THE GATHERINGS
an LGBTQ+ Online Space for Exploration, Sharing and Support
By Rainbow Mind (UK)
The Gatherings offer LGBTQ+ people a “brave space” to explore some common core themes and challenges of life: Love; Loss; Imperfection, Perfection & the Inner Critic; The Pain of Disconnection and Connection; Challenging Emotions, and an Invitation to Like Yourself.
They are a space for being, questioning, conversing, and sharing, and are free and open to anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ or Gender, Sex and Relationship Diverse (GSRD).
THEMES and DATES
LOVE:
In what direction does your love, or care, flow?
Saturday 14 May
11:00 - 14:00
Join us to discover how love might be spoken through “Radical Self Care”, collective care and respect for all parts of ourselves.
IMPERFECTION AND THE DRIVE TOWARD PERFECTION:
Calling all inner critics
Saturday 11 June
11:00 - 14:00
Can I meet myself with care, kindness and compassion in an imperfect world?
Let us consider who we might become without the anxiety of perfection, or “the subtle aggression of self-improvement".
THE STRESS OF CONNECTION AND DISCONNECTION:
Where has all the Fun gone?
Saturday 9 July
11:00 - 14:00
Technostress in our times. What is the quality of our connecting and disconnecting?
How can we maintain and nurture human warmth and connection in both tech and physical worlds?
How can we grow our connection with the rest of the planet?
CHALLENGING EMOTIONS:
Frustrating, or a welcome challenge?
Saturday 13 August
11:00 - 14:00
How do you view your experience of life?
What do you need to find your way on your own unique journey?
How might “Radical Self-Care” practices assist us?
LOSS:
How are we approaching talking about our individual and collective losses during the global pandemic?
Saturday 10th September
11:00 - 14:00
What do we know about how we approach loss?
Naming and coping with the deeper feelings that connect us to our common humanity. How to understand our relationship with our losses?
Can we find meaning, and a road to acceptance?
THE INVITATION TO LIKE YOURSELF:
'In a society that profits from our self-doubt - Liking ourselves is a Radical Act’
(words adapted from an artwork by Caroline Caldwell)
Saturday 8th October
11:00 - 14:00
This session is an invitation to explore liking ourselves more: a space, through practice and shared experience, to more fully appreciate Pride in ourselves and our peers around us.
In this last Gathering of this series, we will also give some space for contributions to the development of future Gatherings.
ABOUT RAINBOW MIND
Rainbow Mind champions LGBTQ+ mental health. We offer a range of group and 1:1 services. Please self-refer via the page below.
Rainbow Mind has also developed the 8-week programme, Radical Self Care (RadSec). In a research trial, participants have reported significant improvements in general wellbeing, lower anxiety and depression. Also reductions in shame and self-criticism – two issues that often affect LGBTQ+ individuals more than the general population. Radical Self-Care aims to increase self-compassion and mindfulness skills.
https://www.mindchwf.org.uk/our-services/rainbow-mind/
