Expression Circles
“There’s no greater agony than bearing an untold story” - Maya Angelou
Experience the relief and liberation
of courageous self-expression,
confession, storytelling and role play.
✓ Be heard, seen and witnessed as you express and share your truth
✓ Practice the art of vulnerability to become braver and more liberated to be your most authentic self
✓ Practice the art of being a good listener and holding space for others to share
✓ Make light of your stories by remembering you are so much more than them: that you are the silent witness, the consciousness that experiences them
✓ Improve your mental health and addictive habits through expression and storytelling
Themes
Self-Talk, Stories & Self Praise
Rejection, Abandonment & Betrayal
Suffering & Addiction
Forgiveness & Redemption
Childhood, Play & Wonder
Heart’s Wishes & Dream Creation
Purpose, Destiny & Desire
Beauty & Self-Perception
Sex, Lovelife & Romance
Why Confess and Express?
"If you trade your vulnerability for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment and inexplicable grief" - Brene Brown
Authenticity requires vulnerability, transparency and integrity.
It is releasing the idea of who we think we “should” be, and embracing who we truly are.
It is no longer caring what others think of us and accepting ourselves as we are.
Unconditionally loving all that we are, perfectly imperfect and endlessly evolving through the adventure of limitless consciousness.
"How do you react when you think you need people's love? Do you become a slave for their approval? Do you live an inauthentic life because you can't bear the thought that they might disapprove of you? Do you try to figure out how they would like you to be, and then try to become that, like a chameleon? In fact, you never really get their love. You turn into someone you aren't, and then when they say "I love you," you can't believe it, because they're loving a facade. They're loving someone who doesn't even exist, the person you're pretending to be. It's difficult to seek other people's love. It's deadly. In seeking it, you lose what is genuine. This is the prison we create for ourselves as we seek what we already have" ―Byron Katie
Ultimately in life we only have two choices: express or repress our heart’s truth.
As simple as it may seem, the challenge is that most of us were conditioned to be disconnected from our hearts.
Raised in a society that teaches us to supress and brush under the rug whatever is painful, confronting or “too much”, many of us carry a weight of unexpressed truths, stories and emotions, for the mind replays what the heart wants to heal.
Untold stories and unexpressed emotions (ignoring your heart’s truth) manifest in the physical body as anxiety, depression, dis-ease and addiction.
Research has shown that addicts are trying to ease the pain of psychological isolation caused by dark secrets, and therefore, telling their secrets was the single most powerful step that allowed them to connect with others, experience loving acceptance, and heal.
Many of us talk too much but say too little, hiding behind masks of politeness and small talk, afraid to be vulnerable and afraid to ruffle feathers.
Which is understandable, for we all know the pain of rejection, abandonment and ridicule.
Small talk has it’s place, for we must be selective and discerning about who we share with, and when. And kind to those who offer us pleasantries.
But as relationship expert, Brene Brown, puts it: our stories are not meant for everyone; hearing them is a privilege, and the need to qualify our listener is vital for our wellbeing if we are not healed.
We should ask ourselves before we share "who has earned the right to hear my story?”, and “can my story be received with the compassion, wisdom, respect and emotional maturity it deserves?”
Pay attention to what the wisdom of your body tells you: when you think of opening up to a certain someone, do you get a gut-ache when you think about it or does your heart open up? Honour that.
On the slip side, learning to listen and hold space for others is equally as important.
“Sometimes all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort.”― Roy T. Bennett
“Someone who is actually a good listener: they don’t jump in on your sentences, saving you from actually finishing them, or talk over you, allowing what you do manage to get out to be lost or altered in transit. Instead, they wait, so you have to keep going.”― Sarah Dessen
“We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally.”― Susan Cain
The Irony Of Secrecy, Privacy & The Need To Be Seen
Although hiding/retreat can be an important and essential step for one’s healing journey and recovery process, there will come a time when it hiding becomes heavier than being seen.
We conceal aspects of ourselves that we think invite rejection, but ironically, the very act of secrecy that can make us inaccessible to love. Often, we think we're hiding our secrets, but really, our secrets are hiding us.
Perhaps that's why, when we lie or hide the truth, our very physiology rebels: stress indicators like blood pressure, perspiration, blinking rates and breathing all increase, while immune function declines.
Our subconscious mind also joins the battle against secrecy and hence we can find ourselves telling the truth in dreams, or making drunken blurts of truth.
The more secretive we are, the more separate we feel from our own bodies, our own lives.
In other words, we get sad because we miss ourselves.
Our true self. Our oneness with all that is.
Like with all aspects of life, balance is key: find the sweet spot of knowing when is a time to share and connect, and when is a time for boundaries and preservation of what is sacred and meaningful to us.
Choosing our words wisely with the knowing that our words have a creative power.
We all have a deep psychological need to be accepted as we really are, but the truth is that nobody will ever be able to see or understand us the way we do, for that would require them to have walked every step with us.
On the other hand, nothing we have ever done was private or unseen: for god sees all.
Privacy and separation are but an illusion.
If you think you are hiding anything then the only person you are fooling is yourself.
Remembering this supports us to not over-identify with our stories and become lost in them, for the truth is that we are not our stories: we are so much more than them.
We are not our thoughts, emotions or the things that happens to us: we are the silent witness, the consciousness, experiencing them.
And our focus is what drives our experience, through the law of attraction.
Hence, the sooner you accept yourself fullym, the sooner you can graduate the next level of the Earth game and start creating more meaningful experiences, instead of living in a prison of self-judgment, self-rejection and fear of what others think.
This is the work of the warrior. The art of the alchemist.
For daring to be yourself, all of what you are… is without doubt an act of courage, conviction and self-esteem.
And when you’ve been raised in a society that has trained you into self-denial and reliance on the approval of others, this is no easy feat. But it is very possible indeed.
And being aware of the game you’re in is half the task.
It will help you to remember this: you cannot lose the game and there’s nothing to fear: for even in those painful moments where we open up and be vulnerable, and it is not met with the compassion and understanding we hoped for, it is a gift and opportuntiy.
An opportunity to grow stronger: to step up to hold that space for ourselves, and be proud that we had the courage to open up in the first place.
For no expression of the heart’s truth is ever a waste or mistake.
Group Principles
1. Arrive 15 minutes early and sit in quiet contemplation of what your heart wants to share, until the facilitator begins session.
2. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to, if this is the case, just say “pass”.
3. Instead of reacting to what people say, reflect on what their story has triggered in you. The purpose of an expression circle is not about fixing or giving advice, it’s about sharing, witnessing and hold space.
4. If you wish to say something in response to what someone has shared, or ask a question because you are curious/intrigued, please raise your hand.
5. We speak with respect and kindness at all times, to others and ourselves.
6. Embrace the moments of silence, for it is in the silence that we can hear the whispers of our heart.
7. If you feel like you need to leave the room, honour it and take a break.
8. If you feel the desire to hug some, ask if you can give them a hug. Do not feel bad declining a hug if you feel you need space: honour your boundaries first.