Last night’s class was interesting. Jolene allowed us to begin to change up the words to reflect any changes in behavior that we witnessed in our partners, providing that it happened spontaneously. She mentioned that we didn’t have to do this, and that she reserved the right to discontinue this new layer (she didn’t…at least not last night).
I think most of us were initially a bit hesitant about using this new tool, but as the evening wore on, everyone seemed a bit more comfortable with using it. I initially felt like I was looking for a change in behavior so that I could change up the words, however after a few minutes that left and I felt like I settled in to the exercise. My first round was with Alex. I thought the exercise went really well. I felt connected, I felt like I was able to leave myself alone and follow Alex, and trust the exercise. I did get the feedback that I was still leading the exercise at times, which I was not aware of. Not saying I wasn’t…I just am not aware of when I am doing it. I did ask if anyone could let me know what it is that I’m doing and I did get some feedback that was helpful. If I’m understanding, the class observes me not reacting to what is happening with my partner, but trying to change the direction of the exercise. Honestly, I’m still not sure that I’m in complete agreement, but I trust that this is what is being observed, so I want to make sure that I am aware of it.
My second round was with Lucas, and I thought it went really well once we both settled into the exercise. I really tried to focus only on Lucas’ behavior, and I think I was somewhat successful. I’m still not quite sure if I’m supposed to just react to what I’m receiving, or if I’m supposed to let what I’m receiving affect me, and then respond by calling out the behavior that I’m observing. Jolene said that I’m overthinking, and I probably am, but the latter is what I was focused on with Lucas so maybe I’ve answered my own question?
We have next week off due to the Eclipse. It will be interesting to come back after a week off this early in the process and see if our repetitions change.