Global Social Witnessing
Global Social Witnessing is about welcoming more of life home in us, and welcoming ourselves home into life. The term Global Social Witnessing (GSW) was introduced by Thomas Hübl in 2017:
"Global Social Witnessing begins with each individual. It is the ability to relate to processes, incidents and situations that happen in our culture. But in order to relate to myself, I need to have the ability to adequately map my outside into my inside. This creates resonance – based on resonance ability, which is a natural function of the nervous system when it is open and mature."
-- Thomas Hübl
-- Thomas Hübl
GSW is an emergent, next-level group healing context. I am deeply touched and excited about the potential of group practices to awaken our shared "we space" of interconnection, especially relating with challenging world situations where polarization exists and connecting and regulating our nervous systems is often difficult.
"It is possible the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and lovingkindness, a community practicing mindful living. And the practice can be carried out as a group, as a city, as a nation."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh, October 1993
-- Thich Nhat Hanh, October 1993
The results of practiceing GSW with a group are difficult to describe. Each time I have practiced as a participant or facilitator, touching the felt truth of how the topic lives through me and the others present brings me into closer contact with earth, with my own heart, and with the the most beautiful aspects of humanity which we share.
The power and mysterious beauty of GSW practice is that turning toward what's painful and forgotten can lead to a state of connection, gratitude, and even awe.
The power and mysterious beauty of GSW practice is that turning toward what's painful and forgotten can lead to a state of connection, gratitude, and even awe.
Global Social Witnessing practice includes bringing awareness to what happens internally (physically/emotionally/ mentally): noticing when we feel connected with what we are observing about the world, and when we disconnect emotionally or mentally, when we're overwhelmed, etc. It's important not to judge any disconnecting as "wrong."
A fundamental tenet of trauma healing is that there is intelligence in our nervous system responses to attempt to regulate by shutting down or becoming reactive. In addition to physiological fear responses to trauma, humans also adapt shame and pride-based identities in relation to difficulties and traumas in our environments, especially as we are developing. Trauma healing involves restoring our compassionate witness capacity to become aware of these reactions, whether they are originating in the moment or we are recreating them from our past.
A fundamental tenet of trauma healing is that there is intelligence in our nervous system responses to attempt to regulate by shutting down or becoming reactive. In addition to physiological fear responses to trauma, humans also adapt shame and pride-based identities in relation to difficulties and traumas in our environments, especially as we are developing. Trauma healing involves restoring our compassionate witness capacity to become aware of these reactions, whether they are originating in the moment or we are recreating them from our past.
Due to the many traumas in our world today, including ancestral and systemic, none of us will likely be able to relate to news events with full presence. We need each other.
Something new becomes possible when we turn toward world events together.
Something new becomes possible when we turn toward world events together.
In GSW practice we are expanding our capacity to include more unintegrated history at the various levels – personal, ancestral, collective – into our group field of loving presence, so that history can become available in and us through as as wisdom, energy, presence. Witnessing is a practice of relating on many levels. As we witness ourselves, we connect through our bodies, emotions, and minds, noticing where we connect with ourselves and perhaps where we are absent, or disconnected, without making that wrong. Our practice includes listening, sensing, feeling, noticing, witnessing subtle movements, and how we relate with ourselves, the topic, and each other – including when we turn away, as well as our nervous system responses which are intelligent and provide an important function. We include our human hearts, and we notice and cultivate spacious witnessing consciousness, bringing intentionality to the qualities of our relating.
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I offer GSW group practice series, and have a particular interest in connecting people from different paths and communities, adapting GSW to people's existing practice for awakening, spiritual development, connection, and/or subtle activism. CURRENT PRACTICE SERIES Drop-In Meetings July-August, 2022 Choose Dates to Pre-Register Here Contact me to have a conversation about your interest, as GSW is a joy for me to speak about and share!
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- You can learn more about Global Social Witnessing through the Pocket Project, the nonprofit arm of Thomas Hübl's work, and which offers free monthly GSW practice groups.
- You can read about additional GSW resources and events at World Witnessing.
"We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
-- Mahatma Gandhi
