Explore a more honest YOU with the help of some honest friends.
What is Radical Honesty?
A Radical Honesty workshop is an opportunity to explore authentic self-expression, communication, and connection.
Primarily, the workshop provides a framework for stepping out of your typical sales pitch and discovering parts of self that you normally keep hidden by sharing authentically with others. It's an opportunity to get to know yourself better and an invitation to take some risks and step into a more vulnerable and intimate style of relating.
What you can expect
Ground rules:
* Silence and put away distractions during session (devices, food, etc.)
* Keep confidentiality (no sharing identifiable characteristics of other participants w/out consent)
* No non-consensual touch
* No harassment (name-calling, verbal abuse, unwanted advances, aggressive pressure, not respecting "no," etc.)
Noticing & reporting:
One of the foundational skills we'll work on is a simple practice called "noticing and reporting." This is a type of "interpersonal meditation" that involves slowing down, paying attention to what's going on in and around you, and stating (reporting) simply what it is that you are seeing, hearing, thinking, and feeling (noticing).
Noticing vs. interpreting:
Our culture is one that tends to overvalue thinking, analyzing, and interpreting to the loss of being attentive to what actually "is." In order to train our "noticing what is" muscles, we'll do various exercises to ground ourselves in the present moment, and work on the distinction between what we notice, and what we think about what we notice.
Theoretical models:
* The Emotional Wave (Wilhelm Reich): How to avoid getting stuck by becoming a skilled surfer of emotional waves.
* The Change Triangle (Hilary Jacobs Hendel): A map for dealing with emotional activation.
* The Awareness Continuum (Gestalt): Distinct categories of awareness to help train our "noticing muscle."
* The Paradoxical Theory of Change & (Arnold Beisser): What you resist persists.
* Noticing vs. Imagining (Fritz Perls): Distinguishing noticing from meaning-making.
* Shoulds: Investigating what we think should be vs. what is.
* Top Dog / Bottom Dog (Fritz Perls): a common but misguided dynamic for affecting change.
Full Weekend Workshop Notes HERE.
Coaching:
Throughout the workshop, you will be invited and coached to share in simple language intended to help ground you in noticing more than thinking, to be more authentic and congruent, and to be better surfers of your emotional waves. Coaching will not be done without your consent.
Meditation:
There will be brief guided grounding meditations to support you in noticing.
Sharing rounds:
You'll be invited to speak about how you're doing, what's important to you, and what you would like to share in various group sizes.
Paired exercises:
Various exercises will support some of the basic theoretical models.
Is this workshop right for me?
This workshop is for anyone who is interested in honesty and personal growth.
If you have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder (or similar) or suffer from severe PTSD, please contact mak@radicalhonesty.com to see if this workshop is right for you. It is possible that you may benefit from 1-on-1 work before participating in a workshop.
If you’re struggling in your relationships, trapped in your mind, wanting to explore rejected or hidden parts of self, or seeking to build community with other honest folk, this workshop is for you!
Location:
Babak's House
Columbus & 100th St. (Upper West Side)
New York, NY 10025
Babak, longtime participant, is generously offering his apartment for this small-group workshop.
Address will be given to registered participants.
Schedule:
Friday: 7pm - 9pm
Saturday: 10am - 7pm
Sunday: 10am - 5pm
Bring your own lunch or eat out at nearby markets or restaurants.
Group size:
6 - 8 participants + 1 RH Trainer
TRAVEL ADVISORY - Please do NOT book your travel until you receive a confirmation email that the minimum number of participants has been met. If the minimum is not met, the workshop may be canceled, in which case your registration can be transferred to a future workshop or refunded in full.
Accessibility:
Ramp and elevator available.
Refund Policy:
No refunds.
If cancelation notice is given at least 30 days before the workshop, your registration is transferrable to a friend or to a future Radical Honesty event with Mak. Transfer credits expire 1 year from the start date of the workshop you register for.
Meet your Trainer
WORKSHOP LEADER:
Michael Alan Kolb
Michael Alan (Mak) Kolb
Mak has a BA in Psychology, is a co-founder of and supervisor at the Radical Honesty Institute, and has led nearly 100 Radical Honesty events since 2019. He is committed to helping people develop the skills needed to live life out loud, to mend and build (and sometimes end) meaningful relationships, and to ground themselves in experiential reality. He lives and works in Costa Rica where he is co-founder of Cascada Elysiana Eco Retreat Center.
“It is difficult to transition into adulthood in a world full of adolescents. This practice of Radical Honesty has been the most important work I've done in my personal journey of growing.” -Mak
www.honesti.me/calendar | mak@radicalhonesty.com
Our facilitators are certified professionals who follow a strict Code of Ethics. We are committed to providing a harassment-free learning environment for all participants. Have a concern? Submit it anonymously or confidentially through our Ethics Circle Reporting Form.