To see these offerings in a printable format, click here.
Please familiarize yourself with the intention of the group in the classroom on sarahpeyton.com or here.
Session 2: Exploring Chapter 5, Revoking the Five Contracts of Anxiety
Focus: Releasing Contracts Related to Anxiety or Time Travel To The Future
An option for group resonance and discussion, created and offered by Jaya Manske
SUGGESTED FORMAT
1. Take a moment to settle in and say hello (Timing: 1-2 minutes)
2. Choose someone to lead this session. We recommend a different person volunteer to lead each time. This person will track time and read aloud the instructions that follow (you may also pick 2 people, one to track time and another to read instructions). (Timing: 1 minute)
3. Check-in. Please go around the circle, giving each person an opportunity to share:
– One feeling and/or body sensation you’re experiencing
– (optional) If you have one for yourself, offer an impossible dream guess for yourself
– “[Your name] would you love it if…” *Make sure it’s truly impossible (example: “[name], would you love it if a team of very attuned and attentive (and detail-oriented) elves would come and do your work in the night so that when you wake up, you could be met with the delight of a day outside daydreaming?”
For ideas about how to create a group where deep sharing is possible, please read these guidelines
here.
(Timing: 9-15 minutes)
For this week’s suggestion, I have provided 2 suggestions. One to work with contracts, and the other to practice time travel into the future as demonstrated during session 2’s class. Time travel practice can be done in smaller breakout rooms or as a large group with witnesses.
4a. Releasing Contracts Related to Anxiety
(if choosing to work with Time Travel, Scroll Down to 4b)
(Timing: remaining time, leaving 5 minutes for closure. Approx. 45 minutes)
Reflect on the possible contracts that may have arisen for you during the past weeks. For some examples, you can review pages 98 and 99 in the workbook.
Feel into it, you don’t need to know all the steps to begin. Just the behavior or thought you’d like to shift.
Below are 3 options to approach contract work as a group. Decide what you’d like to do today, knowing you can try different approaches in the future.
Option 1: In smaller sub-groups, support one another to release a self-management contract. Please keep time travel resonance in mind as you go through the process if you hit any stuck places.
You can review the unconscious contract template here. Or read below.
Review this handout for tips to support your partner in a contract release
Option 2: Work on contracts as a group:
1 . Choose someone to lead
2. People can journal or write in the chat
3. Have the person leading ask everyone:
(give space after each question to consider, also allowing for the person leading to consider their own contract)
a) to connect to the contract related to anxiety (FEAR, PANIC/GRIEF, Loyalty, Health, Being Torn Between Two Authorities, or Anxiety About Anxiety) you found for yourself and find the words for the start of the contract “I (your name) solemnly swear that I will not….” (Refer to what arose for you or in reviewing the possible contracts) (create space to look inward)
b) Who or what is the contract made to? (essential self, mother, father, ancestors, humanity, earth, God, universe, etc.)
c) In order to? What is the deep need that is met by doing this/believing this?
4. Once you have it all together, repeat the contract to yourself in its entirety “I (your name) solemnly swear to ____(who was the contract made to)_____, that I will/ will not_________________, in order to ____________________________. No matter the cost to myself or those I love.”
5. Become who/what you each made your contract to and ask “________ did you hear this vow?”
Yes ____
No ____
If no, then repeat the words of the vow. If still no, consider if the contract was made to someone else.
6. Move to release – staying with who/what you each made your contract to and ask “________ do you like this vow for (your name)”?
a) If ‘no’, release.
“I release you from this contract and I revoke his vow”
b) If ‘yes’, allow others to release and maybe move to support the person with a ‘no’
(choice point) (use the time travel resonance process)
7. Blessing – following the release, what does your essential self, or whoever you made your contract want for you? Create a blessing that encourages you to live in a new way. What do you want for yourself instead?
“And I give you my blessing to…”
8. Come back to yourself and celebrate and/or be with how it is to be you without the contract
9. Take a moment to connect with one another if that seems sweet – how was it for each of you? Share anything you’d like about the process or blessing. Make sure everyone who wants to gets a chance to share.
Option 3: If, instead you want to work with just one person as a group, choose one person to work with and one person to support the process.
Everyone else witnesses.
The full process is on pages 112-113 of the workbook.
Please track who has received support and supported today, so you can rotate each time.
5. Closure: please close by having each person name a need met or a gift received after this discussion. You can read more about this practice here.
(Timing: 5 minutes)
ALTERNATE FORMAT:
4b. Time Travel To The Future
(Timing: remaining time, leaving 5 minutes for closure. Approx. 45 minutes)
In either a large group or smaller sub-groups:
Use the time travel resonance process below (modified slightly) to travel to a moment in the future which is scary or stressful:
- Choose someone to go first
- What’s the worst moment of the future?
- Step through time and space together (if that’s okay for the person) and freeze everything
- Make resonant language guesses for yourself (or invite the other/another person to, if you’re willing):
- Have you stopped breathing?
- Do you need acknowledgment of fear?
- Do you need acknowledgment of alarmed aloneness?
- What is a metaphor guess you have for yourself?
- Can you feel yourself (and others) there with yourself?
- If yes, leave your Resonant Self Witness there to meet you when you arrive.
- If no, ask consent to leave your RSW there anyway, to meet you when you arrive.
- If you witnessed or supported, offer a need met or gift received to the person who did work
- Reverse
5. Closure: please close by having each person name a need met or a gift received after this discussion. You can read more about this practice here.
(Timing: 5 minutes)
OTHER FORMATS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:
The suggested format above is meant to create ease, however, your group might instead choose to structure your time around any of these activities or create your own:
1. Offer resonant empathy to each other, either in the whole group or in smaller sub-groups (you can use this resonant empathy circle format if you’d like)
2. Listen to one of the meditations from chapter 5 together and talk about what comes up for you – PANIC/GRIEF circuit | FEAR circuit
3. Continue your discussion from your previous session together
4. Do one of the homework exercises suggested together and discuss