Creating Safe Space
A Spacious Place is founded on what we call our six “Playground Principles.” Read an overview of our fourth principle, “Creating Safe Space,” below.
When Creating Safe Space, A Spacious Place avoids flying “By the Seat of Our Pants”: in other words, beginning a session with both ourselves and our environment unprepared. Lack of preparation makes it difficult to focus on the participants’ needs. We also avoid the “Grilling and Drilling Station” approach. We do not press our participants to finish their creative work in a set time. Neither do we grill people about what they believe or drill our beliefs into them.
Instead, we get our “Exploration Station Readied.” We prepare the space and ourselves well ahead of time. Our preparedness creates a hospitable environment in which participants feel valued and welcomed. We also favor the “On Your Signal” approach. The participant decides when he/she will share and what he/she will share. We trust that each open spirit will meet with God’s Spirit if we provide a space in which that connection may happen.
The symbol for “Creating Safe Space” is a rubber ducky. We get our ducks in a row by preparing ourselves spiritually ahead of time and by preparing a welcoming environment readied for the first arriver. We also line up our duckies by letting the participants’ creative and spiritual needs guide our approach—they lead, we follow.
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