CCI-USA 2012 (4)
18 May 2012
** Loving You, Loving Me **
Lanette continues to report, with our thanks:
programming
After writing my first article, I realized that I had not covered a couple of other very important topics. One is program planning. Four people were the program planners this year: Adam, Ann A., Gilli and Cheryl P. They presented us a thoughtful, interesting and very interactive program. Their introduction to culture setting was no less than brilliant! It took into account that almost 100% of us were seasoned in the lore of CCI culture. Instead of feeding us what we already knew, or preaching to the choir, they elicited our knowledge through connection with each other.
CCI-USA 2012 (3)
15 May 2012
**Loving You, Loving Me**
Lanette Errante reports about the CCI-USA meeting 2012 (April 17-22nd ) at the Holy Family Retreat Center in West-Hartford, Connecticut, and we celebrate her energy and intention to do so! She writes:
I cannot deny it. I have emerged from this workshop loving you AND me much more than before the workshop started. I've been noticing, after each CCI, whether it be in the US or in Europe, I always say the same thing, 'this has been the best CCI!' Once I became aware of this, I had to ask myself: 'how can this be?' How is it possible that every single CCI is better than the last? The answer came as I realized the common denominator is ... me! My conclusion is that CCI workshops have helped me to grow exponentially. Each time I have a deeper, more fulfilling, more socializing experience.
an unfolding vision....
| 06 May 2012
CCI is an unfolding vision. As expression I adapted this wording from a flyer I recently saw in New Zealand about the NZ peace movement. And I think, that this is a wonderful wording. Because it expresses in my view exactly the action it accommodates.
According to 'a definition of CCI' as John Heron reworded the CCI guidelines of the start in 1974, he names CCI in his proposal of 1994, 'a planet-wide association of individuals and local networks'. In the original guidelines of ' 74, as they were proposed by Tom and Dency Sargent and John Heron together, they talk about 'an international federation'. But it never came that far... Twenty years later the word 'guidelines' has also disappeared, and made room for 'a definition'. Not THE definition. But 'a', by John Heron.
After publishing the text of his proposal in One to One in 1994, and at the same time his invitation to CCI members to come forward with other proposals for the wording, the text of 'a definition' is finalized in 1996. Since he has reviewed and extended the theory and practice in 2009. In 2010 he writes: 'I don't think there is any one final and right version. Each person's version will have its distinctive connotation'; (see documentation-theory/definitions/the core of CCI, on this website). And by that CCI is an unfolding vision.
CCI-USA 2012 (2)
29 April 2012
a sign of feelings
'Just a few days ago we had our wonderful workshop in West Hartford, Connecticut' write us Sytse Tjallingii, one of the organizers of CCI Europe 2012, while visiting Vancover, Canada. Together with his wife, Marlies (both members of the Dutch CCI couples co-counselgroup) they attended the CCI-USA meeting 2012. He reports: We have a great time! We have a full program of thrilling workshops, wonderful loving people, feeling the energy of a warm and lively community.
We (Sytse and Marlies) were running our workshop, which we also recently did in Tel Aviv with the Dror community, three weeks ago. The idea is that we can focus on getting new energy, exploring our resources more than focus on discharge. We choose the title: 'Choose your own color, from discharge to recharge'.
We wanted to give an example of a workshop we are planning to run in the CCI-Europe 2012 in the Netherlands. We were surprised that this time in the CCI-USA, out of the ten participants, there were 7 (CCI) co-counsel teachers.
support raises awareness!
| 23 April 2012
One of the standard ingredients of CCI co-counseling meetings of several days is the formation of the so called support groups. As the name mentions: that is a group to support you during the gathering. So was it also scheduled for the meeting that closed last Sunday (CCI-USA) in West- Hartford, Connecticut. The formation of support groups is mostly organized at the end of the start ceremony of a several days CCI meeting. Such a meeting, and in fact all CCI meetings, begin with everybody standing in a circle. And so is the end of a CCI meeting or workshop also symbolized by a closing circle. The circle symbolizes – anyway for me – that we all are equal. Equal rights and equal responsibilities.Each say, staying in that circle, their given name, and mostly, if it is an international gathering and for the first meeting, also from which country they come. If suggested by the facilitator of that event, they can add a personal 'good and new' experience to highlight their being arrived! Or 'what they take with them' in case of a closing circle. Own your statement. Reactions on your statement are not at all appreciated. Just free attention is enough! The content of what is shared in any opening or closing circle is confidential and there will not be referred to it, at whatever time. So is also all emotional work done within CCI working time. Unless otherwise has been mentioned.
a new chapter.....
| 17 April 2012
After writing my 'ideas for promoting CCI' (April 13), I realized that it is interesting to do so, but ideas may evaporate soon after that also. However, in the long run it might be interesting to review how the wording have changed in five or ten years time. Or not! So I searched in my computer about former versions. And realized also that in general the internet era of to day has changed a lot of our way of presentation of Co-Counseling International. In the 'old' days, before the 1990ies, the only public information about the in- and
outs of the CCI approach was (anyway in the Netherlands) by information-meetings or folders at the public library. Sometimes, but very limited – during press announcements of these information meetings. Representatives of the press, to report, were mostly not welcome at these meetings.At that time, the 1970ies, the mouth to mouth information was most popular and important. As I have been told. The practitioners of the CCI approach shared their own story and energized their friends and others to try it out themselves. Since that time, the facilitator(s) of a fundamental training (of about 40 hours) started to act as the gatekeepers of the CCI communities. They decide, whether the participants of that training may be(come) capable to join a CCI community to contribute in their own way to the local and international CCI. That role has not changed.
welcome night CCI-USA 2012 (1)
17 April 2012
Lanette reports: Last night (Sunday April 15) was the Welcome Night party, at the home of Cheryl & John Pytel, to kick off the USA CCI Workshop 2012, Loving You, Loving Me. The excitement has been building for months now as we Americans have been preparing for the workshop. The continuity people: Dency Sargent, Barbara Woodis-Ihloff and Michael Chell are the foundation for CCI-USA to happen.
Barbara has brought back the Children's Program. We will have 5 children in attendance this year. There is much positive anticipation for this program and I am looking forward to hearing what the children will say about it. The Program Planners have worked hard to put together a workshop for all to enjoy; we expect many surprises from these wonderfully creative folks.
2 Dutch CCI-USA visitors 2012
| 14 April 2012
Marlies and Sytse, members of the Dutch CCI community, arrived safe in New New Haven (CT) to attend the CCI-USA 2012 meeting of next week. Sytse is one of the organizers of the CCI-Europe meeting in July in Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands. They are also invited, to write (some) of their experiences at the CCI-USA meeting for CCI World News Service.
ideas for promoting CCI
| 13 April 2012
Recently an American CCI member, Bob Sawyer, mentioned on Facebook (the page of a CCI co-counseling group), that there are many discussions about how to grow co-counseling. This subject interests me too, and has for a long time. Reacting to Bob's statement I wrote my personal vision. And send it to him and invited 15 CCI co-counselors in different parts of the world to respond. So far the number of answers is not promising. In my vision I distilled some ten different positive aspects of CCI co- counseling, which may be used to promote and grow it.
The first positive aspect is, co-counseling is a way of living in peace with my emotions: dealing with all kinds of unpleasant emotionally events and also celebrating happy ones. Free emotional experiences act like significant milestones of life. We realize that our life is also an unfolding process. In other words: growth and change are both possible. We can begin to make more aware personal decisions of change.
CCI spectacles
| 04 April 2012
The other day, my daily paper (NRC Handelblad) offered me, March 17th, their weekend appendix edited by the editors of Ode. Ode is an independent monthly magazine in Dutch and in English, about people and ideas who change the world, Ode magazine was founded by Juriaan Kamp (journalist) and Hélène de Puy in 1995. They both acted in those days as motor of a think tank. Keywords of their magazine are: 'justice', 'respect', 'durability', 'peace' and the magazine became in the meantime an expression of 'a new way of thinking in social and personal ways', as they word it.
This weekend appendix attracted my attention because it payed attention to 'the wording of thoughts and your actual temper'. And the author of this article, Inge Schilperoord, pays special attention to the recent issued book of prof. James Pennebaker (psychologist, Texas, USA): 'The secret life of pronouns'. Pennebaker is also the author of other popular books like: Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotion and Writing to Heal, which focuses on expressive writing. Pennebaker is Regents Centennial Liberal Arts Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, He wrote also 'some practical advise' about writing and health (click here)
