After a successful summer series – and based on feedback from nearly 30 community participants – I will be offering a twice a month, in person, Fall SpeakUP series starting September 1st and running through November 17th. I hope you will join us!
Games will take place at a beautiful, private residence on Old Eaglemount. The venue is large and well ventilated. Address will be sent to participants after you email me to confirm your attendance. DrTartaro@gmail.com
On the first and third Thursday of the month, we will gather in circle from 6:30-8:30 pm and take deep breaths – relishing the preciousness of gathering once again – and let our bodies and hearts catch up and remember.
From there, we will play. We will tell stories. And we will practice the connection games that help us slowly open up to one another, build conscious relationship skills and make us feel less separate and more known and understood.
If you were once a seasoned SpeakUP participant, I hope you will come back!
If you never attended SpeakUP Connection Events, this is a great time to step in and find out what authentic relating is all about!
If you are unsure what this is but you know that you’ve been lonely and you yearn to be with people and just be yourself, then you are warmly invited!
At SpeakUP, I will guide you, step-by-step through big group, small group and partner exercises designed to build connection, to lessen the experience of loneliness and to give you skills you can bring back to grow the depth of all of the relationships in your life.
Bonus: This season, select SpeakUP community members will be making guest appearances throughout the fall to share their gifts with the community and contribute to my games facilitation. Expect to get a range of styles and flavors of leadership to give you the chance to find a doorway to connection that works for you!
Event dates: September 1st & 15th, October 6th & 20th, and November 3rd &17th. (All Thursdays)
MORE ABOUT SPEAKUP GAMES
In 2018 I started leading weekly, in person SpeakUP games at Madrona Mind/Body in Port Townsend. A lively, thriving community formed. In 2019, I led the first training of Authentic Relating games facilitators on the Olympic Peninsula. In March of 2020, due to the global Covid pandemic, I moved games online and then later that year, put SpeakUP on pause. This summer, 2022, from June to August, I lead a monthly, summer series of events that were a wild success as measured by hearts filled up, trust growing and a strong attendance of community members who said they wanted more, leading to the fall series.
These games are for connecting. They are designed to help the body, mind and heart slowly build trust with ourselves and with others. Through these games, we practice authenticity with one another, aligning our inside truths with our outside communication.
There is no expectation that attendees will participate in any certain way, as long as you honor the 4 agreements below. Come as you are and let us slowly meet each other in a space of welcome.
AGREEMENTS:
1. Go slowly. Resist the urge to speed up when you feel vulnerable.
2. Practice kindness to self and other. This is like being loyal to yourself while practicing forgiveness of others.
3. Own your experience and take responsibility for yourself and your actions, including using “I” statements.
4. I can’t offer you the guarantee that this will be a “safe space”. But we will endeavor together to create “brave space”: https://onbeing.org/poetry/invitation-to-brave-space/
MORE ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:
Dr. Jessica Tartaro (she/her) is a cis-gendered, able bodied, second generation Sicilian Jewish Intimacy Coach & Connection Facilitator who brings to her teaching nearly 20 years of experience in the healing arts facilitating individuals, couples and groups. Through her one-of-a-kind workshops, Jessica powerfully weaves together the influences of Authentic Relating, positive psychology, psycho-education, trauma-sensitivity, experiential learning, mindful embodiment and conscious intimacy. Plus, she loves to play. Former Fulbright scholar, Jessica has founded communities across the country dedicated to healing the collective experience of belonging. On the Olympic Peninsula of Washington where she currently lives, Jessica produces the weekly intimacy podcast “Under 10” through which she shares simple tools to heal and grow your relationships. To stay current on her evolving offerings and inquire about her private coaching and public speaking, go to www.DrJessicaTartaro.com.
