ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The first and paramount intention of the assisting program is to be of service to that silent, unseen, unspoken container that represents our workshop room and environment.
As an assistant, you will help to maintain that container, enhance it, and support those within it. Whether that is done by having a conversation with someone about their share, refilling the coffee to ensure it never runs out, or scheduling follow up calls, all of these actions are in service to others and the flow and functioning of the workshop.
The second role of the assisting program is one of growth.
Assistants have an opportunity to grow in a different way than that experienced as a workshop attendee. The goal is for assistants to set an intention to work on something or to show up as something that propels their own growth and allows assisting in the workshop to be the experiential process of their own workshop.
Stepping into a different role activates our inner dialogue. How aware are you of this dialogue and how much of it is influencing your intentions thus shaping your actions? The assisting program provides an opportunity to face whatever questions, hesitations, and judgments arise while being of service. Which of these thoughts are you choosing to listen to and believe? The goal is to utilize the workshop as an opportunity to gently acknowledge them and possibly create a bit of space between the judgments and your actions. To allow your conscious intention to be louder than the voice that longs to protect you.
This is the workshop within the workshop and you can create what it will look like for you. What are you working on in your life that you would like to practice here? Do you want to work on listening more? Or cultivating compassion? Persuasiveness? Eye contact? Or even humor? Whatever it is, assisting can be the workshop within the workshop to bring awareness to the reservations, thoughts, beliefs that pop up as you begin to push your boundaries.
The assisting program provides an opportunity to consciously give back while simultaneously enhancing and stimulating your own self-growth. As the Buddhist parable speaks to below, positive change begins with ourselves. We believe that by participating in this program, you will make a tremendous difference in our community and catapult your own growth. We are so thrilled to have your support!
DO YOU QUALIFY TO APPLY?
If you answer YES! To all of the above and you are interested in the assisting program, apply below to fill out the questionnaire.
At the first Productive Learning workshop I attended, although a bit nervous and shy, I felt taken care of. I remember Lindon and Mark checking in with me to see if I had any questions. The room being neat and clean. Tea and snacks provided. Even gazing out onto the ocean felt comforting and grounding (for those of you in the So Cal office). It wasn’t just the cleanliness of the room or the presence of snacks that made me feel this way, it was an unspoken energy that translated “I will support you and you are safe in this space.” I felt like this container, although unfamiliar, was a place for me to bring awareness to the places in my life that were less than extraordinary. The silent understanding that I was safe to share, that all feelings are welcome, that although we are “strangers” I support you. I felt that everyone there was in alignment with that silent promise and contributing to the caring community that was now forged.
The first time I assisted in a workshop, my mind had a lot of thoughts and ideas on how I was being of service–“I wasn’t being mindful enough.” “I should have given that woman a tissue earlier for her tears.” I saw people begin to connect and support each other and I wanted to contribute so badly, but the voice in my head and the commentary regarding my contributions, “That I wasn’t doing it fast, slow, gently, consciously, enough” was so loud. This made me pause. Although my intention to give back and contribute was pure, the voice in my head was preventing me from being of full service to the moment and to other beings. I wondered how much this voice has prevented me from giving of myself more– for fear that the “more” wouldn’t be “right.”