Mana Shah - Facilitator

The idea for this post has been in my draft for some weeks now. And it just seems so appropriate now to share. So what do "fruits" have to do with facilitation? When you look at or eat fruits, what comes to your mind? How do you feel? Just pause and remember.....  I see colours. I see freshness especially when you can still see drops of water drying on washed fruits. I feel different textures, sizes, shapes - usually no two fruits are exactly alike. When I eat fruits I feel instantly fresh and full but in a light sort of way. And the taste of sweetness and sour lingers on for quite a while. This is just what I can feel or sense right away. Fruits do magic for my whole being which I can experience in the days that follow. They keep me energetic and make me strong.  When I experienced Whole Person Process Facilitation for the first time in April 2013, I was pleasantly introduced to the idea that a person is a "whole" person - not just the "mind...

I hold deep gratitude towards the Genuine Contact Program that has really helped me slow down in my facilitation practice and given me the motto "going slow to go fast" . It shows up across the various stages of my work with an assignment. The first way it shows up (which also is my favourite) is really taking the time to discover the scope of the work with the sponsor (whoever is contracting/ engaging me for the session). I usually get calls/ emails saying we need a team building workshop or a training on x or a strategy plan workshop and when I meet with the sponsors the conversations straight jump into "management" - where would we do the workshop? what would be the duration (which is usually already pre-decided), what activities or methods will I use? what resources I would need? etc etc etc.... and here is where I love to press the PAUSE button loud and clear and invite the sponsor to go back or at least show me the drawing board - The above two q...

As January would approach every year, so would my anxiety - a year gone by already, it was just January - and a new year starting...all around I see people sharing year end notes on Facebook, making resolutions, having clarity about what their goals are for the next year! Three years ago I took this anxiety as an opportunity for creating a space for my own reflection - by offering such a space to others. Encouraged by my family and friends, the first Check in Check out circle took place in our energising home in December 2016! We sat together in a circle, quietly...started our reflection looking at lovely handmade mandalas made by my son.......recollected moments of highs and lows, drew creatively our own resumes, let go and crafted intentions for the year ahead. The second CICO circle happened in the end of 2018...some of the participants of the first circle also showed up in the second one...one of them came with her mother (for her it was the first time she heard her mo...

Next time you walk into a meeting, training, workshop or conference, just take a pause and ask yourselves this question - how do I feel when I walk into this space?   Does it make you feel welcome, warm, curious, happy, relaxed? Or does it make you feel tense, worried, anxious?  When I reach a venue earlier to set it up, usually the first thing I do is open the curtains. Many times the curtains have never been opened and often get stuck or something is torn - this has happened in very simple basic venues to posh hotels. The light that then enters the room is just magical - the electric lighting often is not needed. With the light comes the bonus - view of the trees, birds and if you are lucky parts of the sky and the clouds.  We are attuned to natural light and feel instantly energised by looking at trees, birds, flowers. Looking out into nature we feel abound.   The second thing I focus on is the seating. Usually tables are arranged in a U shape ...

Every time I attempt to update my CV, it feels like my whole life flashes in front of my eyes and my mind is in a flurry to make sense of who I am. Why did I choose to work in x and y at z point of time? Why did I not do x,y, or z at this job? Is that all I have done? And the reverse also happens, vow that is a lot I done:) My 12 years of experience have made me a sort of jack in all trades. This time, unlike before,  answers to two questions: what do I love doing and what am I great at were not that different. So this time, when I re-started the consulting journey, I thought it would be easy enough for me to know not only know what I want to do but also tell people with ease what I do. Even within the basket of what I wanted to do, I was still sounding confused, dispassionate. "So what do you?", "Consulting, in what field, on what issues?", "Organisational change...what does that mean?" For once, I wished that I was someone who was good at just one thi...

The last two months have been quite exciting indeed. I now have much more control over my arms, fingers and thumb, with the effect that I can not just grasp but also pick up things, move things from one hand to another, and my favourite pastime…the TASTE test! I am so flexible now that I can even put my toe in my mouthJ And I can role from tummy to back and vice versa. Hold on Mom Dad I am not going to be a gymnist :P  I need some help to sit up, but once I am up, I can manage to be up for upto 15-20 minutes. I am trying to learn how to balance myself so I need to be surrounded by some pillows, so cushy and comfy! The world looks so different now. I can see other people eye to eye and play with all sorts of toys. When I wake up in the mornings I love going to the balcony and watching all sorts of vehicles from a bicycle, motor bike, cars, trucks, airplanes (yes I can hear that far, surprised huh?). I love classical the most as that was played in m...

The second two months of my life had ups and downs. I slowly begin to realise that this is life! Playtime became more and more fun. There are many more things to see  other than the ceiling and the fan and my cot mobile!!!! I discovered the fun tunnel gym which my Jyot Kaki sent. I could see myself in a mirror (at first I thought that was another baby, and then I realised, hey that's just me, someday I would have to understand how that works!), kick this cool ball and shake different types of rattles. My cool swing was fun too, at first I was baffled at how it could move on its own! Thanks Rohi and Nidhi Masi for your thinking and foresight and getting this swing three years ahead of my time:) The wonderful thing called motor and batteries! It makes many more things move in this world, apparently! The best was how I scared shankar mama with artificial cries and poo poo:P I finally started going somewhere besides the hospital! I started with the park in my p...

Hello, I am Ayan! On the occasion of my half year birthday, I thought maybe it is a good moment to capture my life's story so far. I was born in Delhi, the city of extreme weathers. From the thunder and rain on the day of my arrival to the chilly winter winds and now the sweltering summer. My mom's belly was very consistent weather wise, so getting used to this will take some time:) Fortunately for me, my nana chose the best possible place for me to be born and aside from my mom's deafening screams it was a great welcome in the world. From my happy doctor to friendly nurses who cuddled and cleaned me up to the yummy first milk I got to eat (they must have fed my mom really well!). My pa held a small baby like me for the first time but it sure did not feel that way! My loud moni masi is also hard to forget. She was there in my early days and i crown her the unbeatable burping queen ! She knew just when to pick me up and make me feel better:) Rohi masi ...

Tv channels with sub titles (so you can catch up on all favourite shows without disturbing the baby) Smart phone with headphones (so you can catch up on news, movie releases, listen to interesting talks, your personal email, fb + listen to radio + remember imp dates + do your banking + online shopping + plan holidays + lots of baby apps to make you feel less guilty :) Feeding time adds up to about four hours in twenty four. Unless you have innate ability to be in a state of relaxed sleep (enough to feel rested but not deep enough that you dose off and wake up surprised to see a bundle in your arms) which I never did, such devices are a super blessing. Older window ac loud enough to drown out outside noises (dogs, vehicles, fruit wallah) or inside noises like your partners snoring:p Cute paediatrician that makes you look forward to the routine doc visits

Ayan will be six months in a couple of weeks! How time just flew! It seems that I had just found out I was pregnant, that I had just gotten admitted to the hospital and that he had just come into the world at the bellowing of the thunder and rain. First things first! I managed a natural birth WITHOUT an epidural! Those who know me know what a low threshhold of pain I have. So ladies, if I can do it, ANYONE can! Of course, I could have punched my doctor to continue to poke me even after Ayan was born and it is ironic how someone telling you to breathe can make you want to kill yourself:P I remember asking the doctors where my pain relief was and they kept stalling. The funniest was Parth asking me, "should I ask them to do an operation?" In hindsight I am happy that I did not take it, it just exponentially increases your desperation in pushing the baby out! Here is what else helped: some months of yoga, knowing what is happening to me, constant supply of glucose water, s...

Observing babies can tell a lot about our own evolution, says Desmond Morris in his fascinating book, Babywatching . How babies behave also shed light on how we behave and communicate as adults. Morris does an excellent job of digging out behavioral research studies, roots of our common traditions, and links many of our instinctual acts to our former avtars-primates! The book attempts to answer specific questions from how do babies enter the world, why do they cry at birth, what makes them smile, how well can a mother recognise her own baby, do men and women react to babies in the same way etc etc? I share some of most interesting answers. Some answers seem too incredible to directly attribute the effect to that cause, but he does make a rational argument! Babies cry at birth because we have significantly altered the way they have historically entered the world. From being born at home surrounded by family, in a vertical position and cuddled immediately by the mother, babies now are d...

One of the most difficult things for us so far in these nine months (besides of course the leg cramps, heartburns and advice from multiple fronts:P) is deciding on a baby name (well two since gender will be a big surprise)! We of course started with what criteria it should ideally fulfill. First, it should have some meaning , something that signifies our way of life and living, that connects with who we are as people. Second, should be unique, something different, something that creates this "aha" response for us everytime we say the name and for the child when she/ he says the name. Parth's benchmark for uniqueness has been that we should be able to get the domain with the full name:P. Third, should follow the KISS principle ! Keep in short and simple:) No more than two syllables, no scope for annoying petnames that haunt you for the rest of your life and not open to any mispronunciations! Fourth, it should role beautifully and naturally on the tongue , like a musical t...

Children do not listen, they model! One of the many interesting insights in Happy Child Guide by Dr. Blaise Ryan and Ashley Olivia Ryan. (Thanks Iris for sharing this!) The book lists seven simple ways to transform misbehaviour to great behaviour! What made it interesting for Parth and me was how the strategies in the book were very different (sometimes even opposite) from what we had seen being used by parents around us. But the authors have been practicing this with their child and seen results. They admit that all the crying and tantrums did not completely stop, but they have reduced substantially. The key message according to the authors is for parents to understand how to respond to the child's behaviour and instill the principles of connection, trust and respect so that the child listens and cooperates naturally. They see two ways of influencing a child: one is to develop skills that help us respond to her needs and behaviours (internal) and second is to develop lifestyle ha...

My friends and family had been planning my Baby Shower for a month now and by chance I happen to come to know:) It was a good thing for me but not so for them. My nosy and skeptic self crept in much to their chagrin, but they love me for better or worse, right? But on the D day, which was yesterday, I chose not to butt in and stayed away from all the hustle bustle at my parents house, a very wise decision indeed. When I walked in the house all ready, it just looked so beautiful! All the lovely decorations, the silver strings, the all time favourite colourful streamers, yellow gende ke phool and white carnations, the variety of shapes stuck to the walls, the hanging octopus (unique idea for a stuffed animal!), my photo collage (which my Mom meticulously made many years back and I just love looking at again and again!) and last but not the least Parth and Jyot Bhabhi's unusual diaper cake (yes a cake made with actual diapers!). Nidh had fulfilled her task of making the place light up...