collabyrinth experiences, workshops, and trainings are specifically designed for organizations, communities, and teams* trying to get somewhere better as opposed to just learn something new. in fact, most of the practices we engage fellow travelers in—community, storytelling, stillness, reflection, collaboration, pilgrimage—are quite ancient yet, somehow, many have forgotten just how essential to our shared humanity they truly are. share with us where you are trying to go, and we will help you figure our what combination of supports you need to get there, whether it involves us ore not.
collabyrinth experiences, workshops, and trainings are meant to complement, not substitute for, our other professional SERVICES. yes, below you will discover ways we work to equip communities to do for themselves. by the same token, our own community of practice has spent years cultivating knowledge, skill, and expertise in collaborative design, facilitation, strategy, and advisory that can spare your organization precious resources that will undoubtedly be spent in trying to journey by trial-and-error alone.
the first experience we’d like to recommend is for you to invite our principal consultants melvin bray and/or leslie w. bray to speak at your event. other low-threshold engagements include:
intentional living
Pouring Into Yourself Retreat
self care is critical for your well-being. it’s essential actually. you cannot show up for others if you are unable to show up for yourself. there are a lot of options out there for quick fixes and stop-gaps that are marketed off as self-care. this workshop or private session with leslie will offer you not only insight and options but tools in figuring out just what your self care practice can look like so that it’s filling you up, not just filling up your time.
Conscious + Connected Parenting
are you looking to become a more conscious and connected parent? do you want set a positive tone in your home and support your children in mutually healthy ways of being? are you ready to unlearn some of the negative habits you may have seen or experienced in your childhood? if you said yes to any of these question, this workshop or private session is perfect for you! it offers guidance and support for parents seeking to improve their parenting skills and create a more harmonious family environment.
Learning At Home
what does it mean to live intentionally within a family? how do I start homeschooling? how might unschooling look different? how can I be more present with my children? if you’ve ever wondered about any of these questions, these are the small group or private sessions for you! homeschooling or unschooling—what we call life-learning—looks different for each family. finding your rhythm and harmony takes intentionality. in this series of at least 3 work sessions, leslie offers guidance and support for families looking to find better ways of being together while learning.
Intentional Living Retreat
a full weekend of intentionally curated space for deeper connection to self; a space for rest & relaxation; a chance to explore more mindful ways to engage in both self-care and community-care.
cultivating community
Community Leadership Mentoring
we all need community, even those of us who lead community. leadership takes foresight, self-awareness and the willingness to show-up for and with others. leaders cant pour from an empty cup. leslie offers skillful and experienced support for community leaders and organizers in small group and private sessions.
narrative change
Collaborative Storytelling
experience the power of hearing your community collaboratively tell the unrehearsed story of collective memory! think of this occurring in place of a featured speaker; instead the whole group speaks. the story told by the group can be in tribute either to a challenge met or loved ones you want to honor. much like bobby mcferrin’s circle singing that invites groups to spontaneously improvise music together, melvin combines his facilitation and storytelling expertise to guide groups through the process of re-membering our deep ties to one another with a shared story—even if many of us just met. [facilitated over the course of 1.5 – 2 hours, yet requires a few weeks of prep]
Relational Story-Sharing & Resonant Listening
this is a workshop that explores the process of deep exchange at the core of the work of UnLearn InEquity accountability circles. it was originally designed by Relational Uprising as a component of its Relational Culture Practice. “it is the most effective process i’ve encountered for helping even strangers go deep fast,” melvin commented his first time participating in it. it is how those considering an equity journey begin to make common cause with one another. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
Change-maker Storytelling: Personal Story
this first leg of Change-maker Storytelling training involves learning how to hone in on the key elements of your unique story for wanting to make change in the world. [typically completed in a half day.]
Change-maker Storytelling: Public Narrative
this second leg of Change-maker Storytelling training involves learning to articulate your story with power and in relationship to the larger story of justice and liberation of which it is a part. [typically completed in a half day.]
Change-maker Storytelling: Communal Myth-Making
this third leg of Change-maker Storytelling training involves learning to craft our storytelling so that it finds resonance with what a community already believes to be true and, thus, has a greater chance to influence it. [typically completed over the course of a day.]
Power to Change Pilgrimage
this is a pilgrimage in narrative change. this physical journey allows participants to come to terms at their own pace with the supremacy logics by which we have been shaped—whether we are historically privileged or marginalized by them. what makes a pilgrimage different from a trip is that the goal is to return changed and with new resources for one’s community. one such resource is a burgeoning firsthand knowledge of how one and one’s ancestors have been complicit in the furtherance of systems of western society designed to advantage some by disadvantaging others. getting to the point where you can say, “i want better,” can be a taxing experience, so we hold space with spiritual care every step of the way. pilgrimages we organize primarily involve visits to montgomery, AL, and atlanta, GA. however, we can also provide facilitation and spiritual care for pilgrimages organized by sponsors to other places. [primarily completed over the course of 3 full days, along with a few pre-gatherings.]
equity journey
we choose not to conduct equity trainings as stand-alone events, but rather as provisioning opportunities for communities preparing for and pursuing journeys of truth and transformation. it is our conviction that, you cannot train yourself out of inequity. we have find that too many people would rather train than do. we support doing.
Power to Change Pilgrimage
this is a pilgrimage in narrative change. this physical journey allows participants to come to terms at their own pace with the supremacy logics by which we have been shaped—whether we are historically privileged or marginalized by them. what makes a pilgrimage different from a trip is that the goal is to return changed and with new resources for one’s community. one such resource is a burgeoning firsthand knowledge of how one and one’s ancestors have been complicit in the furtherance of systems of western society designed to advantage some by disadvantaging others. getting to the point where you can say, “i want better,” can be a taxing experience, so we hold space with spiritual care every step of the way. pilgrimages we organize primarily involve visits to montgomery, AL, and atlanta, GA. however, we can also provide facilitation and spiritual care for pilgrimages organized by sponsors to other places. [primarily completed over the course of 3 full days, along with a few pre-gatherings.]
12-Session Accountability Circle
accountability circles are the best way to embed the personal and structural practices of the Truth & Transformation Model into your daily routine. let us host a 12-session cycle for your organization. even if your circle doesn’t continue beyond the cycle, we have found that 12 is an adequate number of sessions to begin to develop new habits. if your organization isn’t ready to take this step, but you are, join the waiting list for our next public accountability circle. [typically completed in 6 months, meeting bi-weekly]
TNT Provisions: Campfires
once and a while authors melvin bray and/or leslie bray jump online for 60 minutes to respond to book-related questions or facilitate reflection regarding where you are in your journey. join the waiting list for information on the next campfire.
TNT Provisions: Finally Hit Bottom Party
recovery from your social addictions to the misuse of power begins when you hit bottom. you hit bottom when you finally decide, “we want better.” this is a workshop in which unlearners cover the basic framework of moving from hostile doings to hospitable doings, the role of agency (power-to) and accountability (power-with), as well as the imperative of changing persistently inequitable outcomes. unlearners also discuss the initial implications of bottoming out a social addiction to wanting to be on top. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: Withdrawal Symptoms
a workshop in which unlearners explore the various forms of denial that keep them blind to the impacts of their social addictions and how to begin deconstructing them. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: Power & Privilege
a workshop in which unlearners unpack the role of power and privilege in enabling social addictions to wanting to be on-top. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: From Truth To Transformation
a workshop in which unlearners reflect on their readiness to move from the work of the first six steps (the truth steps) to the work of the back six (the transformation steps). [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: Concrete Structural Change
a workshop in which unlearners examine their own shift from the personal to the structural work of equity and strengthen their plan. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: Myth & Power
a workshop in which unlearners rewrite the myth that guides their efforts to reorder, repair, and reimagine power. [typically completed within 2 hours.]
TNT Provisions: Communal Vigilance
a workshop in which unlearners explore 4 essential forms of repair—communal reparations, communal defense, communal solidarity, and communal construction. [can be anything from a half-day overview to a multi-day training.]
Accountability Circle Host Training
a training in which host trainees learn the ins-and-outs of coordinating accountability circles from composition, scheduling, communication, and design to content, ritual. structure, shared readings, and building a container that promotes transformative learning. host certification requires participation in 18 two-hour sessions, which includes co-facilitation of at least one with cohort feedback. public trainings are started once, maybe twice, a year. join the waiting list to be a part of the next training cohort. [typically completed over the course of a year.]
RESTORATION Retreat
sometimes change-makers who lead equity work forget that, in the midst of guiding others, they need to be doing their own work to heal from overexposure to supremacy logic too. even equity leaders can, at times, get stuck or spent. we curate space for leaders to find rest and rejuvenation, while providing the spiritual care for them to progress in their inner work so that they can continue their outer work with integrity. [facilitation of both weekend and week long retreats available.]
Equity Rehab
UnLearn InEquity: An Invitation proposes the potential benefit of time away from one’s daily routine awashed in supremacy logics in order to begin the recovery process from one’s particular social addiction with fellow unlearners who understand. in this week-long retreat, unlearners wade deep into the critical analysis and self-awareness phases of the inner work introduced in UnLearn InEquity: A Feel Guide and begin to rewrite the stories that have robbed them of their shared humanity.
Equity Sabbatical
UnLearn InEquity: An Invitation proposes the idea of time away from the ordinary rhythm of power-over that you’ve grown used to in order to embody new rhythms of power-with. in this week-long retreat to enrich your sabbatical, unlearners dive deep into the cultural competence and better practices phase of the inner work introduced in UnLearn InEquity: A Feel Guide and begin to design the different form one’s leadership might take in a liberated professional life. enjoy beautiful environs, stimulating conversation, and self-reflection. on occasion, there is the opportunity to extend one’s retreat in a service capacity to other unlearners and/or in the local community.
as always, workshops can be tailored to your community’s specific concerns. we have standard fees for large and/or corporate clients. however, for mid-size to small civic, faith-based, and justice clients, we are more than willing to negotiate a more manageable fee or respectful honorarium. let’s discuss your specific needs.
*unless otherwise stated in the description, individual registrations for any offering listed above would be handled by the sponsoring organization. see their website for details.
