Nine Foundations Groups
Groups may be formed around two general categories:
1. Spiritual Development and Wholeness
This group is for people who want to unfold their spiritual nature, cultivate their creative power, and find greater fulfillment in their life. It’s for people who have ordinary life-struggles and challenges yet who want to find more joy and meaning in their lives.
2. Recovery and Overcoming Addictions
This group is for people who want to be involved with a “positive recovery” program and overcome addictions in a balanced and empowering way. This type of group may also be used as “the Next Step” for people who have been involved with Twelve Steps programs but who now want to move beyond that approach.
Meeting Format
> Meetings should begin and end on time, and run between 60 and 90 minutes.
> In general, meetings are designed to a) deepen each person's understanding and application of the teachings of the Nine Foundations, b) support each person in terms of his/her life and challenges they may be facing, and c) create a sense of belonging where each person can be heard, supported, and "gotten."
> The meeting is not a place where people come to "get things off their chest" or dump emotional stuff. People may share things that are coming up for them, but not it a way that brings the whole group down. People with personal challenges, who want to share or get support for their challenges, may do so during the meeting by participating in a 10-20 minute share module (where two or three people get together, separate from the group, and share with each other). People are also encouraged to get together after the meeting and share with each other, if both people agree to do that. Sharing or dumping emotion stuff on others, without a shared intention, is not part of what the group is about.
> Meetings can be based on a particular Foundation or cover all Foundations.
> Each meeting is run by a facilitator whose main purpose is to keep the meeting on track and help guide newcomers with regard to meeting protocol. Facilitators don't teach.
A Sample Meeting Schedule
8:00 Welcome everyone to meeting by group leader. Participants welcoming each other. (This welcoming of each other, or what may be called "seeing and being seen," takes the form of each person, from his seat, going around the room and seeing every person in the group, just long enough to catch everyone's eye and "get" that person.) Read Group intention or some uplifting quote. Read current Foundation and a teaching related to the Foundation (if applicable).
8:10 Check in. For one minute each participant tells the group how they are feeling at the moment, where they are at, and what is coming up for them in the moment.
8:20 Meeting. Sharing, work on applying the teachings, etc. (If two or more people have immediate concerns. or pressing emotional issues that they need to work on, they may go off to an area outside the meeting room, and have a period of sharing, from 10-20 minutes.)
9:10 Meditation / Prayer
9:15 Sharing of insights related to the meeting
9:25 Closing announcements, if any (short)
9:28 Last thought—an uplifting quote or statement
________________ ◊ ◊ ◊ ________________
Groups may be formed around two general categories:
1. Spiritual Development and Wholeness
This group is for people who want to unfold their spiritual nature, cultivate their creative power, and find greater fulfillment in their life. It’s for people who have ordinary life-struggles and challenges yet who want to find more joy and meaning in their lives.
2. Recovery and Overcoming Addictions
This group is for people who want to be involved with a “positive recovery” program and overcome addictions in a balanced and empowering way. This type of group may also be used as “the Next Step” for people who have been involved with Twelve Steps programs but who now want to move beyond that approach.
Meeting Format
> Meetings should begin and end on time, and run between 60 and 90 minutes.
> In general, meetings are designed to a) deepen each person's understanding and application of the teachings of the Nine Foundations, b) support each person in terms of his/her life and challenges they may be facing, and c) create a sense of belonging where each person can be heard, supported, and "gotten."
> The meeting is not a place where people come to "get things off their chest" or dump emotional stuff. People may share things that are coming up for them, but not it a way that brings the whole group down. People with personal challenges, who want to share or get support for their challenges, may do so during the meeting by participating in a 10-20 minute share module (where two or three people get together, separate from the group, and share with each other). People are also encouraged to get together after the meeting and share with each other, if both people agree to do that. Sharing or dumping emotion stuff on others, without a shared intention, is not part of what the group is about.
> Meetings can be based on a particular Foundation or cover all Foundations.
> Each meeting is run by a facilitator whose main purpose is to keep the meeting on track and help guide newcomers with regard to meeting protocol. Facilitators don't teach.
A Sample Meeting Schedule
8:00 Welcome everyone to meeting by group leader. Participants welcoming each other. (This welcoming of each other, or what may be called "seeing and being seen," takes the form of each person, from his seat, going around the room and seeing every person in the group, just long enough to catch everyone's eye and "get" that person.) Read Group intention or some uplifting quote. Read current Foundation and a teaching related to the Foundation (if applicable).
8:10 Check in. For one minute each participant tells the group how they are feeling at the moment, where they are at, and what is coming up for them in the moment.
8:20 Meeting. Sharing, work on applying the teachings, etc. (If two or more people have immediate concerns. or pressing emotional issues that they need to work on, they may go off to an area outside the meeting room, and have a period of sharing, from 10-20 minutes.)
9:10 Meditation / Prayer
9:15 Sharing of insights related to the meeting
9:25 Closing announcements, if any (short)
9:28 Last thought—an uplifting quote or statement
________________ ◊ ◊ ◊ ________________
