Reaching More People with RC
This is a follow-up to my posting about teaching RC in a time of collapse [see page 19 of Present Time No.198, January 2020].
Building solid RC Communities continues to be our central work. It requires, at a minimum, that people do the following:
1. Learn RC theory
2. Get strong counseling on early hurts
3. Learn how to set themselves against the pull of distress recordings so they can move out of chronic distress
4. Understand RC liberation theory, and work on oppressor and oppressed distresses
5. Understand and follow our Guidelines
6. Prioritize building good relationships with other Co-Counselors, including RC leaders
7. Take leadership in RC
Doing all this is a lengthy process for everyone, and most of us have been hurt too deeply to be able to do it quickly. Yet it is vital. We need a bedrock of strong RC Communities everywhere to be able to stay strong and keep learning and re-emerging—for our own benefit and so we can play a big role in determining the future direction of our societies.
At the same time, we are in a new period of societal collapse. We are facing huge challenges caused by environmental degradation, war, oppression, economic collapse, and more—multiplied by climate change. And in the coming years the impacts of climate change will increase, making the other challenges more difficult.
It would be good if many more people had RC theory and practice to help them deal with the stresses and think better and lead people in rational ways. However, if we continue to teach RC only in the same ways that we have in the past, it is not clear that we will reach large numbers of people quickly. And without challenging our timidities and discouragements, we won’t even know if it is possible.
We can look at the situation and do some experiments. We are trying a few things now with non-RCers who have attended our going-public events (regardless of whether or not they come into the RC Community):
- We are teaching them how to exchange listening and set up support groups. Then we’re turning them loose to try it, while checking in on them occasionally and giving them access to written and online materials to support their work.
- We are holding daylong workshops every few months and inviting back the same group from the event, over and over again, and encouraging them to do sessions and support groups in between the workshops.
- We are staying in touch with people one-to-one via videoconferencing and coaching them to teach the people around them.
- We are offering support groups and classes on Zoom (and other kinds of videoconferencing) to teach people the basics of RC.
A question we come up against repeatedly is, How much of our theory do people need for them to be able to think freshly and move against their distress, to function differently because they are having sessions and discharging? Our experience has been that to make big changes in their lives, people need several sessions a week and to be in a class led by an experienced leader. But if their goal isn’t re-emergence but simply better thinking and functioning, how much of our theory do they need? How well do their sessions have to go? Only by doing experiments like the ones mentioned above will we gain answers to these questions.
Can we make efforts in this direction without diminishing our work of RC Community building? For me, this would mean being more connected to other people who are doing this, and doing more than I have before. I know that isn’t possible for everyone.
Probably each of us has experienced feeling unable to begin a project because it has seemed too massive to be possible. Our restimulated discouragement has stopped us (or diminished the size of the project) before we have even begun. I propose that we each make some initial small effort and see what we learn and what is possible from there.
I don’t know what we can do, but I think we will benefit from talking to each other, discharging about these things, and trying some experiments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and what you are trying.
Seattle, Washington, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders in the care of the environment
(Present Time 198, January 2020)