Time To Listen - Erasmus+ Youth Exchange

 

Time To Listen - Erasmus+ Youth Exchange

Experience eco-living and tune into the different ways how our bodies, emotions, others and nature speak to us, open ourselves to hear them and see how they want to be expressed.

Time To listen has been a Youth Exchange founded by the Erasmus+ EU program, that took place in the end of July in Slovenia, with participants from Slovenia, Italy, Poland and Greece.

 

 

The following blog that describes the activities carried out each day of the program has been written by groups of participants themselves at the end of each day. So the juice and the freshness of the experience has been kept in the words written.

22.7. Saturday

 

The first day. The 22nd of July was our first amazing day here in this natural oasis with our adventurous fellows.
We started the day with a healthy and handmade breakfast prepared by our fantastic chefs, then we met at the fireplace to start our tour of the area.
The facilitators guided us through the property , showing us all the surrounding : the greenhouse, the barn , the outside kitchen and much more.
After that we went on a walk and we crossed the river nearby and we saw the field that they used to grow vegetables that unfortunately was hit by a strong storm few days ago.
In the afternoon we met at the barn and one facilitator gave us an insight about the program of the following week.
The first day was intense and also challenging for the strong rain, but this weather gave us the opportunity to sleep all together in the barn and got to know each other even more.
At the end of the day mother nature rewarded us with a wonderful rainbow that gave us the best hopes and prepared our souls for the upcoming adventurous days!

23.7. Sunday

 

Good morning flowers! :)
Yesterday we had a tasty, self made breakfast!!! We took all the nutrients and power we need to start our day. Then we went up the hill and began our session with dancing. After that we went into the forest barefoot and drank water from a spring. We reached a point, where we closed our eyes and wandered and tried to feel a connection with another person, who turned out to be our buddy till the
end of the program.We connected on a deeper level through active talking and active listening on our way back to lunch. One of the participants made our lunch break better with her music on the hand drum. Afterwards, we focused on being present both with ourselves and with the other participants on our afternoon session. We did an activity about active walking and focused on our breaths, trying to find these connections. In the end of the activity, we were given a piece of clay and we were asked to create ourselves from it or the feeling that stayed with us after the dance. Now it’s cookie time!
And after that delicious break, we opened a sharing circle, where each of us had some time to open up and speak about the challenging edges of our lives. Lastly, after dinner we had some bonding time
playing board games and having lots and lots of fun!!
Woof woof!

24.7. Monday 

 

We started today's session with an introduction to the Map of Wholeness by Bill Plotkin.We explored different directions of out psyche.
After that,we started to experience in practice the Western part of the Map with poetry. We were introduced to Haiku – a Japanese writing style.Each of us had a chance to find a place in nature that inspired us and express their emotions through poetry. In the beginning of the afternoon session, we had a poetry recital, when we had an opportunity to share our art with each other.
The last activity of the day was finding a Sit Spot – a location in the forest that talked to us, and building a connection with nature around us. We were asking the location for permission, then observed what was happening around us – smelled, touched, tasted. Then we turned our focus to the inner selves and asked ourselves how we were feeling at that moment. We tried to express our emotions and gratitude towards the forest by singing, dancing, talking to the beings around us. That was our way to leave a part of ourselves inside the forest.
At night, we did a bonfire, where we stayed singing, dancing, watching the thunders. It was a very nice and bonding experience. It will definitely stay as a core memory inside of us.
At the end, we got caught by the storm, but although we got very wet, we happily finished the intense and beautiful day.

25.7. Tuesday

 

In the morning, we took another look at the map of the sub-personalities, from the inner and outer perspective. This time, we took a deeper look at the loyal soldiers and wounded children. Considering the lion tamer, inner critic and inner flatterer with a partner was a valuable introspective reflection which meant we felt together in these qualities and how they showed up in our lives. We have been guided in a meditation exercise in which we met our inner child, to see how they were, what they needed, and how we could embody their innocence and playfulness. We went to different places within ourselves to reach him / her and to understand them better.
Afternoon we had a chance to choose three types of activities such as wild food, woodwork or meditation. We cooked a salty spread with cottage cheese,smiley salad and “Fresh Marseilles Spring” cheese from the forest with mint, peppermint, lavanda, sage and stevla. For the dessert we had “Dolce far niente” sweets also called energy balls. In addition we were making wood lantern holder.
After having taken care of our hunger, we spontaneously decided it was time to take care of our mind and body. We engaged in a group meditation with the aim of feeling and share our inner energy with each other. We then initiated a dance which invites people to connect through movement and eye-contact sharing. At last, we learned some back massage techniques to treat and relax stiff muscles.

26.7.Wednesday

Day free of activities and writing.

27. 7. Thursday

 

Once upon a time, in a barn filled with with many wonderful souls, the portal opened and the shadow work began. It’s interesting how different we are, but our mechanisms are quite similar. The safety of the circle helps to express our deepest emotions even when we are scared like a deer hearing a gunshot. Listening ears are there. They hear, they see,they feel. They connect. We are one, we are
free and we feel accepted. The fire within us reflects the physical one near the forest where we sing, dance, laugh, express. We dive into our intuition. It feels like family, so diverse, yet the same.
Our brother deer, our sisters trees, our friends ladybugs, it’s all the same. We hear the wind, feel the sun kissing our skin and water blessing our souls. Thank you, Mother Earth.
Everything in life comes in threes, so our community split and ventured into three different directions.
Singing for the plants, caressing the wood and feet touching the ground – an array of activities that connected us with nature, others and ourselves.
As the sun said its goodbye for the day, a fire emerged in the meadow. Connected and protected by the circle, we shared our progress with other souls and the universe.

28.7. Friday

 

The sounds of song carried them to the meadow where the story truly began. After dancing to the beat of their own drum, the villagers were reintroduced to the aspect of South which brought the wilderness out. The mayor of this special village had a speech for them prepared. Poems unraveled under his breath, which made the villagers travel back in time, or perhaps to the future, where the wild animal resides. This time the human and animal were one. This time, both spoke the same language of the wild. Crossing the threshold, the portal of the soul, the villagers shape-shifted and turned the village into a jungle. Filled with primal screams and sounds,authentic and raw, they each discovered their true nature inside. They crawled and they run,they climbed and they dived, they cried and they laughed. It was a time of wild exploration but after the journey ended, they each returned to their own activities, now forever changed. The villagers continued with their lives and tasks of taking care of the land, gardening, clay plastering the barn, working with wood, knitting etc…they even dared to sing and dance. 

And so the day passed by. Twenty four hours, like any other day, yet somehow nothing will ever be the same. The animal within has awoken and will return when it is summoned…

29.7.Saturday

 

Almost done with our wonderful adventure!
The 8th day was a very full day: we started the morning with some music and then we dedicated our time to different labs. The main labs were the one about preserving food and preparing Kimchi, another was about jamming; a few of us co-created a song with the sounds of our voices,after many activities like body exploring to express ourselves. These labs were lead by our dear fellows that were able and willing to share their gifts and profound knowledge. Another very appreciated lab was about astrology.
During the afternoon, all of us were part of a performing show where each one of us presented a brilliant theatrical play about our feelings and our experience in this magical place.
After a great vegan dinner served by our amazing cooking team, most of us decided to have a special party at the creek to wildly dance in the river.. and then,our dining room was transformed in the best club of Ljubečna! We danced till midnight and everyone joined and then, we went to bed happy and drunk in love!

Blog in Slovene language

SLOVENSKI JEZIK

Čas za poslušanje – Erasmus+ mladinska izmenjava

Izkusite ekološko življenje in se uglasite z različnimi načini, kako nam govorijo naša telesa, čustva, drugi in narava, odprite se, da jih slišite in vidite, kako se želijo izraziti.

Čas za poslušanje je bila mladinska izmenjava v okviru EU programa Erasmus+, ki je potekala konec julija v Sloveniji, z udeleženci iz Slovenije, Italije, Poljske in Grčije.

Projekt sta sofinancirala slovenska nacionalna agencija Movit in EU.

Naslednji blog opisuje dejavnosti, ki so se izvajale vsak dan programa in so ga napisali udeleženci sami ob koncu vsakega dne. Tako je sok in svežina doživetja ohranjena v zapisanih besedah.

22.7. Sobota Prvi dan. 22. julij je bil naš prvi čudovit dan tukaj v tej naravni oazi z našimi avanturističnimi kolegi. Dan smo začeli z zdravim in ročno pripravljenim zajtrkom, ki so ga pripravili naši fantastični kuharji, nato pa smo se srečali na skednju in začeli našo turnejo po okolici. Moderatorji so nas vodili po posestvu in nam razkazali vso okolico: rastlinjak, skedenj, zunanjo kuhinjo in še marsikaj. Nato smo se odpravili na sprehod in v bližini smo prečkali potok ter si ogledali njivo, na kateri so gojili zelenjavo, ki jo je pred dnevi na žalost prizadelo močno neurje. Popoldan smo se dobili v skednju in ena voditeljica nam je dala vpogled v program za naslednji teden. Prvi dan je bil naporen in tudi zahteven zaradi močnega dežja, vendar nam je to vreme dalo možnost, da smo vsi skupaj prespali v skednju in se še bolj spoznali. Ob koncu dneva nas je mati narava nagradila s čudovito mavrico, ki nam je vlila najboljše upe in naše duše pripravila na prihajajoče avanturistične dni! 23.7. Nedelja

Dobro jutro rožice! :) Včeraj smo imeli okusen zajtrk, ki smo ga sami pripravili!!! Zaužili smo vsa hranila in moč, ki jih potrebujemo za začetek dneva. Nato smo se povzpeli na hrib in začeli s plesom. Nato smo šli bosi v gozd in se napili vode iz izvira. Dosegli smo točko, ko smo zaprli oči in tavali ter poskušali čutiti povezavo z drugo osebo, za katero se je izkazalo, da je naš prijatelj do konec programa. Na poti nazaj na kosilo smo se globlje povezali z aktivnim pogovorom in aktivnim poslušanjem. Ena od udeleženk nam je polepšala odmor za kosilo s svojo glasbo na ročnem bobnu. Nato smo se osredotočili na to, da smo prisotni sami s seboj in z drugimi udeleženci našega popoldanskega srečanja. Izvajali smo aktivnost o aktivni hoji in se osredotočali na naše dihanje ter poskušali najti te povezave. Na koncu aktivnosti smo dobili kos gline in iz njega smo morali ustvariti sebe oziroma občutek, ki je ostal v nas po plesu. Zdaj je čas za piškote! In po tem okusnem odmoru smo odprli krog skupnega deljenja, kjer je imel vsak od nas nekaj časa, da se odpre in spregovori o zahtevnih robovih svojega življenja. Nazadnje, po večerji smo imeli nekaj časa za povezovanje, igranje družabnih iger in veliko in veliko zabave!!

24.7. Ponedeljek Današnji dan smo začeli z uvodom v Zemljevid celosti Billa Plotkina. Raziskovali smo različne smeri naše psihe. Po tem smo začeli v praksi doživljati zahodni del Zemljevida s poezijo. Predstavili smo se haikuju – japonskemu slogu pisanja. Vsak izmed nas je imel priložnost poiskati kraj v naravi, ki ga je navdihnil in skozi poezijo izraziti svoja čustva. Na začetku popoldanskega dela smo imeli recital poezije, ko smo imeli priložnost deliti svojo umetnost drug z drugim. Zadnja aktivnost dneva je bila iskanje Sit Spota – lokacije v gozdu, ki se je pogovarjala z nami, in vzpostavitev povezave z naravo okoli nas. Lokacijo smo spraševali za dovoljenje, nato opazovali dogajanje okoli nas – vohali, tipali, okušali. Nato smo se osredotočili na notranjost in se vprašali, kako se počutimo v tistem trenutku. Svoja čustva in hvaležnost do gozda smo skušali izraziti s petjem, plesom, pogovorom z bitji okoli nas. To je bil naš način, da pustimo del sebe v gozdu. Ponoči smo zakurili kres, kjer smo ostali ob petju, plesu, opazovanju grmenja. Bila je zelo lepa in povezovalna izkušnja. Vsekakor bo ostala kot temeljni spomin v nas. Na koncu nas je ujela nevihta, a kljub temu, da smo bili zelo mokri, smo srečno zaključili intenziven in lep dan. 25.7. Torek Zjutraj smo si še enkrat ogledali zemljevid podosebnosti, z notranje in zunanje perspektive. Tokrat smo se poglobili v zveste vojake in ranjene otroke. Upoštevanje krotilca levov, notranjega kritika in notranjega laskavca s partnerjem je bil dragocen introspektivni premislek, kar je pomenilo, da smo skupaj čutili te lastnosti in kako so se pokazale v naših življenjih. Vodeni smo bili v meditacijski vaji, v kateri smo srečali svojega notranjega otroka, da bi videli, kako je, kaj potrebuje in kako bi lahko utelesili njegovo nedolžnost in igrivost. Šli smo na različna mesta v sebi, da bi ga/jo dosegli in ju bolje razumeli. Popoldne smo imeli možnost izbrati tri vrste dejavnosti, kot so divja hrana, lesarstvo ali meditacija. Skuhali smo slan namaz s skuto, solato in namaz “Fresh Marseilles Spring” z meto, poprovo meto, lavando, žajbljem in stevio. Za posladek smo imeli sladkarije Dolce far niente, imenovane tudi energijske kroglice. Poleg tega smo izdelovali leseno držalo za svečke. Po tem, ko smo poskrbeli za lakoto, smo se spontano odločili, da je čas, da poskrbimo za svoj duh in telo. Udeležili smo se skupinske meditacije z namenom, da občutimo in delimo svojo notranjo energijo drug z drugim. Nato smo sprožili ples, ki vabi ljudi, da se povežejo z gibanjem in deljenjem očesnega stika. Končno smo se naučili nekaj tehnik masaže hrbta za zdravljenje in sprostitev otrdelih mišic. 26.7.Sreda Dan prost aktivnosti. 27. 7. Četrtek Nekoč pred davnimi časi se je v skednju, polnem mnogih čudovitih duš, odprl portal in začelo se je senčno delo. Zanimivo, kako različni smo, vendar so naši mehanizmi precej podobni. Varnost kroga pomaga izražati najgloblja čustva, tudi ko smo prestrašeni kot jelen, ki sliši strel. Obstajajo ušesa za poslušanje. Slišijo, vidijo, čutijo. Povezujejo se. Smo eno, smo svobodni in se počutimo sprejete. Ogenj v nas odseva fizičnega v bližini gozda, kjer pojemo, plešemo, se smejimo, izražamo. Potopimo se v svojo intuicijo. Zdi se kot družina, tako raznolika, a enaka. Naši bratje jeleni, naše sestre drevesa, naši prijatelji pikapolonice, vse je isto. Slišimo veter, čutimo sonce, ki nam poljublja kožo in vodo, ki blagoslavlja naše duše. Hvala ti, mati zemlja. Vse v življenju pride na tri, zato se je naša skupnost razdelila in se podala v tri različne smeri. Petje za rastline, božanje lesa in dotik nog s tlemi – niz aktivnosti, ki so nas povezale z naravo, drugimi in samim seboj. Ko se je sonce za ta dan poslovilo, je na travniku zagorel ogenj. Povezani in zaščiteni s krogom smo svoj napredek delili z drugimi dušami in vesoljem. 28.7. Petek Zvoki pesmi so jih ponesli na travnik, kjer se je zgodba zares začela. Po plesu v taktu lastnega bobna so bili vaščani ponovno predstavljeni vidiku juga, ki je razkril divjino. Župan te posebne vasi je imel pripravljen govor zanje. Pod nosom so se mu vrstile pesmi, ki so vaščane popeljale v preteklost ali morda v prihodnost, kjer prebiva divja žival. Tokrat sta bila človek in žival eno. Tokrat sta oba govorila isti jezik divjine. Ko so prestopili prag, portal duše, so vaščani spremenili obliko in vas spremenili v džunglo. Polna prvinskih krikov in zvokov, pristnih in surovih, sta vsak v sebi odkrila svojo pravo naravo. Plazili so se in tekli, plezali so in se potapljali, jokali in smejali so se. To je bil čas divjega raziskovanja, a po koncu potovanja so se vsi vrnili k svojim dejavnostim, zdaj za vedno spremenjeni. Vaščani so nadaljevali s svojim življenjem in opravili, skrbeli za zemljo, vrtnarili, ometavali hlev, delali z lesom, pletli itd., celo peti in plesati so si upali. In tako je minil dan. Štiriindvajset ur, kot vsak drug dan, a nikoli več ne bo tako, kot je bilo. Žival v notranjosti se je prebudila in se bo vrnila, ko bo poklicana ...

29.7.Sobota Skoraj končali z našo čudovito avanturo! Osmi dan je bil zelo poln: jutro smo začeli z glasbo, nato pa smo se posvetili različnim laboratorijem. Glavni laboratoriji so bili tisti za konzerviranje hrane in pripravo kimčija, drugi je bil za marmelado; nekaj nas je soustvarilo pesem z zvoki naših glasov, po številnih dejavnostih, kot je raziskovanje telesa, da bi se izrazili. Te laboratorije so vodili naši dragi prijatelji, ki so bili sposobni in pripravljeni deliti svoje darove in poglobljeno znanje. Drug zelo cenjen laboratorij je bil o astrologiji. Popoldne smo bili vsi del predstave, kjer je vsak od nas predstavil briljantno gledališko igro o naših občutkih in izkušnjah v tem čarobnem kraju. Po odlični veganski večerji, ki nam jo je postregla naša izjemna kuharska ekipa, se nas je večina odločila za posebno zabavo ob potoku za divji ples v reki.. nato pa se je naša jedilnica spremenila v najboljši klub Ljubečne! Plesali smo do polnoči in vsi so se pridružili, nato pa smo šli spat srečni in pijani od ljubezni!