POEMS & RESOURCES FROM OCt. PS-WA Group Peer Support TRAINING

AN INVITATION
by Jeff Foster
from Falling in Love With Where You Are
​
I don't want to hear what you believe
I'm not at all interested in your certainty
I couldn't care less about your unexcelled perfection

Share with me your doubts
Open up your tender heart
Let me in to your struggles

I'll meet you in that place
Where your spiritual conclusions
Are starting to crack open

That's where the creativity lives
That's where the newness shines
That's where we can truly meet:
Beyond the image

Your imperfections
Are so perfect
In this light

I don't want you to be perfect
I want you to be real

---

WHEN SOMEONE DEEPLY LISTENS TO YOU
by John Fox

When someone deeply listens to you
It is like holding out a dented cup
you’ve had since childhood
and watching it fill up with
cold, fresh water.
When it balances on top of the brim,
you are understood.
When it overflows and touches your skin
you are loved.

When someone deeply listens to you
the room where you stay
starts a new life
and the place where you wrote your first poem
begins to glow in your mind’s eye.
It is as if gold had been discovered.

When someone deeply listens to you
Your bare feet are on the earth
and a beloved land that seemed distant
is now at home within you.

---

the fire that awakens you
by Danielle Doby
From I Am Her Tribe

I am drawn to the light in others
it is how I know I am not alone

to be a seeker of the light
is to be connected to the very truth itself -

               the way out of the darkness
               is when we can look across the table
               and find our face in another's 

when we let our stories exist
we invite others to see themselves more clearly
in a space where
pain
struggle
stunning resilience
and belonging
are not unique to just one person

they live in each of us
proving we are not on our own

i heal
and you heal
and when we heal
the world heals with us

an open heart is the key
that unlocks hope's reach

the sun is here
within you
now open your eyes

---

My playlist of songs that I frequently use in group spaces:

Songs For Themed Circles

Mother's Wisdom Deck
I mentioned this deck.  Unfortunately, it's out of print and challenging to find at a reasonable price, but I do occasionally see it decently priced on various thrift book sites.  There are so many cool decks out there that could be used similarly - search "affirmation decks" or "oracle decks" at your favorite bookseller.