Clearing Obstacles

There is power behind the ritual of writing things down. Research shows that physically putting pen to paper can help you memorize things better, process things faster, and is generally very cathartic. There is a long history behind writing down intentions, obstacles, fears, dreams, and desires and releasing them to the flame.

For safety purposes however, we're going to stay away from open flames for this virtual community building exercise!

Instead, have your participants take a few minutes and reflect on your prompt. Here are a few examples:

Write your biggest obstacle to fully immersing yourself in today's meeting?

What is distracting you today?

What is the fear you can't get out of your mind today?

What is your hope for the outcome of this next hour?

What is something you hope to accomplish today?

Have your participants write their answer down after a few minutes of reflection. Then, ask if anyone wants to share what they wrote. It's okay people don't. Often, if no one answers, a prolonged silence can get someone to come forward. Or, perhaps start with sharing your own answer. After the sharing is over, have everyone look at their scrap of paper. Have them meditate on it for a bit. Have them feel the feelings that come up when they think about their answer. Then have them rip it up! They can rip it once or they can rip it into so many tiny pieces they forgot what they wrote. It's up to them!

And then you can gather as a more cohesive, focused group without the distractions of what was keeping people from being fully engaged.