The Pathwork Vermont Community is at the beginning of a four-year process of transition. We are moving from a Single-Helper-Leader-Founder model to a Community model, which is being developed BY the members of the Community, FOR the members of the Community, with the support and coaching of our devoted faculty of three.

What is unique about this model for change is that the motivation for Creating Community is coming from the members themselves, in response to a challenge from Sahra Aschenbach, founder of Pathwork Vermont , who over the next four years will be transferring leadership of the Community to the students. These students are currently preparing for this exciting task by studying Helpership and Leadership development.

In addition, the students have felt called to create the first of 8 to 12 “ Building Community” meetings, which will be scheduled over the next four years until the process is complete.

The first of these one-day meeting was held in June. The facilitators were Madeline Dietrich and Mary Jane Ihazs, third year Helpership students, assisted by Sahra Aschenbach and Ingrid Schirrholz, long time faculty members.

A report of this meeting follows:.

REPORT ON OUR FIRST “BUILDING COMMUNITY” MEETING (June 2006)

OUR INTENTION FOR COMMUNITY MEETING

1.) To have the experience of working together in community and thru this experience to create and build community.

2.) To be focused and give our best to the tasks on the agenda.

WHAT WAS GATHERED FROM PARTICIPANTS (not a summary )

What the Guide offers about Community -(Discussion that followed)

People who are choosing / desiring to relate in community
Conscious choice / Conscious Desire, Intimacy / Honesty
If we all spoke our truth we could solve the energy crisis!
Nuclear energy
Commitment deepens - as in family
Brotherhood - sisterhood - energetic feeling
Resonates back to monastic life
Protection, seclusion, work deeper inside yourself
Bring forth the energy of unity through the feminine
The Sacred Feminine - How to bring this through?
World is longing for an Authentic Spirituality
Longing for the Sacred Feminine to step up and take its rightful place - In both men and women

What does commitment to Community Mean?

Wanting to participate
Desiring
No Obligation
Doing what needs to be done to "build" Community
A Call - An Invitation to participate in Community
To give from a place of responding to the Call
Being true to self in relationship to Community
Being able to say "NO", only then can you whole heartedly say "YES"
Not all my responsibility to hold "it" together - make "it" happen
Personal Self - Responsibility to reveal one's own places of being out of alignment with our own truth
Opportunity to be mutually open and honest with fellow community members.
Safe place to work, issues of honesty in communication

What is the Pathwork? What is unique and of particular value about the Pathwork as a spiritual framework?

What are the concerns, needs, fears or blocks to spreading the word about Pathwork?

How do we language it to potential new members and in marketing our programs?

What are the differences and similarities between the Pathwork and psychotherapy or other Spiritual Paths?

Pathwork offers:

Offers alternative ways of working with Victim/Perpetrator model
Uses BOTH psychological and spiritual tools
What is spiritual is that Pathwork identifies and develops  the Observer Self -aligning with Conscious Ego and higher being to step outside problem
Works with naming and using intentionality-holding an intention helps to gather energy for healing
Works with Self-Discovery, Self-Responsibility
Develops a capacity for Self-awareness-works to make the unconscious, and its effects on self/other, more conscious
Uses spiritual tools and practices but is NOT dogma
Celebrates pleasure
Focus on relationship with God through integration of the shadow
Takes a problem (blessed problem) and makes it a gateway into the divine
Offers practical Tools for working with bringing the Unconscious into Consciousness by working with the Lectures and tools such as:
Meaningful rituals, Meditation: Attunement, Stillness, Three voice meditation etc.
Prayer, Daily review
Spiritual Laws and their effect on us as spiritual beings in human form on the earth plane
Beautiful Problem-using what is unresolved as a Gateway to the Divine
Tools for strengthening and identifying with the Conscious Ego Mind, the Mature Adult Ego
CEM is a safe and healing way to develop your connection with God
CEM helps our "spiritual connection" to stay grounded
Offers organized process for identifying and integrating the shadow(unconscious) self
Recognizes "shadow self" is made up of blocked, undeveloped fragments of yourself.
Pathwork celebrates the greatness of who you are...celebrates the part of the self that finds pleasure in being fully alive and free.
Pathwork is about Freedom and Liberation from fear: offers tools for dissolving dualistic perceptions of the world (illusions) and for living in the Reality of 50/50, and for living from Unitive Consciousness.
Pathwork helps us to identify the Divine Kernel within
Tools and concepts beyond survivorship
How to work with personal history and go beyond - hold both personal and holding it from higher consciousness
What does it mean to develop own spiritual path?
Guide book for being fully human
Finding one's own inner authority, power
Getting inside the concepts, the energy of the concepts, power of words, embodying them.
Spiritual - psychology class
Mystical - psychology class
Daily Review- Brings focus on daily activities and the places where we re-create patterns of stuckness
Outer relationships, circumstances and daily life as reflection of our inner life
Life as our teacher
Celebration of life through meaningful rituals
Naming, articulating intention
Pathwork of Self - Discovery
Making the unconscious conscious
Tools and Practices - Not Dogma
- Daily Review
- Meditation and Prayer
- Meditation for 3 voices
Unique take on the Ego (Strengthening to have a Healthy Ego)
Focus on relationship with God through integration of shadow
Finding the divine kernel in everyone and everything
"Beautiful Problem", the Problem is the medicine
Pleasure is our birthright and our greatest challenge

Reflections on Vision Statement Questions
1. As a result of your experience in Pathwork Vermont, name three things that have shifted or changed in yourself, in your relationships, in your community, in your view of the larger North American Pathwork community, or in your view of the world?

Stronger CEM, CC being held by me? (it's? not in charge), NEGATIVE ?ego's not in charge – I AM IN CHARGE?  Relationship in mutuality, deeper love
From hopeless (re.. the world) to concern with hope
If I can heal place in me and become peaceful it will have effect on collective consciousness and the world.
More responsible for my relationships, less the victim
Less resentment, pleasure without guilt
Deeper humility rather than shame, more honesty
Homesick…….searching outside (resentful, ? rules)….cruel joke…….opening to rich inner space……directly connect to guidance moment by moment (self responsible) ….inner hearth is LIGHT and LIFE (warmth, security inside me)
Accepting inner authority as who I AM (open to possibilities) living, juicy, rich place
Deepening relationship to self, other , and divine
Self empowerment, authority
I create life, events, the world with God
Life, universe, and God works with me to create the best for me, the world (Salvation)
Solid expanding, hopeful and brighter
Like myself better, understand that there is 50/50, people are both good and bad
Have tools to help myself as well as the N.A. Pathwork Community

2.What do you stand for? What principle, cause, value, or purpose would you be willing to devote your life to?

To help others find their inner hearth
To be real, try to be in trust and non-judgmental
Bring culture, people and countries together
Passion: Awakening of Human Consciousness
Purpose:: Enlivening communities
Glowing, growing, colorful, creative, nourishing

3)What is most important to you that Pathwork IS?

Supporting, Gives tools, sharing of tools, how they are taught and shared and experienced
It's in childhood stage, has little baggage, malleable, full of potential
Feels free and open - can take one class or further levels of involvement
No hierarchy
Process - In the process of becoming, A process
Sacred container for the journey home to myself
I have a Helper who holds the highest consciousness while I'm in my darkest places.

4)What's most exciting for you in what Pathwork Vermont is?
The potential, openness, deep longing, willingness to do what needs to be done to fulfill its potential
It's evolution
People making an honest effort to be real
People really know and want to better themselves
Willingness, desire, pleasure to be together
Trustworthy, competent, reliable

5.Words that describe your Passion for the Pathwork.
Deep trust, longing for Truth, emerging, inviting, challenging, hopeful
Burning, fiery, alive, juicy, self-empowering, constant, strong

6.What is your ideal of what Pathwork could be?
Center for embodiment, realization and manifestation of what is possible for humanity in the world
Accessible, hub with groups in local communities
To be a model for what's possible in Pathwork Communities
Weekly gatherings
Healthy cells in the body model (cleanse/purification, rejuvenate/heal
Attraction not promotion

7.What are the most important things we could be doing?
Continue to grow ourselves
How to be more accessible
Offering engaging, inspiring workshops all over VT
Attracting Person Power
Creating a Network / web of streams of light, embodied
Us going out into the community, sharing ourselves

8.What are the words that describe our values?
Deep honesty
Deep commitment
Inclusive
Growing consciousness
Sacred container for deep relaxation
Pathwork is essential (and not for everyone) to know you spiritual self
We are grateful for the strength, solidity, freedom and nourishment that Pathwork VT offers
Nurturing, spiritual nurturing
Accepted as I am, questions and doubts are welcomed