“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self acceptance.”
—Brene Brown
At Embodied Intelligence, we seek to create and provide safe community for you and to create connection through authentic relating.
What is Authentic Relating?
Authentic Relating is the building block for strengthening connection and belonging within yourself and with other people. We believe authentic relating is a skill that grows with practice. It is based in our ability to notice ourselves and the impact we are experiencing in any given moment in relationship to someone else. It also invites the practice of welcoming all of our experience including our resistance to ourselves or the other. These skills expand our ability for vulnerability, transparency, curiosity, and compassion. It builds emotional intelligence.
At Embodied Intelligence, we practice authentic relating through workshops, learning groups, connection circles, and coaching.
Increasing your ability to connect and growing your self-awareness takes practice. You can learn to break out of habitual ways of communicating. And you can grow in the art of slowing down and being present in the moment.
Honing these skills brings you insight about yourself and how you relate to others. This builds your emotional intelligence, fostering your curiosity and compassion, and deepening your connection with other people.
In addition to practicing these authentic relating skills in workshops at Embodied Intelligence, we invite you to participate in “Connection Circles,” through our online Community of Transformative Practice.
What are Connection Circles ?
Connection Circles is a transformational, relational practice. We use inquiry as a group practice that builds on communication skills and enhances one's self-awareness. It helps us uncover blind spots that prevent true connection and it enables one to create new ways of relating to ourselves and others.
Connection Circles is a presence based practice in that it is both meditation and group conversation. It brings together awareness and curiosity, with relational expression. Connection Circles are an opportunity to step out of our habitual ways of communicating and expressing ourselves. Group participants are invited to follow their awareness and their curiosity as it unfolds moment by moment. The facilitator guides the process to keep the relational presence as the primary focus. This is similar to how the breath or mantra is the primary focus in traditional meditation and mindfulness practices. The facilitator participates as well, following their curiosity and expressing themselves in service of modeling presence and deepening shared relational connection.
Connection Circles involves bringing attention to what is arising in the present moment, welcoming everything – even resistance to what is arising – without trying to change it.
Connection Circles invites you to:
Welcome everything.
To practice being with what is and not try to change it.
For example, you may notice a group member sharing the sadness she is noticing and want to cheer her up. Instead of acting on that impulse, you can choose to state out loud what you’re noticing in yourself. Or you can simply notice the impulse, staying curious about your struggle with allowing her sadness and being alert to what is most alive within the group.
Challenge yourself.
You’ll explore your tendency as a human to create meaning and make up stories.
You get to challenge the stories you’re telling yourself. Indeed, you might notice while listening to another participant share that you suddenly “get” them. You can then explore the accuracy of what you’re thinking by checking in with them: “The story I’m telling myself about you right now is..... Is that correct?”
Be present.
You’ll experience staying with what is alive here and now, including your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Follow your curiosity, instead of filling time and space with words. Stories from the past or future can be shared to the degree that they can be brought into the present moment and context.
All participants of the Connection Circles offerings agree to the following agreements to the best of your ability:
Team Workshops
Explore how you can bring skills of Authentic Relating and Connection Circles to your team to build communication skills and emotional intelligence