Authenticity and vulnerability – those are two buzzwords we talk about a lot in personal growth and community development work. Most of us know how important they both are, and so we strive to embrace them. But… there’s an important aspect that is sometimes...
Let’s be in Messy Practice Together: a guide for holding space as we emerge from this pandemic
by Heather Plett | Oct 14, 2021 | Brave Space, Complexity, Holding Space for Others, Leadership, Liminal Space
Listen to me read the post... We are now in the twentieth month of this pandemic. That’s twenty months of a global liminal space that has disrupted the lives of everyone on this planet – some more than others. It’s not surprising, after such a long time of uncertainty...
Holding space with your whole brain
by Heather Plett | Sep 8, 2021 | Holding Space for Others, Holding Space for Yourself, Uncategorized
Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a stroke that wiped out the capacity of her left brain. As a Harvard trained neuroanatomist, she had unique insight into what was happening in her brain and was fascinated to discover that when she had only right brain capacity, she...
Dancing with power
by Heather Plett | Aug 30, 2021 | Brave Space, Community, Complexity
I have an uneasy relationship with power. Even though I worked in senior leadership in government and non-profit, where I managed people and influenced politicians, I still go into resistance mode when I feel like too much power has been handed to me or I’ve...
Co-regulation – Is it possible in online spaces?
by Heather Plett | Aug 19, 2021 | Community, Holding Space for Others, Safe Space
A few weeks ago, I was in a FaceTime conversation with my friend Saleha, who’s just completed a master’s degree in counseling psychology. As we always do in our conversations, we were going deep into our past trauma, our families of origin, and the most recent...
The dance between safe space and brave space
by Heather Plett | Aug 9, 2021 | Brave Space, Safe Space
“There are three things that are necessary ingredients for healing,” my therapist said recently. “Safety, safety, and safety.” Ever since then, I’ve been reflecting on what he said and I think he’s definitely on to something important. In therapy sessions...
Staying at the centre of the labyrinth
by Heather Plett | Jul 29, 2021 | Holding Space for Yourself
“You can stay at the centre as long as you need.” That’s what I say to people at retreats when I’m facilitating a labyrinth walk. The centre is where you receive whatever gifts are available to you after releasing the baggage you were carrying as you went in....
Companionship
by Heather Plett | Jul 19, 2021 | Circle, Community, Family, Holding Space for Others
“Will you be my companion?” That was a familiar phrase in our household when I was growing up. As a farm family, my siblings and I all had daily chores that we had to do in the barn after school, and none of us wanted to do them alone. If one of us had a job we...
Are your people prepared for hard conversations around things like decolonization and racism?
by Heather Plett | Jul 7, 2021 | Brave Space, Community, Complexity, Holding Space for Others, Leadership, Oppression, Power, Privilege
(from the Holding Space Card Deck) After George Floyd’s murder, there was a huge spike in the amount of money invested in diversity and inclusion work across the U.S. According to one study which surveyed HR professionals, 85% have expanded inclusion activities...
How do you process uncomfortable information? (an infographic)
by Heather Plett | Jun 24, 2021 | Uncategorized
Today there are painful stories emerging in our country that are hard to process. More unmarked graves have been found on the sites of former residential schools. Similar horrific stories have been true again and again in so many countries where there have been so...
"*" indicates required fields