Creative Relating Salon : Repair and Reconnection (Level 2)

Do you ever find yourself unsatisfied with relating? Like people are judging and cherry picking rather than connecting? Like the pressure to act some particular way is overwhelming? Like relating is unsafe or frustrating?

This event may be for you. We’re having an afternoon of organized discussion about what it means to be human and to relate with others, followed by some connection exercises to explore connecting safely, with consent and joy.

The theme this time is "Repair and Reconnection". We'll be talking about how to work on coming back to connection when there is distrust, conflict, distance.

The discussion part of the salon will include opportunities to share feelings in groups of different sizes. It’s a chance to feel heard and connected, and to practice openness and compassion and empathy. We'll be doing a role-play discussion exercise, a little different from ones the past, to practice relationship repair.

The connection exercises, following the discussion, will provide an opportunity to learn and practice skills that are helpful for open relating. These exercises may include opportunities for gentle, non-sexual touch and may tenderly touch on challenging edges for some people. The exercises may explore navigating touch in a safe and consensual way, and may include the option to disrobe partially or fully. This salon's exercises will be arranged a little differently from past ones, to give a chance to explore different situations and scenarios.

Participants are always at choice, including choosing to observe the exercise or leave this part of the program.

After the salon there will be a small casual gathering with snacks and a chance to connect informally.

Location: Private house in Christie Pits, near Christie and Ossington subway stations, close to Bloor. Address will be provided to registered guests ahead of the event.

Duration: the salon itself is planned for around 3 hours, and you can linger after for a while.

Cost: There's no cost, but a donation jar will be available in case you found the workshop helpful and you'd like to offer a contribution towards the cost of hosting it. Suggested donation is $10 to go towards the cost food and supplies.

Enrollment will be limited to 12 participants; a number will be coming from the Open Relating Community via Facebook, so won't be listed on Meetup. Typically there is a mix of genders at my salons but the exercises aren't gendered, and you will likely be working with people of more than one gender.

Registered participants and people wanting to be on the wait list will need to supply either a phone # for texting or a Facebook contact for messaging. This is because often things change at the last minute (e.g. spaces open up for the waitlist, people have questions about parking, etc., etc.) and I want to be able to contact you quickly, and experience has shown that most people don't check Meetup messages frequently enough to communicate quickly. Unless I have this contact information from you I won't add you to the list of attendees - so if you're new, please send me a message with your info when you sign up, and I'll send you a confirmation that you're registered.

I will send information about address and logistics to registered participants a few days before the event.