Authentic Relating Experience Brighton & Hove

What if connection could be more than conversation?

We spend so much of our time talking to people, exchanging stories, asking questions, filling the silences.
But what happens when we slow down?
When we become a little more curious about what is happening between us, beneath the words, and within ourselves?
Relating Room is a one-hour experiential space to explore a different way of meeting.

Through simple practices, playful questions and moments of genuine presence, you’ll have the chance to notice yourself, meet someone new, and experience what authentic relating can feel like.
No experience needed.
No need to be good at talking.
Just come as you are.

One hour. A few strangers. A different kind of connection.
Come and see what happens when we move beyond small talk.

PLEASE READ: Booking & Attendance
This is a free community event with limited spaces. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your booking as soon as possible so someone else can take your place.
Repeated no-shows without cancelling may result in being moved to the waiting list for future free events. This helps us create fair access and plan responsibly for everyone attending.

### About Us
We’re Maria and Marcus. We created Authentic Relating Experience because we believe something is missing from the way we learn to be with each other. We’re surrounded by people, conversations and opportunities to connect, yet genuine connection can still feel surprisingly difficult or unsatisfying.
We don’t see ourselves as having all the answers.
We’re curious about the messy, beautiful, uncomfortable and surprising nature of being human, and we’re learning alongside you.

Along the way, we’ve found more humans like us, curious, open and hungry for more intentional ways of relating. We met Pranath and Erika, our paths crossed, and something began to grow.
Together, we’re creating spaces that feel warm, edgy, playful, imperfect and honest.But more than anything else, authentic.And we’d love to welcome you in.

A 3.5-hour experiential workshop exploring awareness, authentic connection and the hidden patterns that shape our relationships.
Through carefully designed exercises, movement and conversation, you'll discover what happens within you, and between us, when we truly meet.

Before you read any further...Pause.
Take a slow breath. Notice your body.
Something brought you here. What was it?
Curiosity? Hope? A recommendation from a friend?

Perhaps you're simply exploring.
Perhaps you're sceptical.
Perhaps you don't even know.
You don't need an answer. Just notice.
Because something is already happening.

… Now notice something else.
As you've been reading these words, what has your mind been doing?
Are you trying to work out what this event is about?
Are you wondering who will come? Whether you'll fit in?
Perhaps you've already decided or have become distracted and forgotten why you clicked here in the first place.
There is so much happening in every moment that we tend to overlook, and this is what fascinates us the most, because this is where relating begins.
Long before two people speak.
The way we anticipate.
Imagine.
Judge.
Hope.
Protect.
Withdraw.
Lean in.
All before a single word is spoken. you notice it?

## A Playground for Being Human

At Authentic Relating Experience, this is what fascinates us.
Not how to become someone different.
Not how to appear more confident or say the perfect thing.
We're interested in something much closer.
What happens inside us when another human enters our experience?
What stories appear?
What assumptions form?
What sensations arise in the body?
What needs quietly ask to be met?
What parts of ourselves come alive, wonders or disappear?
The more awareness we bring to these moments, the more freedom we have to choose how we respond rather than simply react.
Most of us have spent our entire lives around other people. We've learned to adapt. Perhaps to perform, to please. To protect ourselves or to fit in.
But how often have we been invited to slow down and simply notice what is happening while we're with another person?
Not to fix it.
Not to analyse it.
Just to experience it.

## What You'll Experience

This isn't a workshop where you'll spend hours listening to us explain human connection.
Instead, you'll step into carefully designed experiences that allow you to observe yourself, and others, in the present moment.
Through partner exercises, movement, playful experiments, quiet reflection and group exploration, we'll investigate the subtle ways we meet, communicate and respond to one another.
Some moments may be light and playful.
Some may surprise you.
Some may feel deeply moving.
Some may feel uncomfortable.
All of them are invitations.
Because an entire relational pattern can sometimes reveal itself when we simply slow down enough to notice it.

## Our Approach

Everything we do is built around three interconnected pillars:
Awareness:the capacity to notice what is happening, within us, between us, and around us, meeting experiences with attention rather than assumption.
Relating:the ongoing process of bringing ourselves into connection with another; participating in the living relationship that unfolds between us.
Embodiment:the process of allowing awareness and insight to become lived experience, something we inhabit and express through the body.
Authentic Relating becomes a bridge, an experiential practice that helps us explore connection with greater honesty, presence and curiosity. Rather than trying to manufacture something new, it enhances the quality of what is already there, creating the conditions for relationships that are more meaningful, intentional and human.

## This Is Not About Performing Vulnerability

You don't need to be outgoing, confident, spiritual or experienced in this kind of work.
You won't be pressured to share personal stories or manufacture emotional intimacy with strangers.
Every exercise is an invitation.
You are always welcome to participate, adapt, pause, observe or say no.
Your boundaries are not obstacles to the experience. They are part of what we are here to notice, understand and respect.

## An Invitation

Come alone or with someone you know.
Come curious.
Come uncertain.
Come excited.
Come slightly suspicious.
Don't worry about arriving as your best self.
Just bring the human one.

## Before You Book: Creating a Safe and Brave Space

What Happens to You When Someone Matters?
A guided, interactive exploration of conscious love, dating, intimacy and authentic connection.
Before you read any further...
Pause.
Bring to mind someone whose attention has mattered to you.
Someone you wanted to choose you.
Understand you.
Stay with you.
Love you.
Now notice what happens inside you.
Do you soften?
Tense?
Reach towards them?
Pull away?
Do you become more yourself—or begin carefully editing who you are?
You don’t need to work anything out.
Just notice.
Because love doesn’t only reveal itself in what we feel for another person. It reveals itself in what happens to us when they matter.
The ways we open.
The ways we protect ourselves.
The needs we express.
The needs we hide.
The parts of ourselves we offer freely.
And the parts we fear may be too much—or not enough.
This is where our exploration begins.

## How Do We Love Without Disappearing?

Most of us carry an idea of what love is supposed to look like.
Find “the one.”
Be chosen.
Make it work.
Don’t ask for too much.
Don’t end up alone.
These pressures can shape our relationships long before we become aware of them.
Perhaps we learn to please rather than speak honestly.
To ignore a boundary rather than risk disappointing someone.
To hide what we need.
To confuse intensity with intimacy.
To hold on when something no longer feels right.
Or to remain guarded when what we really want is to be met.
Not because we are doing love incorrectly.
Because we have all learned ways of finding connection—and ways of protecting ourselves from losing it.
This workshop is an opportunity to slow those patterns down and become curious about them.
Not to discover the correct way to love.
To discover how you love.

## A Playground for Conscious Love

This isn’t a lecture about relationships, and it isn’t a dating event.
You won’t spend the day being told how a healthy relationship should look. Instead, you’ll enter carefully designed experiences that allow you to notice connection as it unfolds—in your thoughts, your body and the living space between you and another person.
Through partner exercises, movement, meditation, relational games, quiet reflection and group exploration, we’ll investigate questions such as:
What do I truly long for in love and connection?
What happens when I feel wanted—or unwanted?
How do I communicate my needs, desires and boundaries?
What allows me to trust?
What makes me withdraw?
Can I remain connected to another person without abandoning myself?
What does intimacy feel like when I don’t have to perform it?
Some moments may be playful.
Some may feel tender.
Some may surprise you.
Some may show you something you hadn’t noticed before.
All of them are invitations.

## This Is Not About Performing Vulnerability

You won’t be expected to reveal your deepest secrets, manufacture intimacy or share anything you would prefer to keep private.
You don’t need to be single.
You don’t need to be in a relationship.
You don’t need to be confident, outgoing or experienced in this kind of work.
You may be dating, partnered, healing, beginning again, questioning what you want—or simply curious about how you meet others when love is involved.
Wherever you are, you are welcome.

## Touch, Choice and Consent

Some exercises may offer the possibility of respectful, non-sexual touch. Touch is never assumed or required.
Every activity is an invitation.
You are always welcome to participate, adapt, pause, observe or say no. Consent can be changed at any moment, without explanation.
Your boundaries are not obstacles to connection.
They are part of how authentic connection becomes possible.

## Our Approach

Everything we do is built around three interconnected pillars:
Awareness: noticing what is happening within us, between us and around us—meeting our experience with attention rather than assumption.
Relating: bringing ourselves into connection and participating consciously in the living relationship unfolding between us.
Embodiment: allowing awareness and insight to become something we feel, inhabit and express through the body.
Authentic Relating becomes the bridge between these three: an experiential practice through which we can meet love, intimacy and connection with greater honesty, presence and choice.
Rather than trying to manufacture a particular kind of relationship, we explore how to become more available for the relationships that are already here—and those still waiting to emerge.

## An Invitation

Come single.
Come partnered.
Come dating.
Come healing.
Come hopeful.
Come uncertain.

You don’t need to arrive ready to open your heart to everyone in the room.
Just arrive willing to notice what makes it open—and what makes it close.

## Before You Book: Creating a Safe and Brave Space

We aim to create a space that is both safe and brave.
Safe enough that you can honour your boundaries, ask for what you need and know that your choices will be respected.
Brave enough that you can gently step beyond familiar patterns, meet discomfort with curiosity and experiment with new ways of relating.
Participation is always by invitation. You are welcome to pause, observe, adapt or opt out of any activity at any time.
To support presence and confidentiality, this is a phone-free event, and photography is not permitted during the workshop.
By booking, you agree to respect the group’s boundaries, confidentiality and community agreements.
👉 Download the ARE Agreements

## Your Facilitators

Maria Pareo — Therapist and founder of Psychoenergetic Work®
Marcus Hunt — Psychological Researcher and Facilitator
Pranath Fernando — Facilitator and Community Supporter

## Connect With Us

The ticket includes a Hot/Soft drink.

What if connection could be more than conversation?

We spend so much of our time talking to people, exchanging stories, asking questions, filling the silences.
But what happens when we slow down?
When we become a little more curious about what is happening between us, beneath the words, and within ourselves?
Relating Room is a one-hour experiential space to explore a different way of meeting.

Through simple practices, playful questions and moments of genuine presence, you’ll have the chance to notice yourself, meet someone new, and experience what authentic relating can feel like.
No experience needed.
No need to be good at talking.
Just come as you are.

One hour. A few strangers. A different kind of connection.
Come and see what happens when we move beyond small talk.

PLEASE READ: Booking & Attendance
This is a community event with limited spaces. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your booking as soon as possible so someone else can take your place.
Repeated no-shows without cancelling may result in being moved to the waiting list for future free events. This helps us create fair access and plan responsibly for everyone attending.

### About Us

We’re Maria and Marcus. We created Authentic Relating Experience because we believe something is missing from the way we learn to be with each other. We’re surrounded by people, conversations and opportunities to connect, yet genuine connection can still feel surprisingly difficult or unsatisfying.
We don’t see ourselves as having all the answers.

We’re curious about the messy, beautiful, uncomfortable and surprising nature of being human, and we’re learning alongside you.
Along the way, we’ve found more humans like us, curious, open and hungry for more intentional ways of relating. We met Pranath and Erika, our paths crossed, and something began to grow.

Together, we’re creating spaces that feel warm, edgy, playful, imperfect and honest.But more than anything else, authentic.And we’d love to welcome you in.

### Connect With Us