20 Apr 2015
Sophy Banks introduces our Inner Transition Week.
This week is Inner Transition Week here at www.transitionnetwork.org and over the course of the week, we’ll bring you stories, and a collection of specially-commissioned new films, as well as pointing you towards the tools we’re using to support the inner and outer in Transition.
We’ll hear from Rob Hopkins and Fiona Ward of Transition Network on the impact Inner Transition has had on them – people not usually associated with the inner bit of Transition, but who, it turns out, have a lot to say. Hide Enomoto, one of the people involved in taking Transition to Japan, talks about how important the inclusion of inner has been for him. And we’ll hear from people around the world who are involved with exploring and experimenting with the sometimes elusive and often wonderful thing that Inner Transition is.
If you have a story to share please send it in – and we’ll include it, if possible on Friday. I’m always interested to hear your stories even if we don’t manage to post them on the website this week!
Today – Personal resilience and avoiding burnout
In most Transition groups I work with, over half the people present have experienced, or been close to, burnout. What a paradox this is: that in a movement that’s all about sustainability we often create unsustainable expectations and ways of working! So why is that and what can we do about it?
If you’re interested and looking for pointers, many of the answers I’ve found are on the Personal Resilience pages. You’ll find ideas that will bring a healthy balance to your group on Project Support Inner Transition pages and here is a group activity designed to check your group and personal sustainability. For now though, and as a way of kicking off this week, I’d like to introduce you to two of the new Inner Transition films, produced by Emma Goude of Green Lane Films, which we’ll be unveiling this week.
The first looks at how Inner Transition can help to avoid that unspoken but ever-present risk for people doing any kind of activism, burn-out.
The second explores how Inner Transition supports personal and collective resilience:
So here’s a taste of what’s coming up during the rest of the week:
Tuesday– Rob on “Six Inner Transition innovations that have changed my life”.
I met Rob back in 2006, in the very early days of Transition Town Totnes. From the start it “felt right” to have a group addressing the inner. Rob reflects on his favourite Inner Transition inventions and the effect they’ve had on him and the movement.
There are short films on the benefits of mentoring, and a history of how Inner Transition got started in Totnes and then in the Transition movement.
Wednesday – The journey to Japan
Hide Enomoto came across Transition at an event in Frome, Somerset, and immediately knew it was something he had to find out about. With others he attended a Transition: Launch training in 2007, and started the first Japanese initiative in Fujino the same year. There are now dozens of initiatives in Japan.
In this interview Hide talks about how important the integration of inner and outer dimensions was in the process of bringing Transition to Japan.
Two short films will explain “What is Inner Transition?” – hearing what is means for people across the movement, and Jo Homan explains why she started Macy Mondays, an ongoing support group for Transition leaders in North London.
Thursday – Inner Transition in Reconomy
Fiona Ward, creator of Reconomy, shares how Inner Transition has impacted her personally, and been an important thread in the development of Reconomy.
We’ll offer films exploring how Inner Transition helps in creating successful public events — especially the controversial ones, and the importance of processes like Open Space in bringing new people into your initiative.
Friday – Inner Transition without borders
On our final day we’ll hear stories from the international inner Transition group, and what it’s like to be part of a disucssion with people in very different cultures and circumstances. There’s an invitation to join the international conversation and details of Inner Transition workshops that are taking place in Sweden, Portugal, Italy and the UK.
Today’s film features Hilary Prentice talking about “A worldwide movement towards consciousness”.
Feel free to post comments, or send feedback and suggestions by email.
We hope you enjoy the week!