Veronica Institute Workshops are held primarily in circles. As humankind's oldest symbol, circles represent the feminine, the Mother, and all that is yet unborn. Thus, when individuals tell their stories in the circle context, a safe space is created for the soul to emerge. It is fluid, freeing and wonderful.

Calling all girls and women for the passing of wisdoms in an intergenerational celebration! We will have time alone with our own stories, time with our own generation, and time all three together, ending in a joyous ceremony to welcome the girls to womanhood. Engagingly led by Frederica Chapman and some of the cast of Veronica Women's Theatre, this is a brilliant opportunity for awakening to our deep sense of belonging.

The workshops are given for:

• Girls' Schools
• College/University Women's Studies Programs
• Intergenerational Women's groups everywhere
  

The Gateway Rite of Passage Workshops are day-long (half-day or evening ceremonies can be arranged).

Please call us to discuss your organization's needs.

Comments from workshop participants:

"It was really fun and beautiful"

a girl

"It was wonderful having the women of Veronica at the Waldorf School of Baltimore."

a mother

"It went deep to the heart and soul."

a grandmother

The intergenerational Gateway Ceremony Workshop was developed by Frederica Chapman to strengthen women's voices, and their identity in society. It is the hope that older women who are able, gather, and connect in these workshops so that younger women have circles in which to enter, and to feel supported. With this support all women's' creativity will blossom, and all the world will benefit...

"Aging Romantically"

Remember your first romance, the excitement you felt? How about your later relationships, have they bloomed as you have wanted? This workshop offers a fresh perspective on love and romance unique to our personal lives and all our relationships. Using simple tools and techniques, we dispel old myths and notions about romance and the aging process. In a safe, fun and creative context, singles, couples, widows, widowers, divorcees, partners, good friends re-envision romance and build a spirit of community one romance at a time! The goal of Aging Romantically® may be closer than we think. Facilitator, Ann Quinlan

"Synergy Circles for Women"

"What is my soul's purpose?" "What is my life wanting to express?" "How do I accomplish this and also realize prosperity in the world?" These are questions we will address upon entering the safety of the circle. The safe circle provides a homecoming where your mind can relax, your deep knowing can emerge, and you can claim more of the fullness of your life story. The Synergy Circle is a series of eight 2-hour meetings in which the focus of the whole promotes each individual woman's progress. Use of art enhances the discovery process.

Led by Frederica Chapman.

Here are some comments from participants:

"The world transformed into a positive reality for me"

"I learned more in 6 weeks than I have in 12 years"

"I found myself on a road that I could trust"

Join us! Map the terrain of your life story as it reads thus far. Take a look at the sign posts, the crossroads, the paths taken, and those ignored. Imagine what could be beneath it all - what story could be hidden or have gone unnoticed. Using symbols, visualization, and artwork, we will explore memory, witness our stories grow into their most colorful and expansive expressions, and have the chance to both tell and be listened to.

In "A Life Story Workshop", landscape is the metaphor for getting perspective on one's life - to view from the present standpoint the terrain past and future, and to identify paths that could serve one's soul. A critical aspect of the work is to have oneself witnessed while imagining walking the proposed paths. For workshop risk-takers, the circle's focused energy engenders truth and often startling revelation.

This workshop is not performance-oriented. It is for people who:

• want to understand their soul purpose
• want to make a meaningful life transition
• feel stuck with their current life or job
• want to have a fun, exploratory, and possibly enlightening day!
  
  

This 2-day participatory drama begins with a visualization that invokes "the void" and dissolution of personal identity, setting the players as specks in the cosmos. In this mood of non-identity, the players spend an afternoon walking, dreaming, meditating, painting, writing, and allowing new expression to be shown... The workshop container extends into the evening and dreamtime where participants are encouraged to attend their dreams and any symbols that come to them... The second day begins a celebration in earnest. Roles created for which the players are encouraged to stretch themselves beyond former limits. The set is created and the parts worked out. The drama begins, the stories are told. The stars begin to shine!

This workshop is not for the weak at heart, though as always, safety is foremost. Led by Frederica Chapman

A workshop to help "performers" reduce the anxiety of being "on" and increase the effectiveness and pleasure of their communication. "Performer" is defined here as anyone who presents material to people whose attention is focused on the presenter.

Especially useful for beginning or intermediate "performers."

This workshop, through demonstration and participatory exercises, will help the "performer" to:

1. Regard the audience as potential allies, not as potential adversaries.
2. Take an "inner inventory" that will lead to realistic goals.
3. Look more creatively at the concepts of success and failure.
4. Reduce the amount of "agonizing" and increase the amount of preparing.
5. Assess the steps or risks involved in overcoming the "hurdles."
6. Deal with the "adrenalin problem."
7. Admit fears, face them, and move through them.
8. Move past the dreaded "freeze moments."
9. Use stories effectively -- to enhance communication AND reduce anxiety.

Led by Michael Parent