(1 credit) Being able to identify reactivity in yourself and others and respond with wisdom and compassion is essential to following a spiritual path in everyday life. While you may easily identify an angry voice or resentful stare, reactivity is often more subtle and may be directing an interaction without your knowledge. With increased awareness of the continuum of reactivity, you can quickly move attention to the heart of any given interaction or issue.
In this course you will have the opportunity to work with eight types of reactive patterns you find in yourself and others, along with their subtle and not so subtle manifestations. The course requires a willingness to be vulnerable and stretch into challenging emotional territory. Along with each pattern you will learn and practice empathy for the associated feelings and needs and the specific healing responses. You will study reactive patterns through physical embodiment and through experiential exercises that highlight how each pattern functions in a specific context. Practice will be adjusted to fit professional or personal contexts. This course incorporates principles, exercises, and content from Hakomi (also known as body-centered therapy) along with the consciousness, skills, and framework of Compassionate Communication.
