MATRIXWORKS

Geometry & Weaving Matrix Weaving the Matrix with Group Geometry "Currently one of the most accessible doorways to spiritually is not individual meditation but small group work." Otto Scharmer Groups come together for a purpose. Declaring (or discovering) the purpose up front serves as a guide for going forward with a unified purpose. A part of the ground as it is worked with in MatrixWorks is the belief that working with the power of the small group is really a spiritual practice. Spiritual traditions have long known, and scientific inquiry is now understanding, the principle of interconnectedness: that the story of separation is a false story. Directly perceiving this truth of interconnection is the spiritual fruit that can come from working with groups. In weaving the matrix, we develop a felt sense of how living systems work, how each member is important, how diversity is important, how synergy happens when you combine talents, and how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This movement of energy and information through all parts of the system is as vital to the aliveness of group life as the movement of blood and nourishment and nutrition to all parts of the human body. Three Types of Group Organization: Charismatic Leader Talking Circle Matrix Working the geometry of a group is a powerful intervention. We name group design 'sacred geometry'. What this means is to design exercises and processes that allow each member of the group to be in face-to-face contact with every other member of the group in different configurations of twos, threes, fours, and small groups of eight to twelve. Each of these interactive exercises (that we will explore further in the Path section under 'exercises') establishes a line of connection between those participating, and ensures that the energy and information can move through all parts of the system. A vital principle of the power of working the geometry of the group and weaving the matrix is the deepening of safety that comes from interacting face to face. Weaving the matrix is such a potent practice because we are making use of this fundamental group wisdom around differentiation and integration. In this process, group members are continuously coming together and coming apart. Repeatedly coming together and coming apart starts the process of being able to see ourselves in the other. It becomes safe to be ourselves, and safe to see others. Intentional groups are a place where we can discover and work with the three poisons : attachment, aversion, and ignorance. In every group, some people will annoy you, some people you'll fall in love with, and some you won't feel much of anything towards. The three poisons cause separateness and obstruct interconnection. Working with recognition of these feelings without being captured by them helps us to understand and transcend suffering in groups. We need slight experiences with aversion, ignorance, and attachment because it's a part of our makeup. So if we can experience it with consciousness, then we can learn to see through it. In a group class, we can really increase our capacity to see ourselves as whole and as a part of the whole. Co-facilitators help a group work through these challenges by representing a midline that balances a group. Most living things have a midline, a spine that connects the divergent parts to the center. Facilitators working together can provide the structure that makes it safe for the river of experience to flow. They provide a model of what health looks like by being open, vulnerable, and strong. Co-facilitators move the group towards creative evolution by modeling conflict and chaos in a healthy way. Relationships of any kind need feedback, safety, and respect. The higher calling, or purpose, of the group is represented by the midline. Every group wants to go towards what is life affirming, what serves life. For many years in MatrixWorks I've been saying that the experience of this work is of being a part of a womb that grows the new individual who can care for the whole. Groups naturally crave an experience of wholeness, and facilitating interconnections guides the group in the way life organizes. Practice: First establish the lines of connection between all members of the group. Then, we as facilitators looking to see that the lines are kept open and energy can move through the lines. When the group is a living system, we fall through the space between the lines and into a new dimension. Falling into the space that is a kind of magic. Magic where it’s not one, not two. We are not each other, and we are not separate from each other. Work with the group geometry: diving the people into 2 groups and putting people back together. Make it possible for everybody to have contact with everybody else in the group. Sub-Group Work: Dividing the group into parts so they learn how to both honor the differences and integrate parts into the whole. Ask the members to step forward as you expose the existing connections among the participants: Who are the Yoga Students in the Room? Highlight the Men in the Room? Who are the Yoga Teachers? Who are the Parents? Grandparents? Who are the Dog Lovers? Cat Lovers? Who are the meditators? Who are the Therapist? Doctors, Lawyers? Who are the people in transition? Working the geometry of the group in these different configurations allows for maximum connection between members and the creation of a very high feedback environment. INTERVENTIONS Definitions: Interventions are shaped by our values, preferences and aspirations. Interventions can take place at the 3 levels of group life. Interpersonal Form the interpersonal matrix by facilitating as many interactions between as many sets of people as possible. The goal is for each person to feel free to interact, connect and form relationships with Because the three levels of group life are not truly distinct, an intervention at one level