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Sessions:
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Sense & Sensitivity is an invitation to take a spiritual journey using the senses as starting points and doorways. It has been written for groups of between five and twelve people.
A key concept - introduced in the first session through the making of a three-strand braid - is that we are three-in-one beings: spirit, soul and body. This biblical concept chimes with the body/mind/spirit understanding of much of today's 'holistic' thinking, but is a more complete expression. The soul is itself tri-partite: mind, emotions, will.
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We recall Paul's blessing to the Thessalonians:
'May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
1 Thessalonians 5:23.
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Sense & Sensitivity presents a Christian understanding of creation, human nature, and the redeeming work of Christ. But because our culture is deeply suspicious of authority, of organised religion, of being told what to think, this understanding is presented in ways that allow the participants to discover new insights for themselves.
So Sense & Sensitivity is not so much a course to be instructed or taught as a journey to be shared. At the end some may be open to an invitation to continue meeting or to join other groups. Some will disappear, but seeds have been sown.
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Sense & Sensitivity has also been shown to be stimulating and refreshing for Christians. Indeed, the best way to introduce it is probably to run it with a church group first, or with church members and close fringe people. From this group may come those who will be happy to open their home for a further series. From their own experience they will know that they can invite friends and neighbours without the fear that people will feel 'got at'.
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Each session begins with using one of the physical senses in a light-hearted fashion - guessing tastes, sound-effects or smells, puzzling over optical illusions, handling clay. These are not simply ice-breakers. Each connects to the soul - and ultimately the spirit.
Using all the senses isn't New Age, it's simply biblical! Those who are familiar with the theories of brain-compatible learning (which are having a profound effect on education) will recognise how inclusive a multi-sensory approach is.
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Jesus also made great use of story - a medium which communicates to all types of learners. Sense and Sensitivity draws on the insights and techniques of Jerome Berryman's Godly Play.
The heart of each Sense & Sensitivity session is a story told in this style. Because telling stories in this way is so different - please look at "story telling hints" within the resources section.
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The story - and the song or music which may follow it - is the key moment in each session, the moment when a step on the spiritual journey is most likely to be taken.
This is where sensitivity is so important - the sensitivity of the story-teller, the prayerfulness of other Christians in the group, the willingness to allow space and silence and not to impose our understanding or the 'right' answer. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," said the Master.
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The story is followed by an activity which gives further space for reflection or response. The movement so far has been from the physical (body), through the psychological (soul), to the spirit. Now it flows the other way.
Having been touched in our spirit, we reflect on that and express it in some tangible way. This may be in a symbolic action, or in some creative work. The wholeness of our being is re-affirmed.
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This wholeness is the focus of the teaching using the triquetra symbol in session 4. We introduce the Hebrew word 'shalom,' which means wholeness, peace, harmony, balance. The story of the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears allows people to make the connection between moments of shalom they have already experienced in their lives - and perhaps even during Sense & Sensitivity - with the forgiveness and acceptance offered by Jesus. This is a powerful moment and may be a turning point for some individuals.
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"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10.
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This Introduction is also available as a pdf document for ease of printing.
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