Peace is Our True Nature
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Introduction |
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Overview |
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Workshop Session Plan |
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Key Learning Outcomes |
Introduction
Peace is Our True Nature has been inspired by the awareness that until we find inner harmony we are unable to create outer harmony. Peace as a universal value and directly connects to sustainability in our world. Much of what drives consumption is a belief that generates a need to purchase an item to make one feel more complete or happier. The item will be marketed as connecting to identity, labour saving, prestigious or aesthetic. Living in cities and to a lesser extent towns (villages) provides a context where temptation to purchase goods and services is actively marketed and everywhere advertising is present. This stimulates the demand to have more which impacts on the sustainability of the planet. The imbalance that is generated is what reduces the earths carrying capacity to supply human needs. Moreover, within mindsets of infinite growth, demand is increased in order for marketshare to grow. Thus the economic and natural systems are not in harmony. For nature is interconnected, self regulating and each aspect of nature works efficiently to serve another aspect. Some have described nature as a mechanical system but in truth it is a flow of energy that responds to change through genetic natural selection or extinction. The planet is responding to change through adaptation however give that human induced change is so rapid this is causing earth changes which will adversely affect human survival if humans don’t change.
Thus learning to find peace as our true nature is one of the ways we can learn how to harmonise with what is natural within us in compatiability with nature.
Workshop Focus: The workshop focuses on what is peace and the connection to our true nature. Participants are encouraged to connect to their inner peace and connect with others by smiling, tap on the back and then return to exploring how they feel within. Peace is explored as love and the connections made to materialism as a compensation for love. The workshop looks at fear and personal inquiry to question beliefs. Part 2 of the workshop looks at nature connecting to nature through art, artifacts, the body and awareness. Participants are encouraged to imagine they are nature and sensitising to blocks and flows. They are introduced more to negative and positve thoughts as toxic and unifying and how words change material reality. They go through a process of deeply listening, this of course was the wisdom of the Australian indigenous, not only listening to the spoken word, but listening to ourselves and the life force. The last focus of the workshop is to look at clowning and happiness, to feel happiness as a natural flow.
Target Audience:
Secondary students and community
Duration:
2 hour to 1/2 day workshop
Expected Outcomes:
The outcome of the workshop is to gain a deeper understanding of peace as our true nature and the importance of inner harmony and outer harmony. To understand that love is not an ethereal concept but very integral to how we treat ourselves, others and nature. Participants will learn about fear by truthful self inquiry. They will connect with nature through art, artifacts, mimicking and sensitising to their own bodies as nature and feeling the flow of nature here and now. They will become aware of how our thoughts create either unity or toxic outcomes and to become aware of deeply listening to our nature.
Overview
The workshop is designed to connect our true nature of peace with the natural world. Participants will go through experiential activities which connect them to their inner peace and natural flows. They will raise their awareness of their thoughts, bodies as connected to natural systems. They will learn through experience how to really develop empathy with nature as if it is ourselves. The participants will learn the importance of becoming aware of fear and how it can govern our behaviour and learning to trust in life. They will be given techniques on how to question their thinking for truth. They will become aware of how thoughts create in reality and if they are positive this is unifying and if negative it is toxic. This toxic or negative mindset is what creates the toxic world we are living in. The last part of the workshop is to reconnect with positive feelings through the art of clowning, to disengage with the cognitive mind and reconnect with primal urges of laughter, belonging, unity and fun. When humans feeling a sense of happiness they experience abundance within which is the key to not needing material possessions. True happiness is joy and it comes from within. That is our true nature. Therefore, when we are in harmony with our true nature we are in harmony with the natural systems on the planet.
Workshop Session Plan
- Introduction, guidelines
- Circle introduction
- What is peace
- Visualise peace
- Feeling peace
- Peace is love
- Hug and group
- Peace is letting go of fear
- Personal inquiry
- What is nature
- Visualise nature
- Bowl of water
- Experiencing nature
- Moving like nature
- Controlling nature or free flowing
- Changing nature: negative thoughts
- Concentric circles: nature teaches
- Clowing around
- Dress ups
- Welcome parade
- Funny movements – hands, legs, faces
- Ha ha exercise
- Massage
- Debriefing
Key Learning Outcomes
- To understand that inner peace is integral to harmonising with the natural systems.
- To become aware of love and how important love is to sustainability.
- To understand how our toxic thoughts link to toxic outcomes in nature and how positive thoughts link to unity within human populations and nature.
- To learn to integrate and experience nature through art, mimickry and visualisation. To learn to be nature.
- To become aware of our nature through the body and breath.
- To become aware of our selective awareness and how to expand awareness through activities.
- To learn about blocks and flows to our true nature and to learn trust in life.
- To learn to deeply listen through communication, through the body and life forces.
- To learn to connect to joy through clowning and developing deeper connections to others through the power of play and humour.
- To learn to care for each other as our true nature.