Unfiltered Conversations:  Honest Conversations about Anxiety and Stress.  

Tuesday, November 10,  4pm-5pm  

https://mit.zoom.us/j/99227924412

We are coming of age in a chaotic and uncertain time. Too many of us are navigating this year with unspoken anxiety and stress. Maybe it’s the uncertainty about the future, or the feeling of being out of control, or a lack of meaningful connections with others, or sadness over what has been lost.  Maybe it’s the pressure to maintain the “right” image and only show the best parts of yourself or not feeling a sense of meaning in your life.  What is producing anxiety in you?  How are you doing, really?

Don’t let anxiety rob you of life. Come for an Unfiltered Conversation with others.  

Unfiltered Conversations is a space for you to explore with others how anxiety is impacting your present human experience. You will have the opportunity to be honest about what is causing stress in your life and how it is affecting you. You will be in a small group of 4-5 others with a trained facilitator who will guide the conversation. As you connect, share, and reflect, you will also learn some simple practices to help you build skills to cope with anxiety as well as bring perspective and peace.  There’s no need for pretense here.  Come as you are. 

This will be session 1 of a 4 part series. You don’t have to commit to all 4, but if you want to continue the series we will set up times to go through sessions 2,3 and 4 for whoever is interested. Here is a summary of them.

Got more question about it check out this FAQ - https://www.unfilteredspace.com/faqs

Week 1: Week 1 : The World Unfiltered

We are going to consider our world unfiltered. The world can be a heavy place. We can find ourselves distracted, but our minds and our hearts are often carrying a lot more than we realize. During session 1 we are going to take time to consider how the world’s events impact us, how they make us feel, and practice using the gift of silence. 

Week 2 : Unfiltered with Self

In our busy and full lives, we often don’t take time to pause. We are vaguely aware of what lies hidden in the background of our minds. We skip the time it takes to reflect, process, and just be with ourselves for the sake of productivity or for the sake of avoiding the difficult things. Not only do we wear 'filters' around others, but we do so even with ourselves, avoiding our true feelings and needs to process our internal worlds. Sometimes it all just feels too heavy, too dark, and too lonely. During this session, we will practice slowing down and stepping into being unfiltered with ourselves.

Week 3:Unfiltered with God

Having highlighted the importance of pausing to be with self, we will take some time to consider how Jesus can meet us in our unfiltered realities. One of the most amazing claims of the Christian Scriptures is that God is with us. We often hide our messy lives when imagining God in the room, but what if He doesn’t want us to hide or clean ourselves up? What if God does not demean us from above, but rather chooses to be with us in the messiness we find ourselves in? During this session we will reflect on how Jesus can meet us wherever we are. You do not need to be a Christian or believe in God to participate. The content will still be applicable to you.

Week 4: Unfiltered with Others

So far we’ve practiced being unfiltered about our world, with ourselves, and with God. This week we will practice being unfiltered with others. Though technology can make us feel like we are more connected than ever, we can actually miss out on the depth of community and still experience isolation. During this session we will talk about the importance of community through sharing and engaging with each other.