Perspectives on SAS Training

by Sean Wilkinson

Because it is getting closer to new SAS journeys starting - in Amsterdam and London, I want to share with you some perspectives that will be important for some of you right now.

Our Innovative training is not for everyone!

Our leadership and unique practice environment is really for specific people. For starters, it is definitely for those people wanting to see, feel and embody who they are at a deeper level.

If you’re someone this speaks to, you might sometimes be surprised that not everyone wants this. The truth is that only certain people have this fire inside. However, Circling is not just about self awareness. It’s about cultivating and bringing this deeper self into a more intimate connection with others. This is even rarer in today’s world because of the amount of intensity and vulnerability inherent in being deeply human together.

In Surrendered Leadership practice we go a stage further than developing the crucial capacities of self awareness and connectedness. We also guide you towards a high level of self leadership and deeper letting go into surrender. It is in surrender the vulnerable and powerful places where we are most scared or ashamed to show ourselves become our gateway to transformation and making an impact in the world.

A Real example of what is possible

One person who did the training and went on to be a leader of Circling was, in the beginning, often making good connections with those around her, seemingly self assured and enjoying the dynamic nature of the practice. She had a ‘good’ job and a lot going for her in her life. She also had a longing to live from a deeper place that had taken her into spiritual practices and eventually to Circling. She soon discovered there were deeper parts inside that she was not willing to feel in herself, never mind share with others. She would sometimes surprise herself with her own defenses and overreactions in her relationships in and out of the practice. These were certainly not for the faint hearted to meet, I can tell you from personal experience! In these deeper places she felt unworthy and found deeper needs to feel safe and appreciated. She also realised a deep yearning to be with others that she really trusted to be present with her.

At first this longing was too vulnerable to own, too different to her normal identity of being ‘independent’ and ‘self assured’. She also did not know what this would mean for her life. Over time she kept practicing, slowly growing to skillfully be with the truth of her experience. At the same time, with some bumps along the way she was more able to be with others in the intensity of intimacy. In the practice she surrendered more and more to these parts of her and could more artfully connect in relation. This not only brought healing to the little child parts inside, it also brought her power to share her needs, set strong boundaries to what is unacceptable and to go deeper in her intimate relationship than she ever had before.

She will tell you it was a journey that challenged her, that many who knew her from before had little idea why she was going through such a process, and that something deep inside kept her going even when her mind was uncertain. Now her leadership and ability to work with others are remarkable. Perhaps more poignantly, she also has dared to make significant changes in her life to align with her surrender.

A call to action

Undertaking this journey has to come from a calling. The calling to want to empower yourself towards transformational consciousness. Not everyone who does SAS would normally use words like transformational consciousness and that is good with us! Transformation means an awareness that deepens: healing, capacity for felt sense, being connected to different states of awareness, capacity to feel and empathise with others, to make good intuitive decisions, influence those around you with more depth, enter altered/transcendental experience. At the same time, it is not easy to communicate the shift in awareness that is possible in the practice that is clearly different - and inherently more transformational by nature - than our normal consciousness.

Furthermore, the practice is supporting us to develop more intimacy with life itself. From here we can be more deeply resourced and, thus, a source of real transformation in the world.

Leadership

Uniquely, we will not be standing to the side, as if we are complete or done, which can be a tempting mask for a leader that can never be fully authentic. This would not honour the essence of what the practice is about, especially while you are going deep into the unknown. We will be fully practicing and owning our next edges and deep challenges while trusting the human to human connection in the space between to guide us.

Training Environment

This kind of surrendered leadership creates an environment of depth and spontaneity that invites you into a deep self responsibility and deconstruction of normal leadership expectations. It will also be with others who have committed to the same practice and have a willingness to explore as a group. This dimension of a committed group is one of the most important ingredients to development. This is supported by the research in developmental psychology, that being with others who are dedicated to presence, willing to connect with deep feedback are essential to higher development. This environment also develops your capacity to lead and skillfully communicate in groups.

Summary

Our continual discovery in the practice is true growth comes from true contact with ourselves, then from here we can become artful and touched in connection with others. And it is only from a present moment awareness we see our connection with others as a great gateway to transcendent experiences - to experience beyond our normal range of consciousness. This is what you will be learning and embodying throughout the six months.

Reach out

If you are intrigued or equally you are uncertain and would like more information or connection around whether this is the right training for you, we encourage you to reach out and schedule an exploration call. These calls are no different to the rest of the training, a place to explore with you in presence and surrender.

This article was written by Sean Wilkinson, Co-founder of Circling Europe.