Written by: Angela Ward BA(Hons), MSc, MGHT, MGLT, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Outside of my spiritual practices and during my time in the corporate world, I have been involved in many meetings, be it board meetings, seminars, or workshop type events. I've chaired them and facilitated them. As a self-employed consultant working with the NHS and Local Authorities, my work involves the transformational change agenda. I work with transforming services, change management and streamlining processes and protocols to improve the quality of patient care.
For the past 10 years, I have been providing advice & guidance on a consultancy basis, facilitating workshops and seminars and I developed, implemented service redesign programmes, and developed and implemented key strategy.
Transforming health services involves an integrated approach and working across systems and organisational boundaries to enhance service delivery has its complexities. Differing IT systems; differing efficiency saving schemes including quality improvement, cost improvement, service development plans, outcomes frameworks, national targets and local KPI's; differing visions and ideas for business growth and in most cases, differing service survival tactics. Notwithstanding that whilst each organisation will have its own culture, departments adopt a culture to, along with the 'elephant' that no-one wants to address. This article isn’t about change management processes or theory, but more about how can you use alternative tools to create harmony in a workshop setting to get the best out of it, considering there will be all the above simmering under the surface?
One key aspect is to remember that you are dealing with people and people are the enabler of successful change. Tapping into the complexities at grass roots levels enables you to understand the true complexities, brainstorm them and come up with the solutions.
Having the knowledge in the room around quality improvement initiatives, cost improvement initiatives, strategy etc; will help guide everyone to think about the real key issues.
Does the change provide better quality?
Will it enable us to still achieve the targets that have been set nationally and locally.
Is it cost effective and what can we use to show that it will work?
What are the blockages and what are the barriers?
It's not just about having the knowledge in the room; it's also about having the right people; the people that can influence change.
Working with people and their emotions is something totally different to working with tangibles, like a KPI and financial budgets. People will either help or hinder and when you are totally unbiased and not in the political loop creating harmony in workshop settings will be dependent on a few variables, and there will be others.
The room you are in and the ambience of it. Is the space adequate; is it too hot; to cold. What energy has been left in the room from the previous meeting and is the air stagnant.
The people attending. What emotion are they in? (Are they charged up from a previous meeting or conversation and energy exchange). Have you done your homework and pre-met with them to understand where they are in the spectrum of things.
The culture of the organisation – does it promote creativity and the gathering of ideas or are they ticking boxes.
As a firm believer in energetic exchange, the energy in any room can be altered by the energy of one individual entering it. Observation of behaviours and understanding a bit of the back story will help to promote a harmonious workshop, along with transparency of why you are all there and the opportunity to capture a problem resolving master list that can be parked for future discussions. (It helps to keep focus).
Outside of my consultancy work I am a crystal therapist and energy healer (Reiki Master). I have been working with essential oils since the early 90's.
As the environment is conducive to how we feel, I have rituals that I carry out when working with clients. One of these involves ensuring that the room, apart from being clean, has the right blend of essential oils for the person I am working with. I always 'cleanse' the room, before and after. By cleanse I am not referring to polishing the surfaces, I am referring to the energy that the person or session has left behind which will also be governed by the emotional state of that individual and what vibrational frequency they are omitting.
In 2015 I decided that the same approach can be transferred into the corporate world and started cleansing meeting rooms prior to any executive meetings taking place. Working on transformation change programmes brings with it varying degrees of behaviours driven by emotions and an attachment to self.; i.e., people taking things personally. Instead of rational thinking, the emotion takes over and conversations become reactionary as opposed to responsive. This creates an energy and that energy; because it comes from a place of fear, is dark, heavy, and toxic. I developed an essential oil blend that worked perfectly.
Essential Oils and Space Cleansing in the Corporate World.
Essential oils are plant and flower based and made from the oils that are extracted from the plants, flowers, and barks of trees and have been used for years as a natural medicine. For instance, oregano and melaleuca (tea tree) together is a natural powerful antibiotic. Citrus type oils such as lemon lift the mood, clary sage is fabulous for menopausal symptoms and lavender is perfect to aid relaxation.
I've used essential oils since the early 90's when I was studying for my first degree. My main use then was to gain focus, improve the memory and clarity of mind. In 2015, I developed essential oil blends that I used as cleansing mists and I started to mist the meeting room or the rooms where the workshops were to be held, at least 10 minutes prior to anyone arriving and told a couple of people that regularly attended such meetings as to what I was doing.
Not only did it change the smell of the room (yep sometimes these rooms are rather stinky) but it cleansed the air and provided a more uplifting scent. Essential oils work in 3 ways. You can apply them to the skin, you can ingest them, and you can gain their benefits through the olfactory system. (Warning: consult someone trained in essential oils before using them).
The outcome – although not scientifically proven, was that as people entered the meeting room and found a place to sit; you could physically see them relax somewhat, which in turn bought a different approach to the conversations to the extent that other people noticed the changes.
The best essential oils blend to cleanse the space; clear the mind, promote calming and focus are shown below. They will need to be diluted with ionised water. Spray liberally.
Room Cleansing Spray
Eucalyptus
Lemon Oil
Rosemary Oil
Clove
Crystals in the Board Room – How to harmonise your space.
Crystals have their own energetic frequency and connect to the environment you are in and to your own energy field. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of crystals, and they are thought to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. You don't need to hold them as they radiate their energy in all directions.
The best crystals to promote harmony, expression of ideas, resolve conflict, balance, teamwork, creativity, and inspiration are the following.
Citrine - creativity and inspiration
Yellow Fluorite - cooperation between team members
Lapis Lazuli - helps resolve conflict
Black Tourmaline - rejects negative energy and turns it into positive
Sodalite - helpful for changing attitudes
Blue Lace Agate - helps to speak your truth from your heart.
Clear Quartz - the master healer and will amplify the properties of any other crystal
And if you have some highly sensitive people in the workshop, use the following.
Hematite - strengthens the aura and deflects harmful energies and protects from psychic vampires energy thieves
Aqua Aura - Harmful energies are deflected or trapped inside
Titanium Quartz - pulls the energies into the earth for transmutation
Place the crystals around the room, or in one central point. Do what intuitively feels right. I've placed mine in the centre of the main table, on window seals and in corners. Just ensure you place them at least before anyone arrives and makes sure that you cleanse them before and after.
If you would like to know more about crystals and essential oils and how to use them, please do get in touch.
Angela Ward BA(Hons), MSc, MGHT, MGLT, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Angela Ward, is a leader in spiritual coaching, spiritual development, and personal growth. Her own spiritual journey started back in 2005, after the death of her mother when the message became loud and clear. 'Being true to yourself is the only priority – the rest will follow. In 2012 she set up a consultancy company; a hybrid of management consultancy and spiritual coaching. The aim: is to help people connect with their spiritual self, to find balance, harmony, and resilience, so they too can have authentic happiness. She runs retreats, coaching programmes, and workshops. She is the founder and CEO of the Holistic Therapy, Wellness, and Training Centre. Her mission is to light up the world, one person at a time.
