Mar 12, 2024
Think back to a time when you had a profound moment of learning. When something clicked and suddenly the pieces fell together. Maybe it was learning how to drive a stick shift, or finally recognizing the blocks that have kept you from reaching for that next step, or even truly recognizing the magic of dialogue.
I have long believed that these true moments of learning require safety and challenge. Safety to provide a secure space to launch from and return to, and challenge to kindle our desire for more. This place of safety and challenge is sacred space – your sacred space, and it’s different for everyone. It’s a space that invites creativity and transformation, a space where deep learning finds home and thrives.
For those of us who are coaches and facilitators, the question is not only how do we create this space for ourselves, but how do we also create it for those we work with. Sacred space may be embodied in a physical space – a work space with objects that remind you of your “why,” and colors and scents and sounds that encourage reflection and imagination. There may be candles that center us or objects, colors, scents and sounds that remind us of the important work that we do.
Sacred space may be created by the items and energy you bring with you into the multitude of rooms where you facilitate groups as they seek to meet their goals or in the coffee shop where you meet with clients as they share the struggles of the past week in exchange for the questions that will bring them beyond. It may be a psychological space brought about by meditation or a poem or the pulling of a card that allows you to set aside the constraints of what is in favor of the possibilities of what could be. Sacred space is deliberate, created with purpose and filled with meaning. It’s a space that nourishes the soul, and brings a balance of slow reflection and active creativity.
How do we create this space so vital to deep learning? How do we nurture both safety and challenge? Starting with two specific steps of the eight steps of design as taught by GLP (link) is a good beginning: WHO and WHERE.
Start with the WHERE, as it defines the potential of the space. Is it a set space where you’ll be free to leave things set up? Does it need to be portable – easy to set up and take down each and every time? I often use traditional circle practice in my group facilitations, and have a container filled with a handsewn circle center, talking pieces, and a smudging kit. (See GLP’s blog for a description of this practice.) This makes it easy to open and close my circle with these special objects that bring the group to a grounded and focused space.
Next, the WHO: who are you creating this space for? How would they define safety? Challenge? Have we previously met and created the energetic sacred space to begin in and return to? Remember that their answers may be different than yours. I often bring card decks and invite group members to select one as a way to share how they are feeling or what the last learning task represented for them. Some decks are simple pictures of common objects – a flower, a bicycle or a boat. Other decks are oracle cards and have mythical figures with more spiritual messages that accompany them. Depending on the group I will choose different card decks to provide the right amount of safety and challenge. (Sample card decks here, here and here).
What do you know about the participants in relation to each other and the topic? Are they new to each other and the learning and needing a space that leans towards safety? Have they learned to trust each other and are needing to stretch to foster growth? Each group is different, and even the same group changes. Starting with the WHERE and the WHO provides a recipe for creating the sacred space needed to invite deep learning. Learn the recipe, then make it your own and watch the magic happen!
How do you create a safe space that also offers challenge?
Marta Koonz Lassow is a depth psychologist, group facilitator and life coach. In addition to being a Certified Dialogue Education Teacher, Marta is also a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF). She holds a PhD from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Depth Psychology: Jungian and Archetypal Studies. Her dissertation research focused on bringing a soul-centered approach to life coaching partnerships. www.rediscoveringsoul.com
Resources recommended by the author:
Other GLP resources that may interest you: