Inner Transition Week Starts Here
By Sophy Banks 20th April 2015
This week is Inner Transition week on www.transitionnetwork.org and over the course of the week, we’ll bring you films and stories, and point you towards the tools we’re using to support the inner and outer in Transition.
We’ll hear from Rob and Fiona of Transition Network on the impact it’s had on them – people not usually associated with the inner bit of Transition, but who, it turns out, have a lot to say. Hide, one of the people involved in taking Transition to Japan, talks about how important the inclusion of inner has been for him. And we’ll hear from people around the world who are involved with exploring and experimenting with the sometimes elusive and often wonderful thing that Inner Transition is.
If you have a story to share please send it in – and I’ll include it if possible on Friday. I’m always interested to hear your stories even if we don’t manage to post them on the website this week!
Today – Personal resilience and avoiding burnout
In most Transition groups I work with, over half the people present have experienced, or been close to, burnout. What a paradox this is — that in a movement that’s all about sustainability we often create unsustainable expectations and ways of working!
Why is that and what can we do about it?
In today’s first short film, “Are we personally resilient?” people from different UK initiatives talk about how important it is to balance a focus on doing stuff with time together, having fun, being creative or in nature, or other ways of being which restore and nourish us.
For more pointers, many of the answers I’ve found are on the Personal Resilience pages. You’ll find ideas that will bring a healthy balance to your group on Project Support Inner Transition pages and here is a group activity designed to check your group and personal sustainability.
Our second film also focuses on the importance of attending to balance. Young activists from Transition Heathrow who have lived under threat of eviction for several years, talk about the importance of their Wellbeing group, Josue, a Transition Trainer and part of the Belgian national hub, talks about the risks of exhaustion if we don’t make space for our feelings, and Debbie from Macy Mondays looks at the need for personal growth as we step into leadership with rather than leadership over.
Films
How Inner Transition can help you avoid burnout
What’s coming later in the week..
Tomorrow – Rob on “Six Inner Transition innovations that have changed my life”.
I met Rob back in 2006, in the very early days of Transition Town Totnes. From the start it “felt right” to have a group addressing the inner. Rob reflects on his favourite Inner Transition inventions and the effect they’ve had on him and the movement.
There are short films on the benefits of mentoring, and a history of how Inner Transition got started in Totnes and then in the Transition movement.
Wednesday – The journey to Japan
Hide Enomoto came across Transition at an event in Frome, Somerset, and immediately knew it was something he had to find out about. With others he attended a Transition: Launch training in 2007, and started the first Japanese initiative in Fujino the same year. There are now dozens of initiatives in Japan.
In this interview Hide talks about how important the integration of inner and outer dimensions was in the process of bringing Transition to Japan.
Two short films will explain “What is Inner Transition?” – hearing what is means for people across the movement, and Jo Homan explains why she started Macy Mondays, an ongoing support group for Transition leaders in North London.
Thursday – Inner Transition in Reconomy
Fiona Ward, creator of Reconomy, shares how Inner Transition has impacted her personally, and been an important thread in the development of Reconomy.
We’ll offer films exploring how Inner Transition helps in creating successful public events — especially the controversial ones, and the importance of processes like Open Space in bringing new people into your initiative.
Friday – Inner Transition without borders
On our final day we’ll hear stories from the international inner Transition group, and what it’s like to be part of a disucssion with people in very different cultures and circumstances. There’s an invitation to join the international conversation and details of Inner Transition workshops that are taking place in Sweden, Portugal, Italy and the UK.
Today’s film features Hilary Prentice talking about “A worldwide movement towards consciousness”.
Feel free to post comments, or send feedback and suggestions by email.
We hope you enjoy the week!