I learned about ‘holding space’ for myself and others with Joey Walters – Rising Connected.
When I came to is, holding space and having space held for me felt like a totally different way of connecting. It is a place where the individual has full attention given to them by the space holder. At its core the trust and belief is that the person has the wisdom within themselves so there is no intention to fix, to give advice (unless asked for) or to analyse the person. Having people hold a loving space for me and listen fully to my words, witness my emotions and to be non-judgemental about however I am was the route for me to crack open the tough exterior I had built up over time. That exterior had become less of a protection and more of a prison. As I write this truth I feel a rush of gratitude that I followed my intuition and went to my first course in the spring of 2019.
Having space held for me and holding space for others has been totally transformational in helping me to reconnect with who I truly am. the longer I practice the more whole I feel I am becoming. By that I mean that I have been discovering my shadows, patterns, stories and learned behaviours. Rather than pushing them away in denial or suppressing them I have learned to bring loving awareness to them and discern which are now no longer helpful for me to repeat and to honour the gifts they brought into my life. I am learning to spot shadows and to turn towards them, as opposed to exiling them. I am able to give space to them, and bring compassion to whatever it is they are helping me to understand. I feel as though I have let go of stories and instead made space for the “essence” of what makes me me to be brought more fully into how I show up in the world.
Being grounded and connected with all of the different aspects, or parts, of myself enables me to feel a sense of safety, self compassion and to love myself, the world and others in a more unconditional way.
I have learned to allow and enjoy being creative, to seek out joy in my life and to extend the loving compassion that I had previously reserved for other people to myself.
After decades of workaholism and patterns of serving others, I am balancing what I do to resource myself with supporting others. I find that I hold a loving space for myself as I move through my life. I feel intentionally consciously connected for the majority of the time and I am able to notice where I have perhaps become a bit disconnected and bring loving attention to these parts of myself when I notice them. Being in touch with my own feelings and emotions has helped me to grow my capacity in holding space for others while they find their way towards whatever it is that helps them to thrive.
I regularly attend, host and co-host Women’s circles. I am a member of a peer circle that has been meeting fortnightly since 2020 so I know and experience the growth and healing power of being heard and held.
Within Rising Connected I have regular supervision directly from Joey and I have the privilege of being a Circle Leader. During 2023 a group of women trained in Power of Circle to level 1 and in 2024/5 there was a second level training women to be Circle Leaders. It has been an honour and privilege to be a part of these journeys and I have learned much for myself too. that is the gift of this type of connection, we are all Rising Connected.
If you would like to explore working 1:1 with me the invitation is for us to have a discovery call so that we can feel into the possibility together.
Learning to be resourced and connected. 