The Pleasure of Emotional Intimacy | July

Join us for an enlightening workshop that takes you on a journey towards Emotional Intimacy. In this workshop, you will learn to embrace the joy of connection and emotional attunement, breaking free from the traditional social scripts. Our guided meditations and social meditation practices will help you tap into your emotions and cultivate a pleasant state of being.

This workshop is designed to help you navigate emotional boundaries in real-time and gain a deeper understanding of relational processes. We'll explore various aspects of consent and encourage spontaneous expressions of joy, such as dancing and group hugs.

Our facilitation style is all about honoring what your body, mind, and spirit are telling you in each moment. We aim to help you develop a broader range of embodied emotional awareness and find your unique voice. Sign up today and unlock the pleasure of emotional intimacy.

This workshop will focus on feeling good in one's body and spirit and then taking that nourishment into connection through practices of co-regulation, or the process of cultivating pleasant and supportive states through relationship and embodied communication. We will begin with a guided meditation and then move into practices of social meditation that facilitate emotional attunement between people. These practices will help you to cultivate pleasant states of being and develop relational skills that are not accessible through typical social scripts, allowing for intimacy to be developed quickly yet safely through authentic, present-moment connection. Within social meditation we will also explore more nuanced, micro-levels of consent practice through the real-time process of navigating emotional boundaries. You can expect to come away with deeper perceptual awareness of relational processes and tools that translate to all types of relationships.

As a practice, social meditation can be used for cultivating intimacy, navigating conflict, processing emotions, bursting into spontaneous dance or cuddle puddles, and more. Simply through the process of honoring our own experience and feeling how we reverberate with others in real time, we end up discovering where the connection wants to flow organically. My facilitation style focuses on the art of invitation, specifically prompting all participants to honor what body, mind, and spirit are telling them moment-to-moment, and the practices involved aim to aid in the development of a broader range of embodied emotional awareness that allows practitioners to find their own unique voice.

✨ All genders & bodies welcome ✨

Q: How much should I donate?

A: This event is offered on a sliding scale donation basis & we contribute $300 / event to support the health & continuance of the Temple of Sacred Arts. Which means, $44 is the minimum suggested donation to make this event viable on an ongoing basis. A $66 donation helps to offers financial nourishment & energetic sustainability to the facilitator for hosting this beautiful offering for the community. Anything above that is deeply appreciated & contributes to the thriving of these offerings & blesses the facilitator & helps to off-set the financial hardship tickets. A $33 donation level is most appropriate for those experiencing extreme financial hardship, BIPOC, single moms, etc. Thank you for infusing your financial energy & love into this community & micro-economy of sacred wellness offerings. May every blessing be multiplied. 🙏

Q: What is the level of touch I should expect at this event?

A: Touch is welcome within social meditation practice but is not necessary as part of the practice. This event is a non-sexual space; if you find yourself engaging in touch with practice partner(s) we just ask that you minimize escalation of arousal for self and others. The nature of this workshop typically doesn’t move towards the sexual realm; you’ll much more likely find yourself practicing in more restful/easeful forms of connection and pleasure.

Q: Can I attend alone? Can I come with a partner?

A: Absolutely. Singles, couples, friends, etc. are all welcome. Come one, come all!

Q: What should I wear?

A: Wear whatever you feel comfortable in; pajamas, sweatpants, etc are all welcome. The space is centered around comfort/ease rather than formality or sensuality/sexuality, so keep that in mind when you choose your wardrobe.

Q: Who is facilitating?

A: Will O’Connor (any pronouns) is an emotional and relational wellness coach who deeply values down-to-earth somatic practices for finding new ways of communicating towards intimacy and understanding. They were working towards a PhD in Counseling Psychology at Colorado State when they became ill due to COVID in their 7th year of graduate work, subsequently developing post-viral chronic illness that disrupted their planned life path. Since then Will has spent their time recovering and distilling their practices to the most direct ways of accessing nourishing states of being both on an individual and interpersonal level. Outside of work they love dancing, cooking, cuddling, and spiritual practice. You can follow their work through their website inventivewellness.com, on Facebook and Instagram (just search for Inventive Wellness), or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@inventive.wellness

Q: What should I bring?

A: Blankets, pillows, cushions, etc, along with anything else supportive of your body's needs to be comfortable sitting in shared space. We will have some cushions, backjacks, and pillows for participants but it would be helpful to have people bring some of their own, and if your body has particular needs you’ll want to bring whatever you need to feel comfortable. You’re also welcome to bring a snack to share during our break time if you feel so inclined.

Host or Publisher The Temple of Sacred Arts