Introductory Open Weekend Workshops (Oxford)

with Morit Heitzler & Michael Soth

Sat./Sun. 25/26 March 2006 or Sat./Sun. 29/30 April 2006

• Stuck in a rut ?

• Are you always procrastinating?

• Afraid of taking risks ?

• Cannot make decisions ?

OR ....

• Always on the go ?

• Cannot settle ?

• Always feeling restless,

• constantly seeking something else?

The balance between change and stability is essential to a satisfying life. Nothing in nature is stagnant nor frantic - growth occurs in the rhythm of the seasons. Phases of rest and stability alternate with periods of intense change and development.

However, many people find that for them alternating between change and stability does not come naturally.

Too much stability ...

Some of us get trapped in too much stability, our home and daily routine can then be experienced as monotonous, and we feel imprisoned by our need for security.

Or too much change ...

Some of us, on the other hand, are in the grip of too much change and life becomes a restless, superficial chase, driven by our anxieties and addictions, lacking direction.

Whether you are caught in too much stability or landed with too much change, whether you are faced with recent changes brought about by life, or are trying to change a stuck situation, these weekends can help you explore your dissatisfaction and issues around life changes and transitions.

Psychological Roots

Whether we avoid change or are compelled into it, the deeper patterns which dominate our choices and reactions are rooted in our psychology: in fears, longings, feelings and thoughts which are not entirely conscious or rational. For most of us, these patterns go back a long way and influence the way we lead our lives.

Can these patterns change ?

Yes, they can, but not through the mind alone: insight, rules, logic, reasons are not sufficient. Our thinking can become circular and remain disconnected from the primal source both of our passion and our pain.

More than 'just in the mind'

In coping with change, or trying to bring it about, we need to access and unlock hidden parts of ourselves. Rather than relying on insight and understanding alone, we need to include aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or denied. This often involves getting in touch with the body, with feelings, with the 'right brain' and with unknown capacities for spontaneity.

In this workshop

Whatever your pattern around change -avoidance or compulsion, seeking it or feeling overwhelmed by it - in these weekends you will find an opportunity to become aware of and work with the forces driving your pattern, in a group of like-minded people.

We use a wide variety of techniques to help you access, explore and clarify the significant issues regarding the life changes you are experiencing or seeking.

Some of these include the body and body awareness, others rely on visualisation and images, many include mindfulness and attention to your feelings.

All of our therapeutic tools are oriented towards doing justice to the wholeness of your being, bringing together all the resources and aspects of your life experience which will support you in finding your own unique path through current challenges and transformations.

Some of the therapeutic approaches we draw from in these weekends are: Body Psychotherapy, Gestalt, TA, NLP, Psychosynthesis, Psychodrama, Family Constellations and others.

For a longer, slightly more substantial version of this text, click here.

Details about the workshops:

Sat./Sun. 25/26 March 2006

Sat./Sun. 29/30 April 2006

We offer two weekends. Each weekend can be taken separately, as an experience in itself.

The venue will be in Oxford or near Oxford.

We will meet each day from 10am until 5pm , with one hour break for lunch about half-way during the day.

The cost will be £95 per person per weekend.

Morit Heitzler &

Michael Soth

• Stuck in a rut ?
• Always procrastinating ?
• Afraid of taking risks ?
• Has the spark gone out of life ?
• Everything a monotonous routine ?

OR ...

• Can’t settle ? Always on the go ?
• Avoiding commitments ? Is the grass always greener somewhere else ?
• Are you restless, constantly seeking something you can’t find?
• Too much chaos or change in your life?

A natural rhythm of change and stability

The balance between change and stability is essential to a satisfying life. Nothing in nature is stagnant nor frantic - growth occurs in the rhythm of the seasons. Phases of rest and stability alternate with periods of intense change and development. Over time, this kind of ‘organic’ growth generates a sense of robustness, creative vitality and graceful maturation.

However, many people find that this alternating between change and stability does not come naturally.

Some of us get trapped in too much stability, our home and daily routine can be experienced as monotonous, and the need for security becomes a prison.

Some of us, on the other hand, are in the grip of too much change and life becomes a restless, superficial chase, driven by avoidance and lacking direction.

Repetitive Patterns

We then come to the point where we recognise - often only after similar painful scenarios have repeated themselves over and over again - that our life decisions are not simply chosen or rational. Rather, our behaviour is habitual and dominated by repetitive patterns.

Especially in terms of something as basic as our capacity to take risks or to settle into stability, we are in the grip of impulses which the mind can perceive and comment on, but is often powerless to override or control. Even when we understand that an impulse is addictive or avoidant or simply ‘not good for us’, the habitual pattern can be hard to break.

What are these underlying patterns and what keeps them in place ?

Why do some of us stay stuck in familiar routines, even when change is overdue and knocking on the door ? Why do others find themselves driven by compulsions and addictions which continuously destroy the very stability they need and seek ?

Psychological Roots

These deeper patterns which dominate our choices and reactions are rooted in psychology - in fears, feelings and thoughts which are not entirely conscious or rational. For most of us, these patterns go back a long way - some people would argue they are just genetically given. These patterns do indeed seem part and parcel of our identity, of who we are, but in fact they operate against who we are and who we can be.

Can these patterns change ? Yes, they can, but not through the mind alone: insight, rules, logic, reasons are not sufficient. When our basic capacities for natural self-regulation have been disturbed, our thinking just tends to replicate the patterns. As a consequence: frantic people try to change the pattern frantically; stuck people tend to feel stuck and resigned with it.

Because of the futility of such circular thinking, people recognise that something else is needed. This is where psychotherapy has become a viable help for many people, especially in its modern, integrative form. By working with repetitive patterns as they manifest on a physical, emotional and mental level, a body/mind perspective goes beyond the purely verbal and can become an effective, profound and transformative tool.

The wisdom of the body

In coping with change or in trying to bring it about, many people make use of a future-and goal-oriented approach, which relies on envisioning a better future, formulating a mission statement and using strategies towards bringing it about.

This is an approach we will use, but we often find it is not sufficient. The main reason is that our heads and our vision can remain disconnected from the primal sources of both passion and pain. Strategies relying on vision and discipline often resemble the efforts of the planning department: producing glorious changes which have nothing to do with what actually needs changing.

Meaningful, sustainable change, therefore, relies on a vision of the future which is not trapped in circular thinking. This in turn relies on our capacity to access and unlock hidden parts of ourselves. Neglected aspects need to be incorporated. We, therefore, work in a way which includes an experiential dimension, rather than relying on insight and reflection only. This often involves getting in touch with the body, with feelings, with the right brain and with unknown capacities for spontaneity. However, we never encourage a self-conscious, artificial ‘touchy-feely’ atmosphere where people feel under pressure to ‘be nice’, ‘perform’ or ‘produce’ feelings.

We use a wide variety of techniques to help you access, explore and clarify the significant issues, resources and obstacles regarding the life changes you are experiencing or seeking. Some of these include the body and body awareness, others rely on visualisation and images, many include mindfulness and attention to your feelings.

All of them are oriented towards doing justice to the inherent wholeness of your being, bringing together all the resources and aspects of your life experience which are relevant.

For participants who have some familiarity with the variety of therapeutic approaches available, we are happy to give further details as to which ones we draw from in these weekends. The significant ones are Body Psychotherapy, Gestalt, TA, Process-oriented Psychology, NLP, Psychosynthesis, Psychodrama, psychodynamic perspectives (object relations, intersubjective, Jungian and archetypal), family constellations, Trauma Therapy, EMDR.