Qualities of Peace in Feminine Leadership

Qualities of Feminine LeadershipInside Awareness is hosting Qualities of Peace in Feminine Leadership Dialogues on behalf of Greater Victoria Peace & Intercultural Celebrations.  (#yyjpeace.com)  Our first one was held on March 8th, International Women’s Day.  In our first gathering the *qualities that emerged where;  inner leadership and belonging,  and the *values where;  belonging and acceptance.

Seven qualities of Feminine Leadership that came up in yesterday’s discussion are:

  • ‘Leaders are talking about peace but mostly not behaving or speaking peacefully.’  
  • Accepting our gender, acknowledging our differences and naming the leadership qualities particular to us.  Some examples; capacity for empathy, caring, nurturing and understanding emotions.
  • Recognize each of us has something to offer even when you are locked into a specific cultural belief system and start by being friends first and explore our differences.
  • Be present to the immediate need and take responsibility for changing it.  Stop talking about it  and do something! 
  • Change starts at home first to build a foundation of leadership that secures our future evolution.
  • Stop giving in just because it is  expected of you, but rather, begin to express your needs in a way that others would want to hear them and contribute to meeting them.
  • Listen to each member in the community before making decisions so the decision includes everyone’s voice.

These dialogues are challenging and they are nurturing growth and planting seeds!  They will be continued if your are interested in joining us.  If you are interested in creating a talking circle focused upon leadership in your school, business or organization contact us here at Inside to get started.   

*qualities – for this purpose the meaning of qualities is a behavior or characteristic
*value – for this purpose the meaning of value is the point of need that can be our point of connection and understanding

Beautiful Learning Moments with a Blue Heron

Blue Heron

Blue Heron

Yesterday a blue heron was along the water’s edge as I was leading a walking group by.

As  we where walking a participant had been talking and so our focus was not on the surroundings.  A thought ran through my mind, “look for the blue heron,” and so I looked up.  There, almost alongside of us, was the blue heron fishing.

How many times do we have these thought messages go through our mind and we don’t pay attention to them?

I am happy I listened this time as we enjoyed seeing this blue heron hunt for fish with no fear of us being watchers!  A highlight of our day that could so easily have been missed! One that brought us out of the story that was being shared into what was immediately in our surroundings!

Our walking lesson prior to going out in nature to walk was about noticing our immediate surrounding and how it influences us.  Many of us are unconscious of how our immediate surrounds stimulate pre-verbal responses.  It is a function of our brain-body connection we aren’t even aware that it is a part of our operating system!  This moment was a metaphor of that teaching!

Beautiful learning moments with a blue heron.

Announcing ‘The Teaching Labyrinth’ @ Brentwood Bay School!

Children's Peace & Nature LabyrinthInside is pleased to announce that ‘The Teaching Labyrinth‘ program will be one of the four workshops at the World Children Summit on Peace and Nature being held May 28th, 2015 at Brentwood Bay Elementary in Saanich.  This is one of Greater Victoria Communities!  Our program, The Teaching Labyrinth, will be one of four at Brentwood Bay Elementary.  The three other workshops will be; Storytelling, Photography and Nature, Music with the Ukulele.

To find out more on how you can host The Teaching Labyrinth workshop at your school please contact us here at Inside.

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Greater #yyj Hands Across the Sands @ Willows Beach

Are you ready to simply come together, hold hands to join the World in expressing a silent ‘yes’ to clean energy?”

If so, join us in gathering along with our International Community to join hands across the tar/sands!  

WHEN:  Saturday, May 16th – arrive @ 11:45 a.m. – hold hands @ noon

WHERE: Willows Beach at the corners of Dalhousie and Beach Drives.  Meet up on beach under the Kiwanis Tea Room.

We arrive, connect, hold hands from 12:00 noon to 12:15 pm, cheer and leave with no footprint!  

Pictures from previous years

Peace Pal Ambassador of Peace Children’s Art – in Greater Victoria #yyj for ’15

Inside is hosting #yyjpeace.com Peace Pal Ambassador of Peace Children’s Art this year!

Our first showing will be at the #4th Annual Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival over the weekend of April 15 & 26th.  Please join us at the festival to view art along Education Alley.  Come to discuss the art with Renee at the Canadian Peace Initiative Booth where we will be supporting long time local Peace Activists, Saul Arbess and Penny Joy.  Saul and Penny have been tirelessly working towards getting  a Department of Peace recognized in Canadian Parliament.

This exhibition is available to your school house or classroom during this year to add to your ‘Peace Education.”  Please connect with us here at Inside to find out more on availability and how to arrange this.

If you would like to know more about Educational Programs for kids; Speaking Peace – being Peace, Creating a Culture of Value, Kids Peace Bus Yearly Calender of values integration program and the Teaching Labyrinth,  please connect with us or visit our Children’s Educational site – www.cultureofvalues.com.

2015 International Peace Art Contest 

Get your kids involved in submitting their art for this year’s, (2015’s) contest.  The deadline is May 30th.  Find out ore at Peace Pals International.

Living Awareness Personal Program

Living Awareness in the now

Explore being in the now with a personal somatic integration program. This personal educational program is designed for deepened personal learning by enhancing self-awareness.  This holistic movement to mindfulness program guides you to listen to yourself and teaches you how you focus your attention.  Learning how you function increases physical, mental and emotional experiences.  It supports breaking habits that hold you back from fully experiencing a fuller life, increases mobility, flexibility, calms your busy mind and supports you to become mindful of your somatic messaging!

This program increases personal safety and reduces anxiety creating space to stimulate new movement pattern awareness.  Some natural benefits are an increase in tolerance, empathy and patience in oneself and with others. Awareness of movement is the main contributor to improving movement.

Every time the brain is used four competent are stimulated:  movement, thought, sensation and feeling – the four aspects of self.  Typically one aspect is not experienced without the other three.  Inside Awareness programs focus on the four aspects of self.  We offer acute programs that can focus on anyone of these four aspects; movement, thought, sensation or feeling, and programs that are designed for contemplative integration of these four aspects.

What is unique about this program is the patterns of movement may bring you up against your own obstacles of fear and/or protections that you may have  ignored.  Expanding awareness through movement is subtle and easy and  can open you to emotional and mental blind spots.  In this program the movement is the focus and not your stories.  This can give one a fuller understanding of their old habits in present time and bypass lingering in old stories.  It is a practice of being in the now (present) to process.  It is not to say through the movement that old memories won’t arise, they will.  Memories will rise and fall away with ease and are less likely to be lingering parasitic obstacles to a happier and healthier life!

This 90 minute program has three parts.  The first 30 minutes is practitioner lead patterns of movement, the second 30 minutes is guided movement for growing awareness.  This is followed by time with practitioner to build personal literacy of experience.

Each part of this Living Awareness Program can be experienced separately as individual sessions.

Connect now to find out when you can experience your 90 minute Living Awareness Session.  

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Qualities of Feminine Leadership

CALL TO ACTION IN THE COMMUNITY

INSIDE AWARENESS HOSTS:  #YYJPEACE.COM:  

  • Sunday, April 12 3:00 – 4:30pm


We held our first informal conversation on the qualities of Feminine Leadership on International Women’s Day in March that will continue again in April It is not a speaker, but rather a group conversation to hear each others voices and integrate what is being shared. It will be a diverse group of women of different ages, careers and passions. I hope you will consider joining in and sharing your meaning of leadership and ways to integrate what we say into what we do.

Connect with renee@insideawareness.com to express your interest