The Shift knelt down beside me in the wilderness and in the softest voice I've ever heard he said, "I love being the reason for your new beginning." Then he kissed the tears from my eyes, stood up and took my hand.
Heather O'Hara
Initiative process support®
Again and again in our lives we can observe that something is no longer consistent and we feel a longing for change. Sometimes it is processes of change that call us in a natural way and occupy us internally for a while, but sometimes it is also inevitable "impacts" such as separation, loss of a loved one, serious illness or burnout that throw us out of our familiar life.
" The only constant in life is change "
If something wants to change in us, there is a so-called turning point, which is often referred to as a crisis. A more appropriate word for this might be “growth crisis”.
This process is associated with a lot of insecurity and fear, because the "old" no longer suits us and the "new" is not yet recognizable and carries us.
We all know how difficult times like this can be, that sometimes they demand everything from us and really demand courage.
And it is precisely in such "crises" that there is growth and potential for development, if they are really lived through.
Our ancestors and indigenous peoples did not leave their fellow human beings alone in these processes of change. They have accompanied the members, giving them the opportunity to grow into a new purpose or role and to be appreciated and recognized in it. That was and is the moment of an initiation.
Through the initiatic process support® we want to take up this dignified handling of transitional crises.
The term Initiatic Process Support® was coined by Holger & Gesa Heiten from the Eschwege Institute and is a modern form of support in transition processes.
She works with the "Four Shields" wheel of life, the methods of deeper self-understanding based on it through the "mirror of nature", with the non-violent and community-binding form of communication "Way of Council" and with modern forms of rites of passage.
The Four Shields
The wheel of life of the four shields is a natural-psychological development model that can be traced back to one of the oldest psychological systems in the world. Meredith Little and Steven Foster from the School Of Lost Borders have further developed the model from the traditions of primarily North American indigenous peoples and made it usable for the needs of our time.
It is based on the premise that man does not exist separately from "nature", but is inevitably part of it. It describes four universal qualities that repeat themselves at regular intervals. These patterns can be found in the large and small cycles of our planet and our lives. We can also look at our human development in accordance with these cyclical processes. If we succeed in integrating the four qualities in a balanced way in life, we can, so to speak, stand balancing in the middle of our life wheel and decide and act more freely.
nature as a mirror
From a neurological and perception-psychological point of view, we always perceive the outer and our inner world through individually different filters. These filters are related to our current mental state, our values, beliefs and beliefs. What we perceive therefore says much more about us than about the objective world itself. That's why it's hard to say "that the world is the way it is". Rather, one would have to say that the world is the way one is at the moment and the way one perceives it.
The old Kabbalists already said: "One can never recognize anything in one's reality but oneself."
We therefore use the “mirror of nature” in growth processes by being alone “out there” on certain topics and questions on thresholds “intuitive walks or paddling stages”. In this "threshold time" we encounter nature as a neutral, non-judgmental counter-image. After this solo time, we share in the group what we have experienced and have this story "reflected back". This allows its content to be revealed to us on a deeper level and we receive answers to our questions and access to our inner knowing beyond pure intellectual understanding.
Way of Council
Council is a nonviolent form of communication that recognizes that people today need slowing down, mindfulness and inclusion of our “heart intelligence” have to learn and practice again for the most part.
The Way of Council focuses on listening. It was developed into its present form from ancient traditions and modern knowledge by the Ojai Foundation California.
A few discussion guidelines create a space for compassion and honesty. It promotes authentic self-expression, recognition, mindfulness and connection in group processes.
The attitude in the Council and the key "feeling heard" can create something unexpectedly new, a space for new insights and new "understanding", which the individual usually cannot open up on his own. In the Council but where all members share a common center, the "circle" becomes the teacher, healer, and counselor.
