Council 2: Deepening the Practice

a training with
Alan Mobley, PhD and Siri Gunnarson

A powerful opportunity to deepen in Council practice and explore the more complex contours of the work; this training is geared toward participants who have taken a Council 1 Training (Introduction to Council) and/or have significant council facilitation experience. We invite you to bring your questions, your ‘ah-has’ and your challenges – including encountering resistance, conflict and “The Shadow.” You may be starting to look at some personal obstacles and growth opportunities that have shown up, or perhaps encountered the need for self-regulation and grounding, for oneself and in one’s work with groups. Council 2 offers a chance to further develop your capacity to “Read the Field” and invite “The Witness” perspective. We will experience diverse forms of Council and explore the joys and challenges of bringing Council into different parts of our lives.

One of the primary intentions of Council Training 2 is to support practitioners who are starting to encounter shadow leadership, that which becomes our fodder for deeper practice. This is an opportunity to move out of your comfort zones and to practice “Turning Into The Skid”; learning how to navigate challenges and best serve the circle while maintaining safety and containment.

LOCATION: Landwell Community, Sebastopol

TIME: Saturday February 29: 10am – 6pm + optional potluck and evening emergence

AND Sunday March 1: 10am – 6pm 

COST: Sliding Scale $300 – 400 (Money should not be an obstacle, please ask for what you need. We welcome creative exchange and diverse forms of gifting.)

TO REGISTER: Contact sirigunnarson@gmail.com

TRAINERS: Alan Mobley, PhD first came to Council in 1991, seven years into a forty-five year prison sentence for narcotics trafficking, and near the start of what would become a lifetime relationship with mindfulness practices and Buddhist-inspired meditation, yoga, and transformative dialogue practices such as Council. Alan has facilitated group practices in prisons, schools, retreat centers, universities, and community settings for over twenty-five years. As a university professor, he leads courses on restorative and community justice at San Diego State University, and directs Project Rebound, a support program for formerly incarcerated students. Alan has authored numerous publications on topics related to the carceral experience and the criminal justice system, and is currently engaged in research on how societies transition out of periods of intense conflict and cumulative trauma, such as civil wars, genocide, and mass incarceration. He lives in San Diego with a cat, two nearly-grown children, and his wife and life partner, Yamin Chehin.

Siri Gunnarson is a wilderness rites of passage guide, global citizen and community steward. Siri has offered Council trainings in Portugal, Kenya and Rwanda as well as with diverse communities and organizations in the US. She is connected to many places and projects around the world including The Ojai Foundation, School of Lost Borders, Youth Passageways, Ways of Council, Tamera ‘s Global Campus, Three Creeks, and Beyond Boundaries, an intergenerational ‘response team for our times’ She is passionate about love, community, justice and equity, embodiment and movement, and permaculture and water.

I believe we can change the world if we start listening to each other. Simple, honest, human conversation. Not mediation, negotiation, problem-solving, debate or public meetings. Simple, truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we listen well.  

– Margaret Wheatly