These events are “officially” known as “HSP Gathering Retreats.” As such, they are partly intended to offer people a chance to get away and spend time with other HSPs, partly to educate. Consequently, a large part of the schedule is given to a variety of workshops and events, typically culminating with a visit and “keynote presentation” given by Dr. Elaine Aron, author of “The Highly Sensitive Person” and other books about the HSP trait.
Friday morning offered a workshop on “The Importance of Temperament in Families and Relationships,” given by Jan Kristal, MA. Jan is author of “The Temperament Perspective: Working with Children’s Behavioral Styles,” and her presentation focused on gaining better understanding of relationship and family dynamics through understanding how different temperament traits manifest. Her work is largely based on Keirseyan Temperament Theory.
On Friday afternoon, host Jacquelyn Strickland presented a hands-on workshop on Peace Circles. Peace Circles, created by an organization called “Circles of Ten,” (www.peacecircles.net) is a worldwide organization of local groups that meet to engage in a simple process of (self)inquiry, centered on how to find both inner and outer peace. Through a series of structured questions and active listening, 1000’s of people have experienced major transformations in their lives.
It was an interesting workshop for me, personally, because it seemed to blend some things I was familiar with from the past: The structured dialogue methods of Conversation Cafe, somehow matched up with the self-inquiry process I knew from many years of working with the enneagram and non-duality.
On Saturday morning, Elaine Aron gave her presentation. The morning began with an informal personal interview of Dr. Aron by Jacquelyn Strickland, done in what was almost a "talk show interview" style.
This was followed by a presentation of Elaine’s current research and book project under the working title “Winners and Lovers: Balancing Love and Power in All Our Relationships.” HSPs, as a whole, tend to be oriented towards "love," while most of the rest of the world are more oriented towards "power." However, it is important to remember-- especially for HSPs-- that both approaches are important in life.
Following the lecture, there was a book signing, and Gathering attendees were offered the opportunity to spend a little one-on-one time with Elaine Aron.
Dr. Aron is also working on a book about therapy for Highly Sensitive People. Although it is primarily targeted at psychotherapists, it will undoubtedly become an important point of reference for HSPs who are seeking counseling.
There are no firm dates set for either books, although 2009 seems likely.
On Saturday afternoon, the final workshop of the Gathering was given by Jacquelyn Strickland on “Building Family and Relationship Bridges.” The workshop focused on the importance of “right” relationships for HSPs, and offered a set of tools for building heart-centered lives and relationships.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Whereas learning is certainly an integral part of going to an HSP Gathering, the events also offer an assortment of “extracurricular activities.” These all are totally optional to participants, but tend to be very popular and well-attended. Aside from "organized" events, we also had informal guided meditations and centering exercises, as well as occasional workgroups during lunch.
This year we also had “campfire night” at Walker Creek Ranch’s outdoor amphitheatre, which found "gatherers" sitting around the fire chatting till the early hours of the morning. What I particularly enjoyed about this was the atmosphere of "friends being together," which allowed people to get to know each other better. I ended up being the last person there, having volunteered to be "fire marshall" for the evening, which meant I had to make sure the last embers were out before we went to bed-- Northern California can be very dry, by mid June.
One of the Gathering attendees-- although not an “official” presenter-- was Dr. Barrie Jaeger, author of “Making Work Work for the Highly Sensitive Person.” In the course of our three days together, Barrie visited with numerous HSPs to discuss the topic of HSPs and work.
My personal favorite part remains the wonderful experience of just being among-- and connecting with-- other HSPs. I have not had very many people in my life who "get" me, and being with a group where so many people seem to be on a similar wavelength is an amazing-- and very healing-- experience.
