The Art of Listening

About the project
‘The Art of Listening ’is a 7 days training course organized by allaZOYME from Cyprus in partnership with Actions for Change from Romania bringing together human workers who are willing to explore and develop their inner resources in order to create transformational experiences, support the authentic growth of all young people and build more open, soul-rooted and inspiring communities.

The art of listening has been lost and replaced by replying and doing and becoming. In the midst of this loss we forget who we are. While these last mentioned aspects are not lacking importance, it is vital to pause and listen on this journey of becoming. Listening to self, to others and to nature around helps us in understanding where we are on the journey to Soul and supports us to take our next steps.

In this program we will be exploring Listening on 3 levels: self, others and nature and how Listening is an essential part in finding meaning, connection, empathy in living life from wholeness.

• Listening to one self - Participants will be guided on a journey to reconnect with their inner self, their rooted resources, gifts and passions and how to listen to different parts of their psyche being in conversation one with the another;
• Listening to others - Participants will learn how to deeply listen to others in their work, personal and relational lives, to create spaces for a healthy transformation, to see and mirror the other, to ask sprouting questions and to support humans in their wild, soulful growth;
• Listening to nature - Participants will also be guided to connect with nature and listen to the natural world around them building connection, empathy with the other than human world and experience how listening to nature can inform new perspectives about their fuller life and bigger story.

Participants will be guided on a journey to reconnect with their inner self, body, mind and emotions, to express openly and creatively, and by being invited to get out of their comfort zone to cultivate trust, openness and connection with themselves, others and nature as the foundation for becoming a source of heart-based positive transformation for the community.

About the way we work
The methods used during the training will be based on non-formal education and experiential learning and include:

• exploration of the innate human resources - creative expression (singing, music, dance, movement, storytelling, writing, arts)
• connection with nature
• deepening questions, mirroring, tracking
• holistic education, soul-based work
• mindfulness and meditation
• rituals and practices based on wisdom of native cultures
• somatic and embodied learning

Entering the realm of experience
The participation in this training requires a preparation phase. Those who will be accepted in the training should follow an online learning process (reading different materials, articles, watching videos) related to the topic of the training. The participants will receive several suggestions for personal work before coming to the program (e.g. journaling on certain questions, self-time in nature and several other invitations). Applying to this program requires also the commitment to follow the preparation process.

Soul-based work

During the training we wish to create profound experiences. Knowledge, information and facts are very important and will be provided within the training, but what moves us, what drives us to create a long-lasting impact in our field of activity is the joined elements of both intellectual understanding and deep experience processes. We’ll explore the landscape of the psyche through a variety of practices, including creative expression, self-designed ceremony, solo exercises while wandering on the land, group work, embodiment, movement, voice dialogue, journaling, and deep imagery work.

A vision with a task

After the training course we want to pay special attention to the dissemination activities, which will contribute to a learning journey and inner growth of youth work. This phase will be as important as the training itself. We want to create a powerful impact through our project. As a continuation of the experience each participant will have to implement at least one ACTION in their own community.

The guiding trainers

ELENI MICHAIL Eleni Michail loves old trees, sunrises and singing. She likes to immerse herself into mountains and valleys and to initiate deep conversations with the beings around (children, elders, insects, birds, water, Earth, Moon).
Eleni is a Mindfulness Teacher, a Soul Mentor and an Educator passionate about inspiring change and supporting people to tune into their authenticity and lead meaningful lives. She believes that every person is uniquely gifted and wonder-ful. Through her work she dedicatedly creates a space in which people can reconnect with their inner wisdom, as well as the wisdom of the earth. She studied Primary School Teaching and holds a master’s degree in Educational Management and Leadership. She has more than 11 years of experience in organizing and delivering local and international educational programmes based on experiential learning. In her work, she uses elements of Positive Psychology and Eco-centric development. She works a lot with nature and outdoor experiential learning, offering opportunities for growth for children, young people and adults.

SANDRA HOREA Sandra is a human development guide and mentor who creatively and heart-fully invites people to be in intimate and meaningful conversations with their Soul. She calls humans to fall in love with nature, metaphor, symbol, feeling and therefore with themselves and live their bigger lives delivering their gift to the hungry world. As a guide, she creates purposeful spaces of self-discovery incorporating in her work her experience regarding depth psychology and soul-based practices, eco-centric development, embodiment, storytelling, poetry and deep imagination. She has a wide experience of 10 years in working with youth and adults in
facilitating spaces of personal and community transformation. At the moment she is studying within Animas Valley Institute from USA and graduated the Wild Mind Program.