Centered Recovery meetings are intended to operate within these guidelines no matter who is the facilitator or host of the meeting. All attendees are encouraged to participate equally as they see benefit.
To gain the most out of our meeting together, it’s critical that we come with a spirit of listening without our analytical mind active transcribing all the dialogue heard and filtering it and comparing it to memory. Listening to what is being said without acceptance or rejection opens the door to possibly hearing something new.
If you are speaking to someone and they are busy in their own thoughts then no real meaningful communication has taken place, and we can’t hear others if we are busy talking to ourselves.
This is a passive listening similar to the way we hear music that we enjoy. This gentle, non-judgmental listening allows for meaning to be communicated and creates a shared feeling of the group because we begin to literally think together and share meaning. This spirit of listening to another human being makes our meetings fertile for insight and real shifts in perspective to those in attendance.
Download a meeting booklet here.
Here are the main components of the meeting:
Cleanse the Palette
(5 mins) Take a few moments to allow the group to settle. Feel free to share anything on the top of your mind to allow you to move forward in exploration.
Introduction to Dialogue
(5 mins) Facilitator should read aloud the Group Guidelines, as well as the “Solution Focused” subject material to remind the group of how the meeting should flow and set the stage for the core dialogue.
Silent Reflection
(5 mins) Allow a few moments for the group to reflect on the subject at hand and set the tone for the dialogue, which should be focused upstream from “content” (what you did, what you saw, who you interacted with) into where all experience is created.
Solution-Focused Sharing
(40 mins) Led by the Facilitator to provide general direction towards a productive meeting, however, all participants are equal in this discussion and no one is an expert or authority over another. Facilitator can gently guide the discussion if a participant begins focusing on or sharing more “content” rather than exploring beyond that content.
Moment of Gratitude
(5 mins) Facilitator may begin this segment using a scripted gratitude statement, share their own, or allow another group member to begin. This is an opportunity to notice things that are typically taken for granted, both in and out of the meeting space.
Metta & Closing
Facilitator may use the script provided, share their own, or allow another group member to lead.
