Carla A. Grosch-Miller reflects on the last conference

Rummaging for Reality was my first CTJ conference.  I had heard rumours of its great value but the reality of the conference far exceeded my expectations.  There were moments when I had to stop and breathe to take in what was being offered.

Like many who attended, in my professional life (and, on a good day, in my personal life) I seek to create sacred healing space for others.  It is a wondrous experience to come into a place that has been prayerfully, carefully and imaginatively made that we might enter into such sacred time and space.  The thought and attention given to the smallest of details as well as the larger framing shelter of the event made it happen.  Coming into the Chapel transformed into a fully kitted-out house, I sensed a homecoming ripe with possibility.  Challenge and comfort, invitation and provocation opened holy ground to explore and examine aspects of self and being that often get covered over in daily life and lost in translation as I assume the roles I inhabit.  It is difficult to put the experience into words; it is a wonder and a grace.  May Continuing the Journey long live out its life-giving vocation.

To read more about what Carla contributed to the conference and listen to some of our speakers check out this link: http://continuingthejourney.com/conference-history/2016-2

A morning prayer which we used on the Friday of our conference…

A blog by Sheila Robinson…. a psychological suspense writer who attended the conference…

The most powerful workshop I took part in at the conference “Continuing the Journey: Rummaging for Reality” was a constellations therapy group run by a therapist who specialises in working with people who have suffered spiritual, satanic and sexual abuse.
Approximately 12 of us took the part of various ‘voices’ in the client’s brain (identity confidential of course). The client had herself, over a long, and painstakingly slow process with the therapist, identified and written down the words spoken by the voices in her head. She had given permission for the therapist to use this material in her workshop with us – and was hoping to benefit from our experience with it.
We all took different roles – in this case, the names of the roles included Me, Body, Sexuality, Inner Child, Anger, Faith, Church, Priest, Nuns, Uncle (the last 4 named roles were all perpetrators). I took the role of Inner Child. As we read out our scripts, and then started to move around in relation to each other, inside the client’s brain, we decided how to interact with each other, and what we needed in order to progress and make changes.  As the workshop progressed, each one of us entered into our roles so strongly we were no longer using scripts. The whole thing became dynamic, and compelling.  I found myself, as Child, being strengthened and supported by Anger; together we were able to challenge and weaken the lies of the perpetrators.  I don’t think anyone who took part in that workshop is likely to forget it for a very long time! I heard different members of the group describing it to others afterwards as “stunning.” For a while during the rest of the conference, when I looked at each person, I found myself thinking of them as the role they had been playing.
I wondered at one point how this experience might play into my fiction. I then realised that even if I were to create fictional characters based upon these different voices in the client’s brain, I would not be able to replicate what happened in the group. For each voice / character needs to be fully rounded in fiction; even if someone is a ‘perpetrator’ and has done terrible thing to a vulnerable victim, we would have to see why that character has behaved in this way. We would need to look into their own childhood, their own background, and would need to understand them from the inside as well as the outside. That we were not in a position to do, within the circumstances of the constellation therapy group.  All I knew was that the voices of the perpetrators had to be faced down.

A note from our treasurer….

As you may know we hit a financial crisis before the 2016 CTJ conference. Owing to a low number of bookings we did not have sufficient reserves to enable us to continue the journey beyond 2016. We shared this with those at conference, and were overwhelmed by the response. We received £5900 in gifts which means we can go ahead with planning the 2018 conference. Thank you so much to all those who gave so generously and spontaneously. 
It highlights the need for sufficient numbers to allow CTJ to continue. Please consider booking for 2018. Please tell others about CTJ. The vast proportion of first timers come by personal invitation and recommendation. If people don't come the journey will not continue. 
We need your support if you want it to continue. 
Many thanks
Julie Nevitt
CTJ Treasurer