Nothing in life stands still. As a civil celebrant, based in Suffolk, Norfolk and the world. I believe you need to keep things fresh and I like to do this through CPD- Continued Professional Development.
I trained as a professional independent celebrant three years ago. What people need changes and the way you engage and work with couples and families to evolve as well. Over the past 12 months, I have completed a range of courses and webinars to keep myself up to date.
Any study I do improves how I deliver my service, even if it does not seem to have a direct connection. None of the additional study I do is about self-improvement, it is about understanding the world and my place in it.
So what have I been up to? Firstly, I completed a 12-month Mindfulness Teacher Training course. This amazing opportunity included a trip to Germany to attend my first mindfulness retreat. I certainly learned a lot about myself, as well as supporting others.
I have not yet started teaching mindfulness, but it has had a big impact on my life in developing a strong daily practice of meditation. I meditate before every family and couple meeting, and before every ceremony I deliver, and helps me to connect in the strongest way with my families, especially when co-creating a celebration of life.
To be a good celebrant you need to be able to listen. When I meet my couples and families I really want to hear their story. My job is to re-tell them.
Knowing about bereavement and death and being comfortable discussing it, ensures that you can support your families when you are working with them. To help with that I have been on a number several webinars including: Words are not enough, bereavement by suicide, being confident in talking about loss, death and grief. I have also watched some amazing TED Talks.
This work led me to become a volunteer for St Elizabeth Hospice as a Compassionate Communities Facilitator – where we encourage the community to talk about death, bereavement and grief.
I have also completed an online course on using Instagram on the Udemny platform. This is an amazing resource if you are happy to learn online and is great value. I am currently doing a creative writing course.
Having an understanding of the LGBTQIA community is also really important to me. I truly see myself as an ally, and this year I have attended a number of webinars where members of that community have spoken about their experiences and how allies can support them. I was particularly touched hearing members of the transgender community talk about their experiences.
As a member of the Celebrant Circle, my membership includes CPD, and I really enjoyed their courses on Equality and diversity, blog writing, an introduction to sign language, creative writing, marketing and business planning.
Everything we learn helps us understand the world we are working in and the people we are working with and makes us better and better at our jobs.
Much Love Jules x
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