#26: Heather Plett — From Hijacking to Liberating: The Art of Holding Space
Episode description and synopsis
What does it really mean to ‘hold space?’ What is the opposite of ‘holding space?’ Is this something we can teach, and if so, how might we?
Heather is a group facilitator, deep thinker-feeler, and space-holder I’ve admired for some time, and in this episode, we dive into what it truly means to be a ‘bowl,’ and not a ‘mould;’ to liberate through space, not hijack.
Exploring some of the core questions Heather sits with every day, and brings to her work in teaching the art of space holding, we touch on the role of meta-cognition, familiarisation with paradox, embodying and bearing the ‘primal scream,’ grace in the unknown, and taking part in community-reflection (not just self-reflection) in developing our capacities for holding space for greater degrees of wholeness.
There are many snippets in this one worth noting, many great tools, reflective questions and resources mentioned, so do pause as much as you need and check out the links in the show-notes.
As always, I trust this one adds something special to your toolbelt, for restoring wholeness within yourself and your relationships; for queering the mind and our culture just a little.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
Guest bio
Heather Plett is someone who I’ve learnt much from afar, as I’ve devoured her well-articulated musings on what it means to “hold space.” She’s the author of the book, The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of Love, Liberation and Leadership, and Co-founder of the Centre for Holding Space.
After her article on What it means to ‘hold space’ for people went viral in 2015, she began to get asked to facilitate trainings and workshops globally, and grappling with what it meant to suddenly be considered as an international ‘expert’ on the topic. Since then, she’s spent thousands of hours living into this core inquiry and has produced many programs, courses, well-worthwhile articles and of course the Centre for Holding Space itself.
As someone I’ve admired the work of, and revered the humility I sense within it, it is such a pleasure to have dove into the topic for a short while.
Show notes and links
- Centre for Holding Space (website)
- Heather’s website (website)
- What’s the Opposite of Holding Space (article)
- Art of Hosting (Open Space Technology by Harrison Owen) (website)
- “Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle” by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (book)
- “Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)” by Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson (book)
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Also published on Medium.