begin carving out territories or zones of peace in our personal relations where violence and deceit won’t be used.”How does one manage such an ambitious task?
At New Horizons, we are taking our next steps with our Truth Or Dare GAME, now being played monthly, with bi-weekly GAME Support Groups, intent on telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to one another in the service of clearing away the chaos and clutter in our minds, our actions and in our lives, in general, as one BIG step forward to obtaining what we are after.
“Telling the truth about what,” you ask?
Answer: Anything and everything that is outside of peace, unity and beauty, believing that speaking truth to power and truth, in general, is a vital life pathway.
For example – Anastasia noticed during our individual support group check-ins, having known Board Member A for close to thirty years, that Board Member A, who is inclined to slip into “victim thinking” and convince herself of her absolute rightness, was in IT again.
In this mode, Board Member A, in the past, has used her victim thinking to do emotional violence to others while justifying her bouts of acting out that have driven family members from her, repeatedly, pushing Anastasia away, too, on occasion.
Anastasia, by agreement with the group and according to our methodology, confronted Board Member A on this chaos-creating of hers.
Our Truth Squad process was now in action, in a dialogue, not a debate.
(How good that is; non-defensive communication, at its best!)
Candid discussion with Board Member A, listening, non-defensively (OMG! How great!), quickly led to Board Member A to recognizing how she needed, seriously, to give up her victim position in the situation she had been speaking of and just as rapidly moving her to report a new way she thought she could approach the incident.
Of course, be aware, Board Member A has been playing the New Horizons GAME, now, for close to forty years. That's how she could move so rapidly with the process!
By Support Group wrap-up time, Board Member A was the recipient of piled on heaps of praise for the new mental clarity she had demonstrated and appreciation for her “open-to-learning” engagement with the group,. She had also garnered a collective show of support for her courage in facing challenges.
Imagine an episode in Congress turning out this way!
Notice in this scenario --- the leaning in, the truth-telling and the facing of the “dare” that went with Board Member A needing to see somethings that had escaped her conscious mind, on its own.
Yesterday, today and likely tomorrow Board Member A seems, now, to be in a position to parent her adolescent children a bit more effectively. She also is taking next steps in beginning to role model healthier social conduct ways for them than formerly that serve, not only her family, but the community around them.
(Letters are used here to identify Truth Squad/Board Members to preserve anonymity.)
Board Member B, known for consistently taking on an active leadership role in our organization, without asking much for herself, made several requests for support she is presently needing, revealing, truthfully, parts of her inner self, not generally exposed.
One of her immediate rewards was the acknowledgement, by others, of how graciously she was able to demonstrate strength while also being vulnerable.
Board Member C, a recently widowed mother of four adult children, found herself delving into problems she is presently addressing with their treating her disrespectfully since her husband passed away.
Out of her discussions with our Truth Squad, she came to realize, happily, that she is now the one in the family to be exhibiting a strong "Rebellious Child," going on strike and refusing to be around them, in response to their abusive behaviors.
“No way, said Board Member C, am I going to be around them if they mistreat me and do not quickly get on board with apologizing and making amends.
As a New Horizons Board Member I am pledged to allow no subtle, or not subtle abuse in my life!
Period!"
We, the other members of New Horizons Truth Squad, said --
“Right on, Grandma. Rebelliousness has its time and place!”
She is the grandma of eight!
Grandma is now turning the table on her disrespectful grown kids, most appropriately for the circumstance!
What fine role modeling by Grandma, a way to take action and move out of chaos.
Do you recognize the building blocks of exceptional community here and its effectiveness in aiding the individual and the group to move out of chaos?
Check out our Spectrum Of Love Attributes inventory link and check off the many ways our Truth Squad is bringing them alive.
Leaning in and truth telling are at the top of our list!
These examples might seem like small potatoes to you.
But, ask yourself, how often do you and the others in your life address troublesome issues as readily and successfully as the New Horizons Truth Squad has done?
Some of us have been doing this level of support and personal respond-ability and growth together for close to thirty years!
What we have helped one another do, over these many years, is the antithesis of the old saying –
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.” Unknown
We do not do nothing, at New Horizons!
We do not enable evil/Dark to succeed!
We do have a well-developed methodology for transforming it, instead!
(Visit Anastasia's Exploring Your Dark Side: The Adventure Of A Lifetime blog site to help you with this challenging of Dark/evil, take a tour of it, find a starting place to dig in and expect to succeed, if you are willing, determined and courage enough to take up the tasks suggested.)
For more than forty years, programs such as our Truth Or Dare GAME, have helped participants separate Dark/evil from Light and learn how to put the good ahead of the not good, even saving a few lives, along the way.
We are proud and grateful for this acclaim!
Now we at New Horizons are so happy that, for the first time in more than a decade and one-half, we are starting off the year, energetically, involved in playing our Truth Or Dare GAME, once more!
What this means for us, on the personal level is …..
Yes, of course, we each have a deep level of personal motivation for investigating places in our lives that are cluttered with misunderstandings, lack of ease and obstructions to our being and living at our highest capacities.
Yes, once again, as our Game, formerly the Discount Derby, is revitalized, we are turning to one another in our "New Horizons Support Network" to help each other clear away areas where our not seeing or minimizing what we have either not been looking at or not giving ample due is interfering with more appropriate efforts, to the good, in ourselves, in our families and other close relationships.
(Discount means – to minimize or ignore aspects of self, others and solving problems.
The concept derives, psychologically, from the theories and clinical treatment strategies of Transactional Analysis (TA)).
New Horizons Executive Director and Founder, Anastasia Rosen-Jones is a Certified Transactional Analyst, circa 1981.)
The concept derives, psychologically, from the theories and clinical treatment strategies of Transactional Analysis (TA)).
New Horizons Executive Director and Founder, Anastasia Rosen-Jones is a Certified Transactional Analyst, circa 1981.)
Each of us, of necessity, is our own starting place, taking next steps out of the chaos in our personal lives that has often, or occasionally, submerged the joy and well-being of past years, especially as we have experienced it in our national chaos.
On the collective level -- We are taking a fresh look at that which surrounds us, in upheaval and chaos, including look at the impact the present proliferation of lies is having on us, personally and collectively.
How can we help alter this – the evil we see around us that left undealt with continues to fester?
Every day we are seeking answers and solutions.
We want out of the chaos!
And we are intent on doing whatever we can to abate it!
Leaning in, telling the truth or daring to, somehow, to employ whatever will effectively go against this darkness is what we are after!
We hope you will join us!
This, leaning in, telling the truth and taking dares, when needed, is what it means, to us, to build small “zones of peace.”
Again, we wish you a Happy New Year, 2019!
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