Strengthening our Practice and Broadening our Community
During this time of sudden upheaval, so many of us are evaluating what is essential and looking to new forms of community support. It seem as though we are all holding our breath as we look to see what is emerging out of this uncertainty and change. We know the world will not go back to being the same as it was. Let’s breathe again and remember that even at the best of times, life is not ever just as we hope and wish - and that is as it should be.
It may be hidden, but within our current challenges is an opportunity to develop connections that wouldn’t have happened otherwise, innovation that wouldn’t have arisen otherwise, and insights that can result in “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible” (Charles Eisenstein). From this place of inspiration, I would like to offer that this may be the best time for each and all of us to strengthen our practice and broaden our community.
I know that unexpected and wonderful things can emerge from this time. With the support of a strong personal practice and a community of collaboration, disruptions can become opportunities for a better future. History tells us this, mythology shows us this, art and poetry sing it to us, and we know this deep within ourselves from our own personal experience. Disruption is not new. Rome did not fall in a day, and those who fell with it could not imagine the world we live in today. In every era, humanity has dealt with change by building a new collective experience. Now is our opportunity.
Within a disruption is when our imagination accesses new insights. However, cultivating an insight into becoming innovation comes with the support of a personal and community practice. Then, in the midst of the unexpected, we are able to PAUSE and tap into deeper sources of knowing. With this support, new understandings emerge and weave together in a synergy with those around us. This synergy is what leads to our evolution and an upgrade in wellbeing. Therefore, this opportunity is not for me or you alone, it is for me and you together. And, as any team member knows, collaboration takes practice…
Come Together for Regeneration
Throughout history, wisdom practices have shown us that it is possible to disrupt cycles of ruin in a nonviolent and evolutionary manner. We wanted to find a way to apply this to our time, to support individual practice with the practice of collaborating in a collective. Within the Societal Transformation Lab of The Presencing Institute, Regen Collective was created in order to cultivate and co-create awareness practices for social regeneration so that personal practice and collaboration can always be improving.
Regen Circles are one way of tapping into wisdom practices and sharing them with others. ‘Regen Circles’ are circles of regeneration, gatherings where members support one another in community of practice for renewal and co-create awareness practices. Through the insights and synergy generated at each Regen Circle, individual and collective wellbeing are fostered with the PAUSE practice.
The PAUSE practice is a technique for cultivating awareness with deep listening, generative conversations, and reflective practices. This provides us with the time and space to connect to the sources of creativity and learning and to gain insight from mindfulness, introspection, and (re)integration.
PAUSE is an individual practice that is supported by the group practice of a Regen Circle. When applied effectively, there is a mobius loop between them, one sustaining the other. As we individually and collectively build our many levels of awareness, we create the capacity for greater regeneration. As we pass this experience on to others, we nurture an ecosystem of wellbeing.
There are five stages within the PAUSE practice:
P (resence)
Be present, show up with your whole self, check in with your level of Presence and awareness
A (sk)
Ask introspective questions, share curiosity or challenges in the form of questions
U (nderstanding)
Become conscious of the rising Understanding in the form of sensations, feelings, gestures and metaphors
S (ynergy)
Build a new Synergy through deep listening and generative conversation
E (volve)
Feel the new energy, allowing it to emerge as it desires, and apply it to Evolve your practice
Regen Collective — Community of Practice for Regeneration
Amidst the unexpected, we can PAUSE and tap into deeper sources of knowing to strengthen our practice and come together in new and innovative ways. Now is the time to make history, create new mythology, and live poetically. There is no need to wait, you can do this right now. PAUSE and tap into deeper sources of knowing. Doing so will cultivate the individual and collective wellbeing needed to bring us a future of wonder, truth, and beauty.
Regen Collective and the PAUSE practice were developed to cultivate awareness practices for regeneration. Why regeneration? We believe a community of practice supports the emergence of a new social cohesion between local and global communities, and a new synergy through education and learning. Read more about it HERE.
In light of current events, Regen Circle events are now available for new members to join so that we may collectively strengthen our practice and broaden our community. Join in the regeneration HERE.
Join us for a creative exploration and generative conversation with Regen Circle events HERE. We gather on the first Friday of each month for a 90 minute session, connecting with members worldwide via Zoom video call. All you need is a quiet space, journaling or arts tools, a warm heart and an open mind.
You can learn more about the PAUSE practice and Regen Circles HERE
We look forward to connecting with you all soon!
Please consider supporting the work of Regen Collective with a financial contribution HERE
Regen Collectives is an international organization that cultivates awareness practices for social regeneration. It was founded by Lauren Elizabeth Clare, Quinn Simpson, and their team in the Societal Transformation Lab of The Presencing Institute. Our approach is influenced by the methodologies of Theory U, emergent learning, coaching, and mindfulness practices.
