In March I experienced anxiety due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the subsequent months my anxiety subsided- at least I thought it had, but I began experiencing severe insomnia. Fortunately this eased but during the Street Wisdom event I attended, I noticed a number of items around my home that made me anxious, such as the blue flashing light which reminded me of ambulances and hospitals. It made me reflect on whether perhaps I was still experiencing underlying anxiety without consciously realising. This event helped me recognise this and how I need to be more aware of the subconscious processes affecting me on a daily basis. Street Wisdom is a tool I can use to help me uncover these.

“There’s wisdom waiting for you on every street” ... or at least that’s what David Pearl’s www.streetwisdom.org believes.So today I headed up to Notting Hill, in West London to experience one of their WalkShops to see what the streets around Portobello Road had to offer me.Led by volunteer Sarah, who has run/attended WalkShops in many cities around the world, we were first given three exercises to ‘tune-in’ to our environmentWe each then shared a question we had come to find answers to ... to play with ... to unlock fresh thinking about in the creative playground we call our streets.Mine was “How can I release my anxieties around money whilst finding work that fulfils me more?”Here’s some of the wisdom that came my way ...A Banksy note pad with the words “I don’t want coins I want change” ... this was the first and last thing I came across, the second time was on a fridge magnet ... just in case I wasn’t listening the first time! 😂I saw no banks, no cash machines, no money change hands ... instead I saw streets full of sole traders and small businesses ... a community of people making their money doing what they enjoyed doing.... then I came across a Spanish supermarket (the first I’ve seen in the UK) and was attracted to a bottle of ‘salsa brava’ which translated is ‘brave sauce’ ... which made me smile .... maybe it’s more courage that I need rather than money!?Back at our meeting point we all shared our stories and experiences from the streets ... and I must say it was fascinatingTaking time out, looking at things from a different perspective, paying attention to things you ordinarily wouldn’t, allowing yourself to be drawn to things, drawing meaning from the ordinarily unnoticed certainly has its magic .... did I get the answer I came for? I’m not sure, but I was certainly given food, and some salsa brava, for thought!Try a WalkShop for yourself and make your own decision!

Joined for the first time, had a lovely time.

I’d been intrigued by Street Wisdom since first hearing about it through my membership of the RSA. It seemed to combine two of the things I like doing a lot; walking while musing over things. So I did one after a year of putting it off and did one organised by the RSA. It came at the right time because I had a question I was turning over and over. I enjoyed it enormously. It liberated me from my prevailing patterns of thought and made me more attuned to the people and things around me. Did I get an answer to my question? Not quite but I did get alternatives and different perspectives by listening to others. Perhaps the question wasn’t the right one to be asking. I also found the prompt helpful and pertinent on the day and subsequently. I keep using it to remind myself to stop falling into a pattern of thinking that isn’t helpful. Very enjoyable and satisfying.

Third time for me, and though I did have a question about my own needs, what came through was more how we can help fulfil the needs of others. Hearing and listening, sharing and caring stood out for me. Thank you to a lovely group of people and of course our Leader, Jacquie, who made it a superb afternoon!

Recomiendo totalmente la experiencia, de  meditación, reflexión  individual, etc.. . que nos invita a detenernos un momento, apartarnos de las prisas del día a día y salir de las rutinas, para poner las ideas en orden, llegando a una mayor claridad mental. Tuve la suerte de tener a Chris como street leader

A beautiful day in Sheffield City Centre and expert leadership helped me to enjoy my first Street Wisdom event; listening out for the sound of bells and water, becoming fascinated by patterns in buildings and pavements, enjoying the flowers deliberately and accidentally planted, and taking time to reflect and sit in silence all left me nourished. Thankyou

Amazing, insightful session which even prompted me to blog about it.

A wonder full group gathered at The House of St Barnabas to experience Street Wisdom. It was a pleasure to facilitate for such a wise and curious group, and welcoming then in the gorgeous House of St Barnabas chapel in Soho Square made the event all the more magical.Here is a lovely poem that sums up the event perfectlyhttps://youtu.be/Xy-78nhlIPM

I was asked to co-facilitate a Street Wisdom event in York so that we could accept a larger group of people, working alongside an experienced leader. I'd prepared in advance - I work as a coach-facilitator and Jez was putting the event on for Coaching York, so I was reasonably confident - and the open source, facilitator's Street Wisdom notes were crystal clear. I also downloaded the audio guide from this site so that I could experience it for myself beforehand. The event was magical. We met on the steps of York Minster and the weather was perfect. Everyone seemed to embrace the whole thing and the 'tell' session at the end was moving - more than one of us was in tears. Not everyone had shared their quest but it but they all learnt from the experience in ways which surprised them. For days afterwards I was telling people about it and I'm now going to run an event myself. Yeah, of course, I want to be a wizard!