The Collier Companies sent RCM, Tracey Torres, to the Gestalt Experience Weekend in Berea, Ohio, where she was immersed in training programs with major topics including self-awareness, embodied presence, and mastery of dialogue. This transformational workshop gave Tracey the tools to amplify her contributions and leadership within our organization, as she reported:
“My Gestalt Experience weekend was a small workshop with 6 participants and 2 facilitators designed to be an immersive experience in which participants can observe, explore, practice, and learn about the core elements of Gestalt methodology with a focus on self-reflection and personal development. The workshop does not follow a specified agenda and is focused on being process-oriented and experiential and following what emerges in the moment. Some of our experiences included one on one interactions with our facilitators, group sharing of experiences through music, embodied presence exercises, mindful breathing practices, group discussion, and an outdoor reflection ceremony. Our group discussions and conversations centered around participants’ personal experiences and exploration of how our individual backgrounds/lifestyles/cultures/experiences impact our present moment and behaviors.
My biggest takeaways for myself are how little time I spend on meaningful introspection and “quiet” time as I tend to move quickly from task to task (checking off my to-do list) as well as learning to slow down to fully listen to those around me to have a better and deeper understanding of both the issue and the person. To calm and center our minds, we practiced the exercise of being able to listen to ourselves first and to recognize and name anything we were aware of in that present moment: naming specific emotions, recognizing breathing patterns, and awareness of tension or sensation within our body. Facilitators emphasized that being able to listen to oneself, communicating, and being listened to in silence is a dynamic that is mostly lost in today’s current society. I will continue to work on evaluating and consistently ordering myself based on my priorities and high-leverage activities which will be my key to improved productivity (Improving our lives entails knowing how to prioritize).”
“I took several Gestalt courses a couple of decades ago & rank it amount the Top 5 post-grad educational experiences of my life.” – Nathan S. Collier
