Being in true dialog in a transformational group in which we are affected by the live material that is coming through each other is an essential key for fundamental change. Live material is what we straightforwardly and truthfully feel, think, and see in response to our inner and outer environment. Revealing live material is sharing our here-and-now experience, with each person openly acknowledging what’s happening inside of them in relation to themselves and each other. Sharing it, when done in an enlightened process, is real communication, in which we touch and are touched by the other.
By enlightened process I mean taking responsibility for one’s own response, from a place of vulnerability, as opposed to blaming, making judgments, or giving opinions. When you allow yourself to be affected by each other and reveal your experience in the group process, it is giving up control and letting life be what it is. It is an act of love and trust and can transform our whole experience. The material that is revealed may include unfounded fears and mistrust we hold toward ourselves and others, as well as clear insight. It contains both what is sane and insane in us.
This is a process of letting go of one’s limited concept of what is, and opening up, on very visceral levels, to other input. In the process, any obstacles (emotional defense systems*) we have placed in the way become unearthed so we can move through them. It moves us from our isolated individual experience (in which we can manipulate, shift and distort our perceptions to support our emotional defense systems) to actually engaging in the here-and-now in the form of meeting with another, where our experience meets. When that happens in an interactive group it is much more difficult to avoid what is true.
This releases deep significant information about who each person is, opens up communication, and when untangled, leads to unconditional love, which is the bottommost truth between people. And it enables each of us to receive new and much more accurate information about how reality is, because information is coming in from more than just our own perspective. It puts us in contact with the knowledge of one’s own and the other’s divinity. If pursued, it can allow the very ground we’re standing on to shift.
Note: The way in which the live material is communicated and received in a transformational group is vitally important, because it can be very powerful material. And, if it isn’t handled well, it can lead to further separation, rather than coming together and opening things up. Therefore an inspired and skilled facilitator is crucial.
*An emotional defense system is what people create to compensate for, and block awareness of, unconscious limiting decisions made as a child, such as “I am a failure, not loveable, not good enough” and so on. They can be used to manipulate people around you to prevent them from activating the limiting decision in you. Emotional defense systems create an unreal, limited world that blocks you from present moment experience.
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Author's Bio: Jane Ilene Cohen is an Intuitive & Transformational NLP Counselor, and an NLP & TimeLine Master Practitioner, with a private practice in San Diego North County (Encinitas). She does individual counseling (includes the NLP TimeLine Process and hypnosis), works with couples and families, and facilitates groups and workshops. She is also the Founder of the “Life is Meant to Work" thought system.
For more about Jane’s counseling services, go to www.janecohencounseling.com/content/counseling-services . For a free phone consultation to decide if this is right for you, call Jane at (760) 753-0733.