Mercedes Avellaneda
Treasurer
Joice de Vitton
Secretary
WORKSHOP AND SEMINAR
Who are invited?
Any person who is interested in improving their human, family and work relationships. People who have some kind of addiction are especially encouraged to participate.
Coordinators:
Marcela Miguens (Argentina)
Ray Dalton (Ireland)
PROGRAM of activities:
Day One
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
First Meeting at Pousada do Sol and introductory talk on Tranpersonal Gestalt by Marcela Miguens.
Talk on "Autonomy and intimacy - Body, Mind and Spirit" by Ray Dalton.
Following Days
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Gathering on the ship Foxy Lady (take some food to share with other participants).
Development of the Program "Autonomy in the journey through life."
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Meeting at Pousada do Sol to continue developing the Program.
For further details contact marci@interserver.com.ar
The idea of launching a special program for people dependent on food, alcohol and drugs and other habit-forming substances had been on my mind for a long time.
I like to work with young former patients and organize in distant places. I especially like to combine the Gestalt approach with other transpersonal approaches, such as AA's Twelve Steps.
Ray Dalton, a 35 year-old Irishman, who has extraordinary sensitivity and sense of humor, was the ideal partner with whom to share this adventure.
We had no idea how our plans would work out. We started by putting up signs advertising our program on the main street, at the Post Office, in bookstores and... in every bar in town!
Like the character in the movie The Mission who plays the flute on top of a water fall and ventures into the unknown, we also trusted everything would work out just fine.
We rented a ship called Foxy Lady, an old fisher boat which weighs 70 tons, sails wonderfully and has ample space to work.
The first evening at Pousada do Sol we had a group of people between 30 and 45 with different degrees of dependency. Hard lives that answered our call, some with a faint ray of hope, others just to see what would happen. The following day we would board the ship.
Some people did not show up again, but all those who boarded the ship started to tune into out Program: "Autonomy in the journey through life". Despite their different backgrounds, all the participants shared the WEARINESS produced by the LOSSES they had suffered throughout their lives: children they had abandoned, jobs they had lost, low self-esteem, etc.
Now they were between the sky and the sea, aboard a ship and a program that sailed thanks to the energy of the group, which showed that the whole is more important than the sum of the parts.
At the beginning of the journey, we worked on the first Steps of AA, which really mean admitting 1) that life has become unbearable and 2) the possibility of giving in to a Higher Power, be it God or whatever way feels more comfortable to you.
From that moment onwards, participants started to share their many losses and made an effort to get in touch with the pain they had inside which was in many cases smothered and repressed. The faces and voices of the participants began to show feelings as they retold the pain that still hurt...
We also exercised being aware of the present. Feeling the touch of the sun on our skin, perceiving the warmth of a look that supports us. We also experimented with the interruption of contact by taking roles that isolate us from others.
Between the sky and the sea, we set up the "empty chair" that is used in Gestalt. Participants placed on it other people with whom they had had problems in their lives while the rest of the group worked on "realization."
Between the sky and the sea, we learnt to heal by hugging and lending support to others. No one was judgmental, we only shared a promise which we renewed every day: stop what is destroying us "just today"...
The third day was devoted to making a list of all the harm we had done to others and to ourselves. We went over our fears, anger, abandonment, and then... forgiveness and "letting go". The were unforgettable moments of joy when for instance we floated in the sea and felt the gentle touch of the sun on out skin. The sea water seemed to flake our tension and wash away the grudges engraved in our bodies.
We devoted one of the evenings at Pousada do Sol to creativity. The whole group designed, created and painted Mandalas which we shared and exhibited in the dining room of the Pousada.
On the Foxy Lady we experienced moments of silence in which the participants of the Program journeyed to explore their inner feelings or entered their experiences in the ship's log.
On deserted beaches we conducted glorious rituals using sand and leaves, plants and seashells.
Almost at the end of our journey, we took each other's hands and made a circle. Each participant laid out his or her life project as the ship sailed the ocean.
We also recited mantras and prayers: Lord! Give me strength to solve the things that depend on me. Give me patience to accept those that don't depend on me. And give me wisdom to tell them apart.
And we renewed our promise every day: JUST TODAY...
In March in Buzios, Brazil
CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT AGAINST DRUGADDICTION
We have organized a program for parents, addicts, and their families. We will hold seminars, groups, and special visits to schools to foster communication between parents and children so that they can talk about drugs.
Education means prevention.
Even though there are no magic formulas to keep our children away from drugs, prevention is the most effective way to help them.
Prevention is a task which we must work on constantly and it means talking to our children, listening to them attentively, accepting them and, above all, not judging them.
10 THINGS PARENTS CAN DO TO HELP
1. Allow your children to participate in decisions concerning the family and school, and respect their opinions.
2. Instill values, such as, respect, discipline and solidarity in your children.
3. Teach your children how to respects and value themselves.
4. Teach your children by example.
5. Take a firm and clear stand when it comes to drugs.
6. Try to get to know your children's friends, their interests, and don't be judgmental.
7. Talk to your children and show them what they can do in their free time.
8. Meet your children's friends' parents and talk to them.
9. Spend time with your children and share activities with them.
10. Show your children the subtle ways in which the use of drugs is promoted.
We greatly thank the Consejo Publicitario Argentina for allowing us to use their posters in order to publicize our program.
email: forodelamujer@interserver.com.ar
Back to Main Page.
This page was created by german@globalcenter.com.ar