This workshop is happening again this weekend - there are still places. If you want to be part of it, let me know as soon as possible.It will cost you £100 if you are new to this work, £50 if you have done it before with me.
The outcome of this wil be, like last time, that a new group of friends is created. People from the workshop that I ran in January are still meeting, going out together and staying in touch.
This workshop will cover the same ground - what does it feel like to be connected? and will go deeper than last time into what is it that stops me from feeling able to connect and what does it feel like to let these barriers down.
Contact me now at bill@billgoodyear.org to reserve a place.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Monday, 5 May 2008
Getting Connected!
May 14, at Roehampton, 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm. Cost £10 - come and experience some of the activities we do at the workshop, meet some people who have done the workshop, find out if it is for you.
June 7/8, at Roehampton 10.00 am to 6.00 pm both days. Cost £100. Come and experience the whole workshop, get connected, join the growing community.
July (tbc) Weekend connection workshop in Devon 10.00 am to 6.00 pm both days. Cost £100.
Contact me now on bill@billgoodyear.org
June 7/8, at Roehampton 10.00 am to 6.00 pm both days. Cost £100. Come and experience the whole workshop, get connected, join the growing community.
July (tbc) Weekend connection workshop in Devon 10.00 am to 6.00 pm both days. Cost £100.
Contact me now on bill@billgoodyear.org
Friday, 25 April 2008
NEW DATES - JUNE 7 & 8
I have had to change the dates, because not enough people signed up. If you want to attend, email me at bill@billgoodyear.org.
Wednesday 14 May - evening of fun to give a taster of the whole weekend. Email me if you want to knowe more.
Wednesday 14 May - evening of fun to give a taster of the whole weekend. Email me if you want to knowe more.
Friday, 16 November 2007
connection workshop
This is the second workshop I have run – the last one was in January and people who attended are enjoying meeting up, going to the movies together, emailing and chatting on the phone – we are creating a community of friends.
What I am aiming to do is to safely create the experience of connection between people in a weekend workshop, so it becomes familiar and accessible. Each person will explore this at their own level, so there is no possibility of making mistakes or getting anything wrong – whatever you do and whatever you experience is exactly what is required. The experience will be good in that you will find out about yourself and about the other participants, and it will be warm, fun, exploratory and will bring us all closer together – that is the experience I am aiming to create. However, there will be many moments when I ask you to step out of your comfort zone and do things you haven’t done before, and of course everyone must be safe.
This workshop is designed around the needs of people with Asperger’s syndrome, though some of the participants will be neuro- typical. There will be people who have bee there before amongst the group, so the process of establishing this connection will be comparatively easy.
Date time and place
April 26th and 27th
This is a whole weekend commitment – you will not have the space to do anything else. We will start at 10.00 (be there for 9.30), and run to at least 6.00 pm. (though it might be later).
We will have breaks for tea, coffee and food throughout the weekend, of course.
The Cornerstone is Roehampton Parish Hall, Alton Road, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 4LG. www.cornerstonesw15.co.uk
You can get a map at: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GBsw15%204lg#t=l&map=51.44865,-0.23905164&loc=GB:51.44865:-0.23905:15sw15%204lgSW15%204LG
Getting there
If you have any difficulty getting there on Saturday or Sunday, then let me know (call or email), so I can try to make arrangements for you. However, here are some bus routes:
72 from Roehampton (via Barnes station, Hammersmith) to East Acton.
85 from Putney Bridge Tube to Kingston.
430 Roehampton (via Putney, Fulham) to South Kensington.
493 Richmond (via Sheen, Barnes, Southfields, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon) to Tooting
What to bring
I will provide tea, coffee, biscuits, fruit and juice. You need to bring some lunch and any other food you may need.
Dress comfortably, so you can stretch, sit on the floor and move around freely.
You will not need anything else.
What is the purpose of this workshop?
The basis of friendship and attraction is strong connection. Two people can create this between themselves without knowing what they do. Some people find it more difficult than others, and find building relationships hard – people just drift away from them.
The things we will do together are designed to stimulate the part of the brain that lets other people feel close to you.
The experience of this workshop will be a resource you can take out into your life to support you in making some changes in the way you are with people so that you can again create and experience this sense of connection.
What is it about?
Some of my thinking in developing this is as follows
New research tells us that we connect at least partially though ‘mirror neurons’, which (in neuro typicals) give us access to what the other person is feeling though an ‘emotional wi-fi’ mechanism. Asperger brains find interpersonal connection rather foreign, and it may be that although they have the neuronal apparatus they have not developed the neural pathways that would give them social fluency. Read more in Social Intelligence by Daniel Golman
This is an unconscious process, quite separate from any thinking or conscious decision.
Perhaps we can create a ‘mega experience’ that will begin to forge new neural pathways which can be reinforced by memory and future occurrences, making the experience of connectedness more familiar and accessible.
Neuro typical experience gives us a map we can follow and model, as does family experience, so we know that everyone can do this connection thing in the right circumstances.
This workshop will give a chance to over-experience connectedness so it becomes more familiar, and so it will not be quite like real life, though it will be powerful and useful.
The sources of the experiences within the workshop are adapted from all my learning in life, including Neuro Linguistic Programming, The Mastery, Counselling skills training, Clean Language metaphor work, Improvisational theatre work and my knowledge of group dynamics, individual psychology, neurology teaching and management.What can I expect?
I expect this workshop to be memorable.
At times you may be uncomfortable and want to resist. Probably here will be tears, laughter and shouting involved.
Also, there will be quiet times, reflection, solitary moments.
No one will have to do anything they don’t want to, and things will be kept safe and respectful so that everyone has time to settle and understand.
It will be a journey, so even if there are moments that do not feel good, you will be glad to have been there by the time we reach Sunday evening.
The workshop experience
The members of the group will be people with Asperger’s Syndrome who want to develop closer friendships. There will also be some neuro typical people who are emotionally literate and willing to fully participate in the workshop as equals whilst making sure that those with Asperger’s are given the space they need to make a full and equal contribution. Some people will have done the workshop before and will want to go further in their search for connection.
A workshop is a place where things are made. In this case we will be working to make connections between ourselves, so we will be meeting, touching and observing ourselves and others.Confidentiality
Everyone who takes part in the workshop will be asked to keep confidentiality. This means that nothing that is said or done will be repeated outside the workshop in a way that would identify the person involved. Any people in a relationship (e.g. parents and their children or friends or partners) will be asked to refrain from using the specific things that are said in the workshop after it is finished.
What are we going to do?
Some of the components of this will be:Comfort - acceptance - safety - being ‘in synch’ - developing a shared ‘take’ on things - attraction - intimacy - empathy - managing judgmentThe journey of the workshop will be:Sign up and commit – shake up and connect – open up and be seen – reflect and buildThe content of the course would make little sense if it were just described here – however to experience it will be powerful, so I have given you outlines but not specific information about what we will actually do. Expect to be asked to move around, talk to strangers, look at people and touch each other, and expect to find it surprisingly easy and fun!The structure will be:
Saturday:Session 1: Boundaries, expectations, ground rules, individual requirements, commitment, introductionsSession 2: Creating a group feel and meeting each other, developing trustSession 3: Working in a groupSession 4: FeedbackSunday:Session 1: Feedback continued and self expressionSession 2: Telling your storySession 3: Exploring connectionSession 4: Exploring the future
What if I find it stressful?
Stepping out of your comfort zone is a stressful experience. One thing to learn on this weekend is that it is sometimes better to get on and do the new thing than it is to sit there and think about it. It is often not as bad as you fear.
However, if you need to take some time out, there will be refuge space that you can visit at any time so you can be alone and get yourself together.
You will always be able to decline any activity.
Preparation
There is no specific preparation other than contacting me to ask any questions that may come to you. You might find it useful to keep an eye on yourself as you go though Christmas and just noting how you would like to be around other people, and you might also notice people who attract you and those who don‘t.
Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs from Friday night though to Monday morning – they will not help you to have this experience.
Costs
The next workshop will cost £100 per person. Payments to Bill Goodyear in advance. Those who have done the workshop before are given a 50% reduction to £50
Follow up
We will consider how to make the most of this experience and follow up the workshop on Sunday afternoon.
Questions
If you have any questions, email or call me at bill@billgoodyear.org or 0208 871 1241
What I am aiming to do is to safely create the experience of connection between people in a weekend workshop, so it becomes familiar and accessible. Each person will explore this at their own level, so there is no possibility of making mistakes or getting anything wrong – whatever you do and whatever you experience is exactly what is required. The experience will be good in that you will find out about yourself and about the other participants, and it will be warm, fun, exploratory and will bring us all closer together – that is the experience I am aiming to create. However, there will be many moments when I ask you to step out of your comfort zone and do things you haven’t done before, and of course everyone must be safe.
This workshop is designed around the needs of people with Asperger’s syndrome, though some of the participants will be neuro- typical. There will be people who have bee there before amongst the group, so the process of establishing this connection will be comparatively easy.
Date time and place
April 26th and 27th
This is a whole weekend commitment – you will not have the space to do anything else. We will start at 10.00 (be there for 9.30), and run to at least 6.00 pm. (though it might be later).
We will have breaks for tea, coffee and food throughout the weekend, of course.
The Cornerstone is Roehampton Parish Hall, Alton Road, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 4LG. www.cornerstonesw15.co.uk
You can get a map at: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GBsw15%204lg#t=l&map=51.44865,-0.23905164&loc=GB:51.44865:-0.23905:15sw15%204lgSW15%204LG
Getting there
If you have any difficulty getting there on Saturday or Sunday, then let me know (call or email), so I can try to make arrangements for you. However, here are some bus routes:
72 from Roehampton (via Barnes station, Hammersmith) to East Acton.
85 from Putney Bridge Tube to Kingston.
430 Roehampton (via Putney, Fulham) to South Kensington.
493 Richmond (via Sheen, Barnes, Southfields, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon) to Tooting
What to bring
I will provide tea, coffee, biscuits, fruit and juice. You need to bring some lunch and any other food you may need.
Dress comfortably, so you can stretch, sit on the floor and move around freely.
You will not need anything else.
What is the purpose of this workshop?
The basis of friendship and attraction is strong connection. Two people can create this between themselves without knowing what they do. Some people find it more difficult than others, and find building relationships hard – people just drift away from them.
The things we will do together are designed to stimulate the part of the brain that lets other people feel close to you.
The experience of this workshop will be a resource you can take out into your life to support you in making some changes in the way you are with people so that you can again create and experience this sense of connection.
What is it about?
Some of my thinking in developing this is as follows
New research tells us that we connect at least partially though ‘mirror neurons’, which (in neuro typicals) give us access to what the other person is feeling though an ‘emotional wi-fi’ mechanism. Asperger brains find interpersonal connection rather foreign, and it may be that although they have the neuronal apparatus they have not developed the neural pathways that would give them social fluency. Read more in Social Intelligence by Daniel Golman
This is an unconscious process, quite separate from any thinking or conscious decision.
Perhaps we can create a ‘mega experience’ that will begin to forge new neural pathways which can be reinforced by memory and future occurrences, making the experience of connectedness more familiar and accessible.
Neuro typical experience gives us a map we can follow and model, as does family experience, so we know that everyone can do this connection thing in the right circumstances.
This workshop will give a chance to over-experience connectedness so it becomes more familiar, and so it will not be quite like real life, though it will be powerful and useful.
The sources of the experiences within the workshop are adapted from all my learning in life, including Neuro Linguistic Programming, The Mastery, Counselling skills training, Clean Language metaphor work, Improvisational theatre work and my knowledge of group dynamics, individual psychology, neurology teaching and management.What can I expect?
I expect this workshop to be memorable.
At times you may be uncomfortable and want to resist. Probably here will be tears, laughter and shouting involved.
Also, there will be quiet times, reflection, solitary moments.
No one will have to do anything they don’t want to, and things will be kept safe and respectful so that everyone has time to settle and understand.
It will be a journey, so even if there are moments that do not feel good, you will be glad to have been there by the time we reach Sunday evening.
The workshop experience
The members of the group will be people with Asperger’s Syndrome who want to develop closer friendships. There will also be some neuro typical people who are emotionally literate and willing to fully participate in the workshop as equals whilst making sure that those with Asperger’s are given the space they need to make a full and equal contribution. Some people will have done the workshop before and will want to go further in their search for connection.
A workshop is a place where things are made. In this case we will be working to make connections between ourselves, so we will be meeting, touching and observing ourselves and others.Confidentiality
Everyone who takes part in the workshop will be asked to keep confidentiality. This means that nothing that is said or done will be repeated outside the workshop in a way that would identify the person involved. Any people in a relationship (e.g. parents and their children or friends or partners) will be asked to refrain from using the specific things that are said in the workshop after it is finished.
What are we going to do?
Some of the components of this will be:Comfort - acceptance - safety - being ‘in synch’ - developing a shared ‘take’ on things - attraction - intimacy - empathy - managing judgmentThe journey of the workshop will be:Sign up and commit – shake up and connect – open up and be seen – reflect and buildThe content of the course would make little sense if it were just described here – however to experience it will be powerful, so I have given you outlines but not specific information about what we will actually do. Expect to be asked to move around, talk to strangers, look at people and touch each other, and expect to find it surprisingly easy and fun!The structure will be:
Saturday:Session 1: Boundaries, expectations, ground rules, individual requirements, commitment, introductionsSession 2: Creating a group feel and meeting each other, developing trustSession 3: Working in a groupSession 4: FeedbackSunday:Session 1: Feedback continued and self expressionSession 2: Telling your storySession 3: Exploring connectionSession 4: Exploring the future
What if I find it stressful?
Stepping out of your comfort zone is a stressful experience. One thing to learn on this weekend is that it is sometimes better to get on and do the new thing than it is to sit there and think about it. It is often not as bad as you fear.
However, if you need to take some time out, there will be refuge space that you can visit at any time so you can be alone and get yourself together.
You will always be able to decline any activity.
Preparation
There is no specific preparation other than contacting me to ask any questions that may come to you. You might find it useful to keep an eye on yourself as you go though Christmas and just noting how you would like to be around other people, and you might also notice people who attract you and those who don‘t.
Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs from Friday night though to Monday morning – they will not help you to have this experience.
Costs
The next workshop will cost £100 per person. Payments to Bill Goodyear in advance. Those who have done the workshop before are given a 50% reduction to £50
Follow up
We will consider how to make the most of this experience and follow up the workshop on Sunday afternoon.
Questions
If you have any questions, email or call me at bill@billgoodyear.org or 0208 871 1241
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