Enriching
Your Relationships by Enhancing Your True Self:
A
Guelph Gathering
November
6-9, 2008 marked the first time that a Kelly Tobey Workshop took place
in South Western Ontario. I
was first introduced to Kelly’s work when I attended an Ottawa
Workshop five years ago, and I have been coming back ever since.
Each Kelly Tobey retreat leaves me ready to go back to my own
life with new passion and energy.
The
weekend workshop was preceded by a Thursday evening seminar, which was
the first chance for most Southern Ontarians to experience the power of
Kelly’s workshops. Thursday
night proved to be powerful, and I was blown away by how quickly people
opened up and started to share their first hand experiences with
relationships. Several
people were so moved by what they experienced on Thursday evening that
they made the commitment to attend the rest of the weekend.
Others committed to attend next year’s event.
The
weekend’s focus was very much on all the relationships in our lives,
and also about our relationship with ourselves.
As
a person would be in process about their relationship struggles,
everyone else in the room seemed able to relate to the stories that were
shared. There was a focus on getting in touch with our true
essence as people. Accepting
that we may be the flavor of “vanilla” at our core but be trying to
pretend to be “chocolate” to please others. When pretending to be
“chocolate” we not only betray ourselves, but we miss out on the
plenty of people who love vanilla!
Several
couples attended together and worked on ways to strengthen and enhance
their relationships. Others
explored the dynamics and hurts of past relationships, the patterns that
hindered their expression and sharing of love, and looked towards what
they wanted to create in the future.
It
was weekend of personal growth, healing and new connections.
Since the workshop, a group of local participants have continued
to gather monthly for potlucks and a sharing circle. It has turned out that the Guelph workshop was also about
community building.
I left the workshop feeling that something new and exciting had just taken life in the city of Guelph. I am excited to see Kelly’s work return to Ontario, so that more people get the benefit of these powerful and life enhancing workshops. Kelly is coming back to Guelph in November 2009, and the workshop title is, “Love, Sex and Communication”.