LifeLine Johannesburg

Lifeline Course Module 1 – Personal Growth – Sessions Two

Because sessions two and three were held on a Saturday, the trainees from both morning and evening classes were present, so the hall was quite full. Before we split into our groups, we given a tool for improving our relating skills. I love it when I am given a practical method of tackling a problem!

Then we split into the same groups. As people spoke about what they’d been thinking since our first session, it became clear that we were learning to open up to each other.

We were then encouraged to imagine an internal safe place. As was becoming usual, each group member took turns to describe their safe space. Some were small and populated, others were private. Some were vast and beautiful, others pretty and enclosed.

 Lifeline Course Module 1 – Personal Growth – Sessions Three;

Then we embarked on other exercises, one of which required us to work in pairs. This one seemed to be more about surrendering trust to another group member. I am not going to describe exactly what it entailed, but I felt comfortable surrendering control; I knew that I was in a safe place and that nothing terrible could possibly happen to me. I found my senses of hearing and touch sharpen during this little adventure. When it was my turn to be the “trusted one,” the elderly woman that I chose to lead in the experience was trembling with fright even before I laid a hand on her. I tried to pause and let her centre herself. Halfway through this exercise, I swopped partners with another group member and the second person I seemed more relaxed.

During the discussion that followed – as to how each one of us had experienced this exercise – I became aware that those who were struggling with issues of control in their lives had experienced the most discomfort during this experience. Because I try to maintain a sense of surrender, I did not feel the need to be in control; for me, “being in control of my life” is really an illusion as the only control I know I have is how I choose to respond to events around me.

Another thing that emerged at this time came in the form of feedback from some of the group members about how I come across; “You really don’t give a stuff!” which disturbed me but one of our group counsellors pointed out to me that this statement was qualified by the opinion that the person who said this gave, that she wished that she could be more like me. This gave me a lot to think about before the next session.