Dear Friends of the Relational Dojo,

Carol, James, Justin and Ola here! We are inviting you to join us for a new “Hike”, May to August, at the Relational Dojo. Please forward this to your friends, family, and colleagues who you think would enjoy practicing with us! We are a community of practice which grows purely through your word of mouth.

We will host an introduction session before the new Hike starts, all are welcome. This could be especially helpful for those who are new to either relational practices or the Dojo. Come check out our vibe! It is at 12pm-1pm Pacific Time on Thursday April 23. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82222075148.

About Relational Dojo

Dojo translates as “place of the way/path.” “Relational Dojo” is a hall or place for immersive, experiential learning of relational frameworks and skills.

Vision (the future we dream of)

We cultivate a world where people can effectively use relational skills to raise healthy families, strengthen friendships, build regenerative workplaces, advance democratic systems, and contribute to planetary thriving.

Mission (what we do to get there)

The Relational Dojo is a place to practice relating. We invite hosts to hold experiential learning containers for a wide range of relational skills and frameworks. We cultivate communities of practice to offer peer support and companionship for life-long growth.

What is a Hike?

Relational Dojo is deliberately developmental, both for our members and for how we co-evolve. We organize our yearly schedule into three “Hikes”: 4-month-long learning containers to practice together, explore, and see new terrain. Each Hike has a rhythm, a cycle, a beginning and reflections at the end. We let our reflections guide us to design the next hike. We are continuously iterating on our practices to make them more robust, generative, and inclusive.

This new Hike goes from the beginning of May to the end of Aug. Each relational practice has its own cadence. For details, see below.

How to Sign up for Practices

While some practices are on a drop-in basis at the convenience of the participants ( like a drop-in soccer game), other practices may require commitment. Please see the practice descriptions below for details. To sign up for Dojo practice groups, please fill out a simple form here. We will send you calendar invites, zoom links, and our newsletter after you sign up.

Practices for this Hike

For this Hike, we have four recurring practices: T-Group, Bohm Dialogue, Being With It All, and Communal Reverie. Details below.

T-Group

T-Group is a learning group. Your task is to learn about yourself and others through interaction.

Leverage the group to learn about your impact. Try on new behaviors that you’d like to cultivate. Learn by doing. Keep your focus on what is happening now, and with those you are with. There will be facilitators present to help support your practice.

If you are unfamiliar with T-Group, come to the first few sessions in the Hike, there will be more emphasis on beginnings. If you are familiar with T-Group, you’ve found your people!! We ask new participants to the Dojo to please watch our demo, and read our Quicksheet.

T-Group Practice Dates (hosted by Justin): Sign up here

Bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 12:00pm - 1:30pm Pacific Time
Dates: May 5th (Opening session), May 19th, June 2nd, June 16th, June 30th, July 14th, & July 28th

****************************************

T-Group Seminar

A space to discuss all things T-Group. It gives us time to explore questions like: How do I know if I’m practicing T-Group “right?” What’s the potential I’m sensing here? How do I realistically apply this in my work or in my family? This is a place to talk about how to apply it in all of our relationships in life!

T-Group Seminar Dates

Monthly on the 3rd Wednesday, 10:00am-11:00am Pacific Time

Dates: May 20th, June 17th, & July 15th

****************************************

Bohm Dialogue

Bohm Dialogue practice may be the hardest to describe or define, compared to other dialogue practices. In some ways, Bohm Dialogue practice inherently defies structure, script, or definition. It invites us to pay attention to how our mind (broadly defined) moves within ourselves and with others in the dialogue. Thus, we not only pay attention to the “content” of our thinking, but also “how” we think and communicate. The main purpose of Bohm Dialogue is to surface in-coherence within and between us, explore wholeness, and practice cohering across divides, i.e., real and perceived differences that separate individuals and divide humanity. For those who are new to the practice, here’s a more in-depth introduction of the practice.

Bohm Dialogue Practice Dates (Hosted by Carol and friends): Sign up here

10:30am - 12:00pm PT (Pacific Time) on Fridays (May 8, May 22, June 5, June 19, July 3, July 17, July 31)

**************************

Being With It All

Life is a lot sometimes, isn’t it? Everything happens so much. Sacredness weaves its way through the suffering and joy, yet we often find numbing and distraction to be easier than facing the extremes.

There’s a secret to peace in the midst of everything: to let it be. To be with it all, we welcome the reality of what is, the is-ness of what is true — and we welcome our own experience, without pushing away or clinging. When we practice being, together, we find our capacity expanding. Fear recedes. Turbulence settles. Our hearts beat on, grounding our connection to life.

Being With It All is a simple but radical practice of acceptance kindled in the shared space between our open hearts. We practice in trios and all sessions are open to newcomers. Sign up here

Being With It All (Hosted by James):
Every third Saturday, 1:00-2:30pm Pacific Time
Dates: May 9, May 30, June 20, July 11, August 1

******************

Communal Reverie

Communal Reverie is a practice designed to support the cultivation of a capacity that I’ve called collective imaginal attunement. Together, we practice tuning in to the felt sense of the intersubjective field while assuming a posture of hospitality toward the deep imagination, welcoming the autonomous expression of its archetypal intelligence. What typically unfolds is a mutually disclosed collective imaginal experience.

These cooperative forays into collective imaginal attunement can evoke a wide array of experiences: mystery, beauty, wonder, and sometimes weirdness.

While prior experience with mindfulness, energy body attunement, imaginal practices, and we-space practices like Collective Presencing are a major asset to this practice, the only requirements for participation in these sessions are a stance of curiosity, open receptivity, and readiness to adhere to the basic guidelines of practice, which will be discussed at the outset.

See website and introductory practice primer for more details. Sign up here

Communal Reverie (Hosted by Sam):
Monthly on Saturdays, 10am -11:30am Pacific Time
Dates: May 16th, June 13th, July 11th

Relational Dojo’s Gifting Culture

We intentionally practice more inclusive livelihood models. We do not exclude others based on economic status. All our sessions are free to participate in. We operate on a model of gifting. You are invited to give gifts in all forms of value: be it financial donation, feedback, community building efforts, co-creation, or other creative ways you can contribute to the sustainability and vitality of the platform. We invite you to give from a place of joy and solidarity. Our intention is to🍓cultivate a gifting culture 🍓 in this community, a culture that helps us to see value and abundance in all forms and shapes.

Upcoming Sessions

• Introduction to the new Hike. 12pm-1pm Pacific Time (PT) on April 23. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82222075148.

• T-group: Tuesday, May 5 at 12:00pm - 1:30pm PT
  [Session recurs at the same time every 2 weeks]

• T-group Seminar: May 20, 10:00am - 11:00am, Pacific Time
  [Monthly on the 3rd Wednesday till July]

• Bohm Dialogue: Friday, May 8, at 10:30am - 12:00pm PT
  [Session recurs at the same time every 2 weeks]

• Being With It All: Saturday, May 9, at 1:00pm - 2:30pm PT

  [Session recurs every 3 weeks]

• Communal Reverie: Saturday, May 16 at 10:00am-11:30am PT

  [Once a month through July]

In Gratitude,

Ola, James, Justin, and Carol

Dear friends,

It’s our second newsletter! The wrap up newsletter to our first Hike. Announcements, logistics and thank yous.

Thank you! For joining us, for participating with us, for playing with us; we are excited about the future. Over one hundred people participated in one-or-more of our practice groups. We deeply enjoyed getting a chance to practice and learn with you in T-Group, Bohm Dialogue, Being with it All and Communal Reverie.

We learned a lot, and we want to learn more! This is where you come in. We are a nascent system with big dreams. We want our practice spaces lively, financially accessible, and valuable. Your input matters so much to us! It is a currency, one that helps fuel the development, and pack the Terra firma of our Dojo. If you practiced with us, please consider giving back and sharing your thoughts.

An Invitation for Feedback

We will have a facilitated feedback session on April 9th at 12:30pm PST. Zoom link! This is a chance to digest the Hike, and experience some cross-group learning.

We also have a feedback form!

Feedback could be structural: what’s working? What could work better?

Feedback could also be relational: what’s been our impact on you? What feels meaningful?

And finally, feedback is welcome at any engagement level. If you haven’t signed up for any of our practices, why not? Is there a structural change that would make it more desirable/possible to attend? What’s it like to witness/imagine what we’re doing here?

We will be sending out our official next-Hike-coming newsletter soon, which we very much would love if you would distribute amongst your communities. It will contain information about us, and all the sweet-deets for the new Hike.

In gratitude,

Justin (on behalf of the Dojo Platform Stewards)