Give me oil in my lamp
10 February 2010How do you keep going when life feels challenging? What uplifts you when it’s wintertime of the soul? What helps you to shift your perspective when you feel a cloud has gone over the sun?
Part of my answer would be: getting in the room with other spiritual seekers. I can find my energy shifting just by being in the presence of others who see life as a grand adventure with all its twist and turns. They help to remind me what’s important and see beyond the dramas of my life.
On Saturday 6th February around 30 of us gathered together for the first ever A New You “benefit” workshop. There was no fee for this workshop but a request for donations for the Medical Foundation charity. The Medical Foundation provides rehabilitation for people who have been tortured and its head office has been home to the A New You workshop since 2007.
Join the conversation, A New You workshop, Sat 6th Feb 2010, London
Early on in the workshop we created a human map of the different places we’d travelled from to “Join the Conversation” (as the workshop was called): Germany, France, Cornwall, Devon and other home bases. We then explored together the question: What made you want to join the conversation? The most popular reason was to “meet like-minded people”. Why does this matter? As Tricia, my dear co-facilitator, put it “It gives me oil in my lamp to keep me burning”.
It can be tough out there in the marketplace to maintain a spiritual perspective. It is counter-cultural. Many of the people who come to A New You workshop would describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” and do not feel part of a faith community as many religious people would. “I came because I wanted to feel I belong”, said one participant. Her words echoed round the room and many of us could relate.
Later in the morning we worked in small groups to make the most of being in a field of supportive, loving energy. Each person took it in turn to bring a question to the group and explore with others what the way forward might be. Each person selected a card created from the daily messages of Neale Donald Walsch “What God wants you to know” to shed some more light on the situation. Some people said they were very touched by how directly the message spoke to them and how the others in the group were the perfect companions for the question they were sharing.
At the end of the workshop I passed the hat to collect in donations for the Medical Foundation. £445 were generously given. It reminded me of my days busking for a living by juggling fire in the streets of Spain although my hat was never so full! We closed by singing together a rousing version of “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning”. We were delighted that one participant was willing to accompany us on her guitar: true co-creation! I am grateful to everyone who came, to Tricia and Ralf for helping to hold the space and for having the opportunity to experience a golden moment in my life.
Sarah Rozenthuler, A New You, Sat 6th Feb 2010, London
Sarah
It was a great joy to be part of the Workshop and to meet so many wonderful like-minded people in a day of sharing and BEing together.
The workshop was, indeed, a real Benefit Day in that the wonderful work of the Medical Foundation benefited from the generosity of those who attended and, as a group, we also benefited by being able to Join in the Conversation together. Thank you for providing the opportunity for us to “light our lamps” and keep them burning brightly.
Tricia
Dear Tricia,
It was great to facilitate the “Join the Conversation” benefit workshop with you. Thank you so much for all your wonderful energy and inspiring presence. We did have a lot of fun! May there be many more opportunities to raise the vibrations together!
With love
Sarah