This post is to commemorate the lovely spirits who joined the first Meditation Groups offered by Root&Connect. The mission was to help people learn how to strengthen the most highly evolved part of our brain - the Prefrontal Cortex - so that we can learn how to be Receptive & Respond to our internal world - Emotions, Sensations, and Thoughts - with more ease rather than React or feel Resistance to it.
Once we are able to shift our Resistance & Reactivity to Receptivity & Responsiveness, Our Inner & Outer Experience of the World Changes for the Better. We Feel Calm, Courageous & Clear.
The participants were asked to share about their experience of being in the 6 week group and here is what they had to say….
Brytani says:
If you are interested in a wild journey, paradoxically leading you both inward (reflective, meditative) and outward (creative, expansive) at the same time, then you absolutely should consider taking this group and giving it the chance it deserves.
Root&Connect: Did you get what you needed from the group?
I really needed to operate out of a higher state of mind, out of a more mindful and intentional space. This book and this group has helped increase my capacity to live presently and fully in the small (and big) moments of life. The depth of my daily experiences has expanded. I choose to live my life and refuse to let life run me down.
Root&Connect: What tools have you learned that you know you will remember & keep in your life tool box to use?
The simple practice of paying attention to my body and responding appropriately has really helped me also process the emotions I carry in my body (good and bad). As a result, I have been able to identify emotional patterning and work towards changing patterns that do not serve my whole self. I was previously giving my mind permission to run away with thoughts ridden with anxiety and fear. I am no longer letting my mind run away with itself, but have tapped into the power of my conscious being and use that as a guide to life.
Lilli says:
This group was a great start to the practice of mediation. It really opened my eyes to the beauty and freedom that can come from simply learning to sit with oneself. I would recommend the group to anyone wishing to create a meditation practice for themselves. I’ve struggled on and off to dedicate myself to meditating and I feel this group gave me some great tools to embrace the process.
Andrew says:
Root&Connect: What tools have you learned that you know you will remember & keep in your life tool box to use?
I think daily discipline is important. Also, sharing thoughts, ideas and experiences with a group of accepting, thoughtful people is a really important part of the class.
Emily says:
I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking to grow a better connection with themselves. I feel as though these last 6 weeks gave me the tools to build a meaningful, daily meditation practice that truly feels like it is my own. Additionally, the course reading was incredibly enlightening, and eye opening to the things that can deter us from becoming our true selves. The reading brought up some important tools, ways to handle emotions, and how to cope with negative thought patterns.
Root&Connect: What tools have you learned that you know you will remember & keep in your life tool box to use?
The understanding that thoughts and emotions are not cold hard facts, but rather they either have the power to take you over ONLY if you allow them too.
Naomi says:
I learned that meditation is one of the powerful tools to heal my own weaknesses and past events. However, I did not know how to exactly meditate. This class gave me a clear guidance on how to meditate with my own needs daily. I strongly suggest this group to increase your awareness.
Rachael says:
This is a great group to dive further into self discovery and understanding. I don’t think you could
participate in this group and not leave understanding yourself better. It was a wonderful way to set up
a strong self guided practice that can be maintained going forward.
Root&Connect: Did you get what you needed from the group?
I love getting different perspectives and inputs within the same practice. I love growing in experiences
I have had in meditation and knowing that I have only scratched the surface. I went into this group with
hopes of deepening my daily practice, diving much deeper in self understanding, with hopes of
transforming some relationships in my life. Though, I do not feel a huge shift immediately during this
group, I feel like I was given foundational tools to work on this transformation journey going forward.
Tine says:
It's an education about life. You learn to connect with your inner self. Get many tools to connect with your emotions. You learn to observe your patterns...And having a good facilitator with lots of years of experience as a counselor. Who also is a yoga teacher. And loves to continue to grow herself is a gift.
Root&Connect: Did you get what you needed from the group?
I did feel accepted in the group. It's a nice peaceful group. It's good to hear about the struggles of the people in the group so I see it's not just me struggling with it. It helps me to accept my own struggles. It's nice to hear they have similar experiences/patterns in their life so you don't feel like you are the only one with those experiences. The guided meditations are very powerful in group. Angela's meditations are really nice. They just resonate with me.
Todd says:
This 6 week course has lead to some profound changes in my live. Through the daily meditations taught in this group I have started to change some of my core consciousness and this has altered how I respond in various life situations. This has created genuine and profound change in my life.
Root&Connect: What tools have you learned that you know you will remember & keep in your life tool box to use?
1) When feeling strong emotions, don’t attempt to control it by numbing the pain or intellectualizing the situation, strip away the story and your thoughts, and just be in the emotion. No matter how strong that feeling is, it will pass and you will feel good having let that energy flow through you.
2) Negative thought patterns cause pathways and the more you avoid them in the moment.. the less powerful they become.
3) Try to keep your heart open as much as you can, if you shut down, be aware that you are shut down.
“Dear Group Participants,
It was such a pleasure to be with you and do the work with you! Remember these wise words:
To Keep our Faces Toward Change, and Behave Like Free Spirits in the Presence of Fate is Strength Undefeatable.
~ Helen Keller”