Welcome to Mirrors and Windows Workshop
Facilitated by Scott Seldin
Six, two-hour sessions, held on six consecutive weeks
Introduction
People who enroll in this workshop gain valuable self-knowledge by writing their most impactful true stories, discussing them in the workshop, sharing insights that have the potential to enhance the life of the writer.
Mirrors and Windows Workshop is designed to give participants the practical knowledge of how to integrate into their everyday lives what they learn about themselves and others through readings and discussions of their stories.
The workshop is limited in size to six participants, who write a new true story each week that they read aloud in the six sessions.
Purpose
Life stories are keys to self-development. This workshop is called Mirrors and Windows because our most life-shaping true stories, when fully understood, act as both a mirror and a window for participating writers.
Their stories are a mirror that reflects back to the writer a self-portrait composed of his or her character in action. Each story mirrors who they are, how they react to challenging situations, and the influence of their character traits and values on what happens in their stories.
Personal stories are also windows through which a story's writer can glimpse their future. Their stories give them an opportunity to understand who they have been and who they will continue to be if they don't make a sustained effort to evolve into the person they want to be.
Mirrors and Windows Workshop is designed to be transformational.
How the transformation occurs
Through supportive, honest discussions, workshop participants deepen their insights into why their stories are important to them and what they can learn about themselves from each of their narratives.
As the number of stories written by participants increases during the workshop, the positive and negative qualities revealed in their stories become apparent. They discover recurring patterns and themes, and determine which of their traits contribute to harmonious outcomes and which contribute to regrettable ones.
Mirrors and Windows Workshop teaches how to use self-knowledge gained from their stories to create an everyday practice of expressing their best qualities in all interactions, quickening the pace of their evolution as human beings.
The teachings of the workshop are challenging but possible to achieve. Positive character changes occur over time from consistently being the person you want to become. As Leonard Cohen once wrote, “Act the way you would like to be and soon you will be the way you act.”
About the Workshop Sessions
When people enroll in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop, they are given a story-writing assignment that they are to complete and bring to the workshop's first session. They are asked to “Write a story about a conflict you had with someone that got out of hand and led to hurtful consequences.” As you write your story, reveal your narrator's mood, attitude, thoughts, dialogue, animating emotions, decisions made, actions taken, and consequences.
At least two days before each of the six sessions, participants email their story to Scott as an attached document, nine to twelve pages.
Beginning with the first workshop session, and for each of the five subsequent sessions, participants will bring to the workshop a hard copy of the story they wrote that week, which they will read to the workshop group.
Each workshop participant has a maximum of ten minutes to read their story. After they read, listeners and the story's writer comment about the story on a form Scott gives them titled, “In Search of My Character.” This form focuses primarily on the narrator's character traits, values, decision-making and actions or inactions.
Following workshop discussion, the completed forms are passed to the story's writer for future reflection.
During the first fifteen to twenty minutes of each session, Scott offers teachings on topics such as: (first session), the importance of writing our stories and learning about ourselves; the elements of a good story; character traits and values; (second session), personal influences; triggers; the law of attraction; resiliency; (third session), living holistically; living mindfully; living in balance and harmony; (fourth session), non-violent communications; wise decision- making; sustaining high motivation; equanimity; (fifth session), improving relationships; the value of an apology and forgiveness; gratitude; awe and wonder; (sixth session), resiliency; emotional intelligence.
The final assignment for workshop participants is to write a response to two questions:
- “What have your stories taught you about yourself?”; and,
- “What is your plan for using what you have learned from your stories to create future story outcomes that are in alignment with the person you want to become?”
For prospective participants in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop, here are a few answers to some questions you might have.
First names only are used during the workshop to protect the privacy of participants.
For participants who seek a certificate of workshop completion from Scott, missed workshop sessions can be made up in a future workshop, when space is available.
Each workshop participant owns the copyright to all of the stories that he or she writes for a Mirrors and Windows Workshop.
Participants agree to not talk with anyone outside of the workshop about the stories read in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop, without permission from the story's writer.
The number of participants in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop will range from three to six.
To enroll in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop, the only requirement is for a prospective participant to be highly motivated and committed to the everyday practice of being the person they want to become.
The fee for six, two-hour workshop sessions is $875.
When highly motivated individuals with financial need seek to enroll in a Mirrors and Windows Workshop, full scholarships may be available, given by sponsors who cover the $875 fee because sponsor and participant both believe in the transformative importance of the workshop.
Mirrors and Windows Workshop sessions are held in the elegant Castle Room, upstairs from the lobby of the El Rey Court, 1862 Cerrillos Rd, Santa Fe.
Enrollment in Mirrors and Windows Workshop coming soon...