Previous to that I'd done a handful of other self help/self realisation seminars - 'Insight' and 'The Forum' spring to mind - and had found them to be beneficial (in their own way). So, as Claire often espoused the benefits of TMW and was actually in training to lead herself, I figured why not.
I was invited to stay the three or four nights in a spare room at one of the generous trainees. Each morning before showing up at the function centre, I'd go for a stretch and swim at the local pool. Generally, I was in a good head space at that time, so I was open and receptive to whatever may shift, any changes in perspective, broadening of outlook.
There was a lot of great stuff in the seminar over the two days and four nights. I found it engaging and beneficial. One of the best exercises - and the reason behind this rant - was one in which we sat in an arrangement of four chairs facing a single one in a semi-circle. One at a time, we would sit in that chair and say just two words: 'I am.' The other four would then respond to the simple statement and tell what they got from that - about who you were, how you feel, where you are at in your life, etc....
Well. It was amazing. I will never forget just how accurate and on pace everyone (all strangers to each other) was. It exemplified just how deeply we all comprehend things about each other and how clearly we see each other.
Thing is, in everyday life, all that is mostly subliminated for reasons of etiquette and normal surface level interaction.
We all know how normal it is for ourselves to perceive others in a complex and comprehensive way but we tend to kind of assume that people looking at us aren't really taking much in. The truth is we are all extremely attuned to human nature and individual personality. From just two words, the feedback was gobsmakingly astounding. We underestimate each other. And, to a degree, ourselves.
My point, and the reason for writing this piece is to do with the connection between what I am writing and what the reader is receiving. I sometimes worry about a gap. But then I realise. No. It's cool. We all read between the lines. We all pick up on nuances and read into every minute choice a writer makes with words, phrasing, energy aligment. I don't need to worry. Just put it out there. Just say, "I am," and people will hear you as you are.
And part of that is the point. It's something we love to do. Share ourselves with each other. In all sorts of ways. And the more real, the deeper, the more passionate, the more raw and pure; the better. Each of us is connected deeply. And we need each other more than we know.