When performing ensemble work, you open your consciousness to the group. You consider it all. You time your contributions to the rhythm of the group. You feel how your part adds or detracts from the whole.
You see this awareness or lack in meetings. Those lacking in this sensitivity are the ones who burden the group with extended monologues and side trips that aren’t relevant to anyone else. They don’t have a sense of the timing as it relates to keeping the group's energy up.
This sensitivity costs real attention. Ayahuasca Ceremonies are often performed with twenty participants. I found this aspect hard. I felt that I needed to temper my reaction to the medicine based on how it affected the group. I wanted to go deeply within without concern for others but was unable to.
I have developed a small group ritual for five to ten participants. It is a daylong experience that I am calling Jodi’s Open Studio. It addresses the human spirit on many levels throughout the day. The ritual is ensemble work. As soon as it is no longer a duet between the traveler and me, it is an ensemble and requires an awareness of the whole.
Ensemble work costs you attention, but it gives you group momentum and a rich fabric of potential reflection. This tradeoff can be beneficial. Follow it up with a one-on-one duet in nature, and you have a comprehensive approach to transformation and revitalization.
Reach out if this sort of Ensemble Work is enticing you: creativejourney.us
* photo of Fabiana Santiago, Iva Dixson, Dacia Biletnikoff, Maddy Lawder, and Jodi Lomask by Eric Raeber
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