New Gaze - New World

Talking circle

Day 0Everyone had chosen their room, taken their bag and two blankets and followed the instructions for making their bed to the letter. Suddenly, a huge cry rang out "...Workshop! This was Aziz's way of informing everyone that it was time to gather for the talking circle. The whole camp understood that they had to make their way to the white sail. When they arrived, Saida asked them to take their places in a large circle. When the last ones had arrived, Saida, Aziz, Liam and Sophie also took their places as members of the circle. With the microphone in her hand, Saida spoke. "Thank you all for coming, I think you have now understood why we ask you to always stay within earshot, and more precisely within earshot of Aziz" she winked at him, obviously pleased with her effect. "We are going to take part in our first talking circle. First of all, you should know that every talking circle has its own rules. So I will start by telling you what those rules are. In some talking circles, only the person with the "talking stick" can speak. In our circle, the talking stick will be replaced by the microphone. So you understand that only one person can speak at a time. When you have the microphone, you have the floor, but you must speak only in your own name, so you will speak exclusively in the first person, using "I". You will not be able to speak on behalf of others. As there are many of us, you start your time by reminding us of your first name, I will make sure that you do not exceed the maximum time of 2 minutes per speech, so get straight to the point so that you do not have to interrupt. When you have finished, you will make the sound "Om" and pass our baton to the next person who wishes to speak. Tonight is a practice run. We'll simply rotate the microphone around the circle and each person will state his or her first name, where he or she is from and a few words to describe his or her inner weather at the time, and then finish with the "Om". To set an example, Saida began. "My name is Saida. I am a desert woman, I am curious to discover you, Om. Saida passed the microphone to her neighbour and the circle began. "My name is Marie, I come from Switzerland, I feel confused, so many unexpected things are happening that I don't know what to expect or how to react. A friendly wink from Saida reminded her to conclude with an "Om". "My name is Gabriel, I have just arrived from France and I am very excited about this adventure, Om." "My name is Feline, I'm Belgian and I still don't know what to think about everything that's happening to me, I'm looking forward to the night to get my thoughts together, Om. "My name is Natasha, I come from Russia, I already like what is happening and your company... Om. "My name is Isabelle, I'm French, and I feel like I'm being held hostage, everything seems to be decided without my agreement, conditions are being imposed on me that I didn't choose, I'm getting ready to go back tomorrow. And I won't say Om, but over. "My name is Thomas, I am Swiss, I confess to being disturbed by the idea of sleeping under the stars at the mercy of poisonous animals." The talking circle continued for a little over an hour. And each of the 12 trainees exposed his or her emotions, whatever they might be. Gradually, the night had fallen. One by one, the stars had appeared in the sky, revealing the splendour of the Milky Way. Everyone realised that even if they had expressed their strongest feelings, in reality, each of the emotions expressed, such as curiosity, fear, excitement and revolt, were also present in everyone. Saïda and her team were also able to identify the trainees with the most difficulties in order to better help them overcome them. Saïda took up the "talking stick". "A very big thank you to all of you for your sincere expression.

This talking circle exercise will be our daily thread, it is really the place that allows us to measure if the teaching we are giving is taking root in each person, but above all to adapt it to allow you to make the most of it. This first circle highlights your difficulty in accepting so many changes in your habits. Some have already let go and accepted what is happening, others are already at the stage of rejoicing, and a few are not accepting it, it is too much for them and their anxiety has been expressed in different forms. All of these views are welcome and we fully embrace them. Firstly, to those who, for various reasons, do not feel able to overcome their fear of sleeping outside, please know that we have some tents available and if they wish, we will gladly help them to set them up for that night and for as long as they wish. Then, for those who plan to leave us tomorrow morning, their decision will of course be the right one and will be respected. As we all know, night is the best time for advice, so we will let the desert guide them in their choice and wait until tomorrow to hear their decision. We will now take hands and make a tablecloth. Each of us will make a sound for as long as possible, and when you catch your breath you will realise that the sound continues in your absence, and then you will join in with the common voice, which will continue for as long as possible. Saida gave an "Om" and all the voices joined in. As she had said, after two or three minutes, at what they considered to be the perfect moment, the tablecloth faded away by itself as if an invisible conductor had given the signal. Aziz spoke up. "We are expected around the fire for the meal.