Session 1: Dropping the Balloon

Introduce yourself then introduce the course. in this way.

Welcome, to this the first session of 8 weekly sessions of the course 'Coming to Our Senses.' The invite here is to explore together this experience of being human and how we can 'lighten the load' a little bit.

By the end of the course people report the feeling that they are 'travelling lighter' through life. We can't guarantee total peace of mind, but we can offer glimpses of it, which makes all the difference.

Such glimpses remind us that peace, joy and compassion are our natural state. This can offer us a fresh perspective and an impulse to rest a while each day, in mindfulness practice.

We offer you some guided practices to do each week - other practices are available but we suggest you try the ones provided during the duration of the course. You can access them through the website linked to on the QR code on the course handout you receive each session.

There are no powerpoint presentations, or lectures as such. This is because our main focus is on our present moment experience. This being here now. Right now what's happening can be put into four categories.

There are physical sensations...right? Basic ones around the position of the body, the feet on the floor, the sensation of sitting. Then there are more subtle ones like a slight tension here and there, or sometime even acute discomfort or pain.

Then there are emotions and feelings, such as excitement, pleasure, nervousness or anxiety. A whole symphony of textures and tones.

Then there are the thoughts, or mental events...right? These are usually the naming of things, evaluating, and planning how to get away from or get more of whatever we are experiencing or hope to experience in the future. Or remembering things.

Then there are impulses and actions - where all this inner world articulates itself in the outer world.

Between these four aspects of our experience there is constant flux, which is depicted here by this loop, called a mobius strip. [Refer to the key on the pop-up]

This image is a kind of key to the course, because on this journey we will be using some creative challenges to map out and learn about how these different aspect of our experience play out in us.

In this session our focus is on the balloon. But before we go into that let's just do a simple exercise to meet each other.

When beginning a CoArts journey with any group, it's recommended to start and end with a simple meeting ritual. Although the intention is not to make CoArts purely instrumental, having the workshop bookended by the same activity helps participants reflect on the group's dynamic progression. The purpose of this "measurement" is for participants to observe and acknowledge the changes within themselves and the group.

The ritual involves participants standing in a circle (or sitting, for those with mobility issues). The facilitator steps forward, turns to face the participant on their left or right, and introduces themselves. Then, they move to the next person, instructing the first person they greeted to follow, and the second person to follow the first, continuing in this way until each participant has met every other person in the circle. Each introduction is up to the individual’s comfort level—whether it's a nod, a handshake, or even a hug—based on the relationship between participants and their need to engage verbally or non-verbally.

Once the facilitator completes the circle and returns to their starting position, the others follow. This part of the ritual provides an opportunity for the facilitator to learn everyone’s name right from the start. It also creates a natural rhythm of waiting and observing as the process unfolds. Some participants, after completing the circle, might begin chatting or drift away if it takes longer than expected. Here, the facilitator can remind them to remain in their positions to honor the integrity of the practice. At the end of the workshop, when revisiting the ritual, participants can form a smaller circle or group hug as they return, gradually expanding as others join.

The duration of this ritual is unpredictable, and it can feel like timekeeping has gone out the window at the beginning of the workshop. For the facilitator, this is a valuable exercise in holding space that exists both within and beyond time. What occurs during this simple ritual is a unique bonding experience that no amount of games or structured exercises can replicate. This practice has become invaluable—not only because it mirrors how social mammals naturally engage by smelling, hearing, and touching each other upon first meeting, but also because it prioritizes connection over time, setting the tone for the depth and pace of the engagement that follows.

You open a packet of 'environmentally friendly' balloons in the centre for the circle and ask invite participant to choose one. We go around the circle inviting people to describe their balloon.

BE AWARE that this creative challenge can be incredibly challenging for some people. Normalise the discomfort that this challenge might provoke. Remind participants that creativity might feel like a muscle that might not have been used for a while. It might even have been scared into a dark corner by childhood experiences - being told not to be stupid when you ventured to be creative.

Sometimes the adult mind will refuse to see something that isn't there - so will poo poo this as childish or woo woo! However, aren't we seeing things that aren't there in every moment. Yesterday and tomorrow are not here. My ideas about the future and my cherished memories are not here...they are just acts of imagination.

Now it’s time to play keepie-uppie. You must not drop the balloon. Neither can you hold onto it. You must keep it up. You can use both hands or one.

You can stand or sit, you can run and jump. But you mustn’t let the balloon drop to the ground. At all times it must be kept up. Don’t ask what happens if you drop it!

Instruct the group to walk around the space keeping up the balloon and engaging others in the following tasks -

1. arrange yourselves into a line according to the month in which you were born, without talking. January this end and December is this end.

2. without talking - arrange yourself into a line according to age.

3. If there is time - Everyone stands in a line with their back against a wall. One person can elect to walk froward 7 paces turn to face the line. They must make a statement of opinion. All those in the line who agree with that statement form a line alongside the statement-maker and look at the line of people remaining with backs against the wall. The two lines make eye contact with each other, keeping up the balloon. After some moments they all return to the line against the wall. Another person then elects spontaneously to step out and turn around and face the line and make another statement of opinion. It is not an option to choose a middle. The choice must be made to stay against the wall or join the statement-maker line.

After this exercise everyone in the group must find a partner, preferably the person closes to them in age.

Chairs are arranged in pairs in the ‘kissing chairs’ style. Sitting with their partner, while keeping up the balloon, each take it in turns to ask the question, one at a time and to listen to the answer. Just listen…it’s not a conversation. Two minutes are set for each question to be answered. In other words -

1. Partner A asks partner B: What values do you hold most dear? (2 minutes)

2. Partner B asks partner A: What values do you hold most dear? (2 minutes)

3. Partner A asks partner B: How do you like to be seen?

4. Partner B asks partner A: How do you like to be seen?

5. Partner A asks partner B: What is it like to be you?

6. Partner B asks partner A: What is it like to be you?

The chairs are rearranged into a circle (usually one partner just moves the chair around). By now the wrists are starting to ache with all the effort of this keepie-uppie. We are ready for the dropping the balloon meditation.

Practices are not scripted or described in these notes. They are learnt through their practice and making them 'your own.'

You can listen to a version of the guided meditation 'Grounding' below.

Invite participants to share their experience of dropping the balloon.

BE AWARE: Whilst there are likely to be 'positive' experiences it's important to acknowledge and make space for 'negative' experiences. As the course progresses, being able to make space for both is an essential component of mindfulness and creativity too.

This is where the 'central mystery' of the course is introduced, and where we can engage and encourage commitment.

Why is the hand so agitated? What is the source of this agitation? We can count five ways this agitation is expressed - outlined in the course handout. We can count them on the 5 fingers and thumb of this agitated hand.

See how they are similar to what are thought of as the 'stress responses.' Leading to the fascinating question - why do we have a stress response to being with ourselves? Who or what killed our natural peace?

That is what this course explores - so together we are like the 'Thursday Murder Club' or 'We Solve Murders' or 'Only Murders in the Building' or any other detective format you like. Only the murder we are exploring is of our calm. Surely, if we find the murderer we will stop the crime happening again. And be in no doubt this is a serious crime, which is causing grievous bodily harm.

While the mind can distinguish between actual threat or imagined threat, the body did not receive that memo. It releases stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, in response to being chased by a saber tooth tiger or being chased by the thought of being chased by a saber tooth tiger.

Eventually the 'real' saber tooth tiger will catch us or tire of trying. The thought, while it is entertained, will not tire and will be joined by a cabal of stealthy worries that hold siege to our mental health.

Since the mind interprets to the body of which it is a part, the unreal causes real harm over time, creating inflammation and disease, destroying relationships to others and ourselves and writ large making the world uninhabitable. But perhaps the greatest crime is to deny us our birthright...which is peace and joy in this life in every moment.

So let's go into this, together and solve the mystery of being human.

Both the Journal for Flow and the Course Handout are distributed to the group

The course handout has a web address and a QR code through which the course resources can be accessed.

Most important are the recorded meditations which participants are encouraged to use during the week. These are 20 - 30 minute guided practices they can follow.

Think of the practices as clues to follow as we solve this mystery together and the journal as a way of keeping track of the clues and how they unfold in our day to day lives.