Full+Value+Activities

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 //Information was taken from a document written by Richard Maizell.// FVC Activities **Be Here** (Affiliation and Aloneness) **Attributes of Be Here**
 * Connect with others
 * Group Cohesiveness
 * Aloneness as Teacher
 * Ability to have Fun

**Activity Name:** The Island of Healing Circle

**How you do it:** Imagine a place where you most like to be. It may be on a beach surrounded by friends watching the moon rise. It could be an early morning run, dogs barking behind still dark windows. It might be in your bed on a rain swept night. It could very well be inside your own imagination. Where ever it is, it should be a safe place. This activity will take your group members to their safe spaces individually and collectively.

Take a long piece of rope and knot it to form a continuous loop. Lay it on the ground or grass to form a circle, not so large as to allow for large distances between people, no so close that the claustrophobic refuse to enter. You need a just right circle.

Now, walk your group through a brief visual imagery exercise that might go something like this:

“I’d like you to get comfortable sitting around the outside of this rope circle. Anyone ever heard of visual imagery? Well, it is a way of going someplace else without physically leaving where you are. Sounds a bit weird, but it can be done if you are up for giving it a try. So, I’d like to ask you to close your eyes and imagine a special place; a place where you feel most at peace; a place where you go to get back your strength after a difficult day, or traumatic experience. This space might be your bedroom, on a beach, a mountaintop, on your bike; where ever you wish it to be. Now once you’ve found that place try to bring all of your senses into your picturing of it. See, hear, smell, taste, and touch it until the feeling that safe space brings starts to fill you up inside. When you have got it, it will be time to enter the circle, bringing your safe space with you. OK? Let’s take a few minutes and give this a try.”

After the group has entered the circle you might ask people to share out their spaces. As group members share they are learning a great deal about each other, for along with the space often goes a personal story. The rope circle becomes a metaphor for an island to which the group can always return to and recapture the spirit of their safe space together. It also holds out the possibility of a harmony that the group will continually strive to achieve and to maintain.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Be Safe**:** Helps participants get in touch with their “safe space” to be used as a technique for finding strength, clarity and comfort during difficult times.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Coming and Going of the Rain
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There are few natural occurrences more spectacular and humbling than a powerful thunderstorm. It provides a vivid reminder of our relatively small place in the cosmos; our fragility and vulnerability. There is also a beauty and power to the storm that connects us to the random majesty of the natural world. It is for these reasons, and also as a lesson that only as interdependent beings can we most successfully weather the storm, that this activity resides in the **Be Here**.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Chose the right moment. Form your group into a circle that will allow for a comfortable reach between hands and the back of the next person in the loop. This will necessitate each person standing sideways facing the back of the person in front of them. Ask the group to close their eyes and listen to the following:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">“Have you ever really listened to a thunderstorm? It begins way before the coming of the rain. First there is a dead calm, a still so quiet that it seems like the air is unable to lift itself. Then comes a slight whisper of a wind which builds into a flag snapping blast of air that, when gusting, can knock you off of your feet. A rumble of thunder is heard to the west. It rolls again, closer now. Then a bright flash of lightening. It makes everyone’s face fluorescent. You begin to automatically count between the booms and blasts, calculating the distance of the storm. Suddenly it is upon you; trees twist in on themselves, whipped by the wind, rain slices in hard sheets across the grass and pavement; thunder and lightening collapse into one continuous rage of fire and sound. Then, as the power seems like it will overwhelm us all, we sense a change. The rain starts to make more individual pats on the pavement, the wind allows the trees to unwind, the thunder rolls, but less often, and the lightening lights up a far off place. It smells fresh and green. The sun takes a run at breaking through the receding storm.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As a group we are going to create a thunderstorm together. As we go through the experience, think about the importance of maintaining our togetherness in weathering the storms that will seek to overwhelm our group as we continue this journey.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Explain to the group that they will feel the hands of the person directly behind them on their backs, and that they should transfer what they feel, using their hands, onto the back in front of them. It is important to stress that during the activity they will hear different sounds from different parts of the group, as the hand motions move around the group from one person to the next, but they should only do to the person in front of them what they feel on their own backs.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sound 1: Wind – Rotate your hands, palms open, to produce swishing sounds. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sound 2: Light Rain – Pat your fingers in random taps on shoulders. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sound 3: Heavier Rain – Increase the frequency of the taps, making them a bit <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">harder, as well. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sound 4: Pounding Rain – Slap the back rapidly with open hands <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Return to Sounds 3, 2 and 1 in order to make the storm recede. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As you control the change in sounds, you may continue each for as long as you’d like. When you stop your final sound the wind will slowly recede around the group until there is silence, signifying the storm’s passage and the end of the activity.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Look Up – Look Down!
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A good place to begin **Being Here** is to make eye contact. This can be surprisingly difficult for some folks to do. In conversation, they tend to stare at your left ear or off into space, with an occasional furtive glance in the direction of your retina. Once mutual eye contact is made, however, it seems to begin to break down some barriers.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Let’s have your group give it a go! Form into the obligatory adventurish circle, not too close, but not to far. Comfortable if you know what I mean, as we want eye contact to come before physical contact is initiated. Have the group cast their eyes downward. When you or some other volunteer commands, “look up” each group member tries to make immediate eye contact with another person in the circle. If eye contact is made then the pair leaves the group. This goes on until there are only two people left who can’t help but make eye contact unless one or both suffers from an Antisocial Personality Disorder. You might offer pairs some direction as to how to spend their time once united. A conversation could occur around sharing out some personal information, goal setting, construction of a group Full Value Contract, or how awful the weather has been around here lately. The nature of the directive will be framed in the context of your perception of what the group needs. It just may be a nifty way to form pairs for the next activity you‘ve chosen, which may happen to require partners! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** ?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Balancing the Stones
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals, Be Honest, Let go and Move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Near – Far
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sesame Street is engrained in our psyches the way Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver were the programs de jus of the 50’s. One of our favorite characters is Grover, a long necked blue furry critter with very lanky arms. Grover seems able to move in all directions at once while standing still, with all appendages flapping at once in disjointed directions. Grover’s main educational purpose is to teach the concept of “Near” and “Far” to children all over the planet. He does this by running up to a camera, getting eyeball to eyeball with the lens and announcing “Near”, then dashing off in reverse, receding in the distance as if sucked back by a wave while yelling “Far.” He does this in a voice that is difficult to describe, sounding somewhat like a gruff alto squeak that has been buffed with sandpaper. Come to think of it, he sounds a lot like Yoda of Star Wars which makes sense as Frank Oz is the man behind both characters. If you still can’t confidently sound like a Grover and move like a Grover, tune into Sesame Street for a bit to see him in action. Once mastered, it is easy to teach “doing a Grover” to your group members. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Divide your group in half forming two lines with approximately 30 feet between them, facing each other. Have the lines approach each other in a Groveresque fashion, arms flailing, high stepping, neck bouncing as if just ejected from a Jack in the Box while yelling, “near.” As the lines approach, each participant finds a Grover partner. A friendly conversation ensues. Grover is notorious for his engaging personality. After a brief exchange, the tide moves away and all the Grovers are sucked backwards to their original positions. This backward movements is accomplished while still maintaining a forward orientation, arms continuing to flail, neck bouncing, legs going in all different directions. Repeat as often as necessary.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The nature of the conversation between Grovers is where this activity can be tailored to specific program needs. Grover talk can range from simple greetings, to conversations about Full Value norms, and goal setting. An interesting use of the time is to frame Near- Far as part of a group termination process, where Grovers offer each other positive affirmations regarding contributions to the group.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals, Be Honest, Let go and move on <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place a series of “Grover” pictures abut here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Activity: **Flungie:**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tie a piece of ½ inch bungie cord between two stout trees or posts. You will have immediately created a giant slingshot. Now for the ammo! Pull out a batch of your much maligned, often ridiculed rubber chickens. Do you see where this is heading? The chickens certainly do. The options become almost too many to name, but here are a few. First, the Flungie for Distance: Bend your chicken around the bungie cord and haul back as far as your group can pull and let go in unison. You may be rewarded by seeing your chicken disappear over the horizon. How about Chicken in a Basket Flungie: Get another chicken and launch it toward four group members who are carrying a crate between them. They must catch the hurdling chicken in their crate before it hits the ground. Target Flungie: Draw a circular target on the ground with ascending point totals toward the inner circles. High Altitude Flungie: Keeping in mind the geometry formula that allows for measuring flagpoles without a ruler, launch a chicken straight up and measure the height at the apogee of its flight.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now that you’re cooking, don’t just stop with chickens. Try rubber pigs, lobsters, and any other launchable objects that you might own. Some other technical terms to know include the, “Chicken Slip” which occurs when a chicken, like a misaligned arrow, falls feebly off the slingshot after a mighty group pull. Then there is the Poultry Plant, which is a chicken that is mistakenly catepoultreed straight down and becomes embedded in the ground. Many thanks to the Adventure Club of Verona, New Jersey (the Rat Pack), for creating this zany activity and keeping the creative spirit alive. As to the deeper implications of this experience, well, we are still cogitating on that. As a **Be Here** activity to suck folks into that adventure frame of mind, it’s a sure crowd pleaser.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Claytionary
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If a picture is worth a thousand words, how about a sculpture? Two thousand, three thousand? Yet another existential question. Here’s a chance for your group to find out. Take a trip to the local toy or department store and look for those classic yellow cylindrical storage cans with the colored tops, or if more permanent keepsakes are desired, buy the clay that when oven baked hardens into permanence.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Form a bunch of subgroups and have each chose a Sculpting Representative (SR). They will come to you and form a Clayhuddle (CH). In the CH you will give them a Sculpting Directive (SD), that is, tell each to go back to their groups and sculpt an object out of clay. Off they will go to their groups to begin sculpting madly, or madly sculpting while the rest of their group tries to guess what they are creating. The first group to guess wins the round. Another sculptor is chosen and the game continues. Sculpting ideas can range from well known monuments, objects around the home, to at a more symbolic level, representations of concepts, such a honesty, faith, truth, love; all potentially components of Full Value. This is also a terrific activity to facilitate a debrief. Ask participants to sculpt their thoughts as a springboard to conversation. Again, the creations can be guided by your imagination and the purpose and needs of the group you are facilitating. And by the way, AAAAA! (Aren’t Acronyms an Absolute Annoyance!)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be safe, Set Goals, Let go of Negatives

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Surf’s up!
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Imagine an ocean. See the waves smacking onto the sand. Now imagine an ocean on dry land, with people as the waves and the sand…well there is no sand. This activity allows for much unconscious touching and some conscious crushing. Get your group for form a Velcro line facing you. Have them lie face down with bodies as close together as possible Starting from the end of the now prone line, have the last person begin rolling like a rolling pin over the rest of the group. After two or three people have been rolled over, start the next person going. When a roller reaches the front of the line, she should resume a prone position, squeezed tightly against the person next to her. Punctuated by groans and laughter, the surf will slowly move along, ever changing, never quite them same, and a bit more black and blue as the journey progresses. This activity should operate in a jewelry free zone to avoid unfortunate skewering of surfers. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is a fair amount of good natured self sacrifice involved with Surf’s up as people get rolled on, elbowed, and mushed, this mingled with lots of laughter. This is a non verbal **Be Here** activity that helps people engage with the group and the activity process.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Let go and Move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Fire in the Hole
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is high action, bodies squeezed close together, and numerous rapid fire explosions! Nope, this is not a review of the latest James Bond movie, but rather the sequence of events known as Fire in the Hole! Dig into your 12” diameter balloon supply and ask the group to blow up a bunch of them, half the number as there are group members with a few to spare. Have you noticed that some balloons pop if they even nick an upturned blade of grass? Must be a defect in the manufacturing process leading to thin skinned balloons. Now have the group pair off and offer each twosome a balloon.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Their instructions are simple. They must explode the balloon by pressing it between their bodies. No finger pinching or foot stomping are allowed to expedite the explosion. It must be two body parts pressing together to do the dirty deed. Once a pair has popped, they must go off and seek another pair who had been woefully unsuccessful in exploding their spherical air sack. This ultimately leads to a bevy of balloon breakers in a large clump laughing a great deal!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As for the name of the game, it what the miners used to yell prior to setting off dynamite. Offer them that tidbit at the outset of the game and have pairs sing it out before the popping begins. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Framing of the activity can take many forms. Let’s say there are negatives that group members want to take control over and get rid off. Whet better way to do that then to crush them between two strong bodies and have them explode into balloon fragments. Write those detractors on the balloons with indelible markers and start squeezing! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Let go and Move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** People to People
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is a soulful activity that calls for gettin’ down with members of your group. It is especially effective with large groups of 20 or more. Ask folks to pair up in whatever creative way you choose to make that happen. Start clapping your hands together while rhythmically repeating the phrase “People to People,” syncopating your claps with whoops, “uh huhs” and other noises reminiscent of James Brown. Invite the group to join you in your a capella riff. Pretty soon everyone is clapping, snapping, whooping and saying, “People to People.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While your background group carries on, tell them that you are going to change “People to People” to the name of a body part like, “elbow to elbow,” When you call out the change you’d like partners to start bumping elbows together, while also changing their call to the body parts they are bumping. After a few minutes of bumping elbows, you’ll call out, “People to People” signifying that everyone should find a new partner. This will create a few moments of rushing around while the hand clapping continues as does the “People to People” refrain. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Once everyone is set and still clapping ask for a volunteer to suggest another appendage connection. The worst it usually gets is “butt to butt” but be on the lookout for someone who is capable of testing the limits. Other good touchable options are cheek to cheek, nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball, toe to toe, hip to hip, and a whole host of other non-sexual options. The game continues with pairs having an opportunity to suggest a different connection, separated by, “People to People,” which gets people bumping up against a different partner. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There are many connections to Full Value in this activity. The **Be Here** aspect are the social interactions that can’t help but occur as folks rhythmically and physically interact. If you can sell this activity well, there is a light hearted sense of fun and community that begins to build. You find that people just don’t want to stop playing People to People.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Ultimate Zombie
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The way you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sometimes to support a participant’s work at **Being Here**, you need to help them along by grabbing their interest. This is particularly true when working with a group of disaffected adolescents who tend to find most things very boring and stupid. Ultimate Zombie is an activity that is so “out there” that it tends to motivate kids to come on down off the bleachers and check it out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Zombies are ugly decaying creatures of the night, whose sole purpose in life(?) is to seek out hapless humans and make them members of the undead fraternity. Have your group close their eyes and get into the Bumpers Up position. Anoint one of the unsuspecting humans as the Ultimate Zombie (UZ) by squeezing their arm twice. Allow the squeezed person to whisper “pass” should they object to UZ status. Once the Ultimate Zombie is chosen the game begins. The UZ and humans shuffle about. When the UZ bumps into a human it screams a horrific Zombie scream right in the human’s face, immediately converting the human to a co-Zombie. The UZ then continues on its way immensely satisfied that there is one less human to muck things up. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This new Zombie disciple is now empowered to convert humans using the same simple and effective technique of shrieking into the face of anyone it encounters. Could this be the end of humanity as we know it? The one small ray of hope is that when two Zombie disciples encounter each other and shriek, converted, as it represents the personification of evil, is the UZ. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">So there you have it, an activity that has everything an adolescent could want; the undead, screaming, shock and surprise. What more could you ask for? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Are there any?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Meteors
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This highly aerobic activity is another sure bet for engaging recalcitrant participants in the spirit of the group: This is a stellar **Be Here** activity. It also contains an important lesson with regard to when participants cross the line between playing hard to have fun, and playing too hard to be hurtful. Make sure to have a sackful of fleece balls on hand, and be prepared to lose a few, especially if you are playing outside in a field that borders the woods.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Hand each group member a fleece ball, hereafter known as a meteor. The object is simple; to hit any other group member that happens by with your meteor by throwing it at them. If you are struck by a meteor, the outcome is obviously fatal. You must fall to the ground where you’ve been struck and go through as elaborate or simple dying scene as you wish. However, in actuality you are mostly dead, not completely dead! If a meteor happens to roll by either by accident or by the design of a temporary ally, and you can reach it from your prone mostly dead position, then you are back in the game. The altruistic rejuvenation of a mostly dead player is where the game crosses the line from one of competition to cooperation. This is a game that only ends through mutual consensus or exhaustion. The “object” is to be the last meteor chucker still standing; a highly unlikely outcome.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">To begin the game players must throw their meteor up over their heads as high as possible. When it comes back down to earth as a meteorite, players scoop up the closest one and start running and throwing.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Be Safe** (The developmental “aspect of personality:” Trust and Mistrust) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The attributes of safety**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Physical and emotional Safety
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Everyone is Needed
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Healthy Mistrust
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Transfer to Personality Development
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Safety and the Full Value Contract

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Trust Sequence

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">It has been said that the establishing and maintaining of trust is a most difficult and fragile process. We know from countless experiences that trust activities can provide a powerful shortcut to fostering feelings of emotional and physical safety in a group. It is common after a well constructed trust sequence to hear comments from group members like, “I feel so much better about everyone here,” and, “we’re much closer as a group than we were a few hours ago.” However, what is so quickly established can be just as easily torn down. A joking comment from a participant like, “hey wouldn’t it be funny if we pretended to drop her,” can cause almost irreversible harm. So we are asking, for the sake of your group’s physical and emotional safety, that you be acutely aware of their readiness to take on the basic responsibility of protecting each other during the following trust activities. If you plug these in at the right time and place in the life of the group, your participants will be richly rewarded, as they become more able to support each other in pursuit of group and individual growth.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity name:** Two Person Trust Fall
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals; Let Go and Move On; Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As a tin pot Middle Eastern dictator was once allegedly overheard to remark, “this is the mother of all trust activities.” In this case he would be right! As long as there have been flat surfaces and two people willing to catch each other, there have been Trust Falls. In order to get started have your group members pair up, creatively trying to avoid matching a Lilliputian with a giant, unless the intent is to create road fauna. We have found that often group members intuitively avoid pairs of unequal height and weight as they size up the possible momentum generating consequences. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Each pair initially designates a Spotter and a Faller. Roles are switched to give each person a chance to do one or the other. The Spotter assumes the classic position; one leg back for bracing the impact of the Faller, hands up and aligned to the Faller’s back. The Faller, as the name implies, has a simpler but no less noble task, that is, to fall stiff as a board (Wolmanized or untreated lumber) backwards with hands folded across the chest to be caught by his loyal and committed companion. In order to gain some initial confidence and catching skill, it is wise to start with a minimalist fall, perhaps with one foot of distance between back and hand brakes. As pairs improve their catching and falling acumen greater distances can be attempted, the ultimate being the fire-person’s catch wherein the Spotter forms upward facing arm hooks and the Faller spreads her arms so that they are fully extended and perpendicular to the body (see picture). This configuration offers an extended and thrilling fall with a safe and reliable catch. What it has to do with fire fighting escapes us, but perhaps further research will produce a sensible answer. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When demonstrating Trust Falls it is important to stress that protection of the head and upper body of the Faller as the primary goal, not making a classy looking catch. When demonstrating a fall with either your co-facilitator or a conscripted participant, lower him all the way to the ground on one catch, perhaps even collapsing in a heap beneath them. This helps to debunk the notion that anything but a perfect catch is not OK. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">We have found that establishing a series of basic voice communications between Spotter and Faller helps to focus both on the activity. The communications begun by the Faller, intoned with great solemnity and panache, are as follows:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Faller**: Spotter Ready? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Spotter**: Ready! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Faller**: Ready to Fall. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Spotter**: Fall Away! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Faller**: Falling

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place Pictorial sequence of Two Person Trust Fall about here (side view)]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity name:** Three Person Trust Fall

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This ménage a fall introduces the face first fall, and an additional Spotter. The set up is basically the same, with the added Spotter assuming a position directly in front of the Faller, one leg back with knee bent for bracing and hands up ready to catch. For obvious reasons, there is a greater necessity during a fall forward for the Faller to have her arms placed across her chest. The mantra of the safety calls is exactly the same, initiated by the Faller and responded to by the Spotters. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">We have noticed that there seems to be an almost genetic propensity to slip into the venerable game of ping pong during this activity, with Spotters serving as paddles and the Faller as the little white ball. This results in the Faller being projectiled backward and forward, with little cause for trust found in either direction. Suggest to your triads that the Faller be returned to an upright position between spotters with the slight momentum generated from the return to vertical serving to move him along.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place Picture of Three Person Trust Fall about here (side view)]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals; Let Go and Move On; Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Wind in the Willows

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How you do it: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If you’ve ever climbed to the top of a Willow tree on a windy day you’ll know why this activity is so special and so powerful. There are fathers who used to climb Willow trees early in the morning and, swaying like mad ship captains would call to wake their sons, but that is another story. If you haven’t been blessed with a climb up into a Willow, well here is a chance to allow your group to have a very similar experience without ever leaving the ground.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Get your group in a tight Velcro circle. Ask them to, “assume the spotting position!” A plethora of hands should leap to the ready, palms out and facing the middle of the circle. One leg should be set back for bracing. A volunteer should be sought to be the Faller. The Faller, standing in the center of the circle with arms folded across her chest, has the primary task of keeping her body ramrod stiff as she falls into the group. The group receives the Faller and moves her across and around the circle. The requisite and hopefully now familiar calling sequence is used, begun by the Faller. It is helpful to add the Faller’s list of key words the phrase, “I’m done.” This is uttered when the Faller becomes “Willowed Out” and wishes to be returned to a vertical position in the Center of the Circle. The “I’m done” command eliminates the possibility that the Spotting stops before the activity is over. Remind the group of the no ping pong rule, should the Faller’s movement across the circle begin to accelerate. Suggest to the Faller that an eyes closed experience is much more transcendental. And the next time you pass by a beckoning Willow tree, and their branches do beckon, give yourself a treat and go for a climb.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Levitation

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How you do it: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Bearing little resemblance to Amazing Randy’s effortless lifting of a voluptuous female within a Hula Hoop, this activity nonetheless can provide each group member with a feeling of floating through space. It can be built into the Wind in the Willow activity as Part B of the total package. After Winding and Willowing for a time, the person in the middle is allowed to fall into a prone position (head even with feet) while the group rushes in to form a cradle of hands underneath him. The levitatee is gently borne upward with spiritual, mystical or perhaps life ending thoughts rushing through his head. Once reaching the apogee of the lift, the sacrificial offering is rocked back and forth with long sweeping motions whilst slowly being lowered back down to the ground. Safety caveats include assigning one spotter to the person’s head, keeping the person relatively parallel to terra firma during the lift, not over reaching the shortest lifter, and making sure that all group members are carrying weight. Spotters should also be given the ole, “lift with your legs, not with your back” rule in order to avoid a levitation of a Spotter into an ambulance due to a strained back. Interesting variations include Spotter generated whooshing sounds, absolute silence (punctuated by the grunts and groans of committed lifters), and Spotters gently pressing down on the person’s body for a silent count of three after he has been lowered to the ground.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Let go and Move On; Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** The Gauntlet

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Some of you may have had the fortune or misfortune of attending a performance of __Mediaeval Times__, a staged series of sword fights, jousts and acts of knightly courage, that may include running the gauntlet; pairs of stout looking nasties with evil grins just waiting to smack you with a broadsword or mace as you dash through hoping to make it to the other side with life and limb intact. The Adventure Gauntlet is much friendlier and supportive. The pairs of nasties are replaced with spotting partners who form two rows facing each other in a line, with an imaginary cable strong between them running the length of the line. Broadswords are beaten into hands as each spotter stands at the ready to catch the person “walking” the cable. Before entering the Gauntlet, the group should go through the obligatory safety calls. The Gauntlet can serve many programmatic purposes, including practicing spotting under more real time conditions as the walker unpredictably falls forwards, backwards or into the line of spotters, and as a group trust activity. As for __Mediaeval Times,__ it is a terrific entertainment. Always bet on the Red Knight and take your ear plugs!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here; Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Hands Up!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity does not require a Western Motif, six shooters, or participants with ancestral lineage stretching back to the Urps, Dillons, Bonnies and Clydes. However, it does require the rapid upward lifting of hands to allow the unimpeded passage of a participant as she first walks, then ultimately jogs through a line. A la the structure of the Gauntlet, form a line of pairs facing each other, semi-Velcroed together with space between each pair for a participant to traverse. Pairs then extend their hands outward to form a zipper, with palms down, adjusted to be at approximately head level of the walker or runner. As the participant enters the line, hands are raised out of the way, not unlike the fan wave at a ball game, just avoiding impacting on the participant’s eyebrows (if they are particularly bushy), or forehead. Increasing the traversing speed increases the visual tour de force of watching digits whip upward out of your line of travel. If a participant is insistent on wearing a hat, this is one of few instances where flipping the brim into the goofy rear position makes sense. Forward facing brims often result in the notorious, “Hands Up” hat flip, causing the hat to sail off into the stratosphere. Spotting calls should be used to focus everyone’s attention on the activity. While the run through is visually and motorically spectacular, it is suggested that each participant should walk through once before attempting the Hands Up run! Have walkers and runners begin their jaunt through the line at least ten feet from the first pair to allow for the line to adjust to their speed. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">An interesting variation (K. Rohnke) named, no doubt, after the infamous Saturday Night Live “Bass-o-Matic” blender commercials is called**, “Slice and Dice**.” In this scenario, the pairs orient their hands to a chopping position, then move their arms in a scissors-like fashion up and down as the walker/runner traverses the line. Punctuating movements with a slicing sound only adds to the ambiance of the journey. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories**: Let go and Move On; Caring For Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Trust Fall

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How you do it: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity falls into the, “What are you out of your mind I ain’t doing that crazy thing” category when it is first presented to a group. Falling backwards with no visual means of support violates all of the laws of the space/time continuum, plus its really scary! However, when properly sequenced and set up, the Trust Fall can have a profound impact on any type of group from educational to therapeutic. First find a sturdy stump, set of bleachers, platform or supported low step ladder at approximately five feet in altitude. A launch point above six feet will result in a head plant fall (highly inadvisable unless employing a human Ph.D.(post hole digger)). Conversely a fall from under four feet tends to put spotters on their knees. After a successful site search has been conducted, set up your spotters in that now familiar line of pairs, tightly Velcroed together, with the launch platform at the front of the line. One Spotter’s leg should be back for bracing. The line should contain a sufficient number of participants (at least eight) to assure that the Faller’s body will be completely caught from head to toe. Spotters extend their arms palms up, hands to elbows, alternating to form a zipper. They should be asked to remove all rings, watches and hanging jewelry in order to avoid an unintended “friends forever” tattoo on the Faller’s buttocks. There is no need for Spotters to hold each other’s arms or hands, which tends to lead to injury rather than additional support. Spotters’ heads should be held back to avoid the unpleasant cranial kiss caused by the Faller’s body weight impacting on arms forcing heads to come forward.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While your sequencing should offer reassurance that participants will make excellent catches, if you have the slightest doubt inject yourself into a primary spotting position (where the torso of the Faller will impact). The Yogi Berra truism of, “it ain’t over til’ over” also applies here. Spotters should make sure the Faller’s feet are safely on the ground before relinquishing their responsibility. A spotter at the end of the line is given the task of conducting a group pre flight check in order to assure that the group is correctly oriented in a straight line toward the spotter, and that the line is positioned so that the Faller’s head will be cradled. A dandy technique to assure that novice spotters know what the fall will feel like is to stretch out your arms and land firmly on sections of the group with sufficient force to simulate a Faller’s body coming in for a landing.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Faller has her own set of responsibilities. In order to gain Olympic falling style points she must maintain the stiff as a board descending position to spread her weight evenly across the group. The very un-cool easy chair falling position puts the weight of the fall on a few victims in the line, and therefore should be avoided. The second responsibility involves avoiding the “arms akimbo” falling style, wherein the Faller flails their arms back in a futile attempt to grab what is not there to brace the impact. This regrettable act often results in, at the very least, bruised noses, which tends to irritate the heck out of spotters, reduces the trust level to absolute zero, and brings this terrific activity to a grinding halt. There are a number of methods for reducing this arm/facial impact to a minimum. Have the Faller extend her arms and cross hands so they are palm to palm. Fingers should be intertwined, then the arms rotated down then up into the chest (see pictures). Another and even more foolproof suggestion is to have the Faller slip her hands into either a single or crossed set of six inch rubber gym rings (see pictures). These are impossible to escape from between the fall and the catch.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now that you are completely stressed out and exhausted from reading this set up, it is time for the event to occur. As with all trust activities, the Faller controls the action through the use of calls. After assuring that the zipper looks zipped, and the Faller is in the correct position, all that is left is for the Faller to fall!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">An interesting variation is to allow a group member to lie face up toward the Faller in between the line of spotters. This visual amusement can be diminished somewhat as the spotters tend to step on the person lying prone in their efforts to make a responsible catch. This is the risk one runs in order to live a high thrill existence. A blindfold and an unlit cigarette can also be offered to the jaded Trust Fall professional who needs to move beyond the experience of a sighted fall. Just make sure to carefully spot the launch point should the blindfolded Faller prematurely lose her balance. If you have a large group who all want a piece of the action, bounce the Faller along an extended conveyor belt of Spotters until the end of the line is reached. Then the Faller is lowered to the ground. Finally, avoid the temptation to go first with the intention of demonstrating your abiding faith and confidence in the group. It’s tough to facilitate a group with a facilitator in traction. You will know through observation when they are ready to make the big catch.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Be Here; Be Honest; Let go and Move On; Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Trust Dive

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How you do it: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There are those among us who still like to look before we leap. The Trust Dive is a dandy activity for those participants who, at the thought of falling backward throws them into an existential crisis. Rather than debriefing the meaning of life, unless you have a huge amount of time to process, the Trust Dive offers most comers an opportunity to feel the exultation of flight. The set up is basically the same as the Trust Fall. The group forms the perennial zipper, but a bit further away from the diver’s launch point, as the leap will typically carry the diver some distance. Spotters need to be aware that the diver will develop some momentum as he flings himself out into the abyss. Therefore, one leg needs to be set back and away from the direction of the leap. Once again, remind all participants to remove jewelry in order to avoid the diver having a “mom within a heart” this time tattooed on his forehead. The group will need to size up the body length and PLA (Potential Leaping Ability) of the diver to assure that the position of the group zipper is far enough out to catch the person’s entire body, but not so far as to leave legs and sneakers dangling.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The diver has the task of flattening out his body as he leaps so that his body weight will be distributed cleanly over the length of the group zipper. Encouraging a leap up and out is also advisable to prevent the diver from tunneling through the line of spotters. Essentially a perfect ten leap should model superman launching himself from the top of a building toward earth orbit (up and out). Calls for this activity model the same mantra of previous trust activities. Capes are optional!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here; Be Hones; Let go and Move On

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity Name:** Blindfold Walk (Sherpa Walk)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When you think your life is tough, just reflect on the Sherpa. While Westerners hike up the Himalayas in designer outerwear, the Sherpa lug everything from satellite receivers to the celebratory dinner for two on the summit, up to impossible heights. That being said, this activity really has very little to do with the Sherpa at all, but provides you as the facilitator with a jumping off point for a group lecture on the decline of physical fitness in American society.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The story goes that your group has suffered a plane crash by taking an unfortunate turn left instead of right that brings you into intimate contact with the side of Mount Everest. Miraculously, all survive, but are temporarily suffering from snow blindness. Along come the Sherpa (ah, now you see where they fit) who, being kindly people who pity hapless westerners and coincidentally need them to generate future climbing income, decide to lead the group to safety.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Sherpa do speak a consistent language, but it is totally unfamiliar to the group. The group must decipher the Sherpa’s language which will ultimately tell them to move up, down, left, right, stop or go. The task of the blindfolded group is to stay together while following the Sherpa down off the mountain. The Sherpa may only speak, but not touch any group members.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Prior to commencing the journey you as the facilitator need to lay out a course of travel and review it with group members who have volunteered to be the Sherpa guides. The route can be geared to the level of challenge you wish to provide the group, keeping in mind their physical fitness, or lack thereof. Appealing to all of the senses when planning your route will contribute greatly to the experience. For example, hanging fake hair, moistened rope, or other slimy objects that the group must pass under will certainly fire their imaginations. Passing over and under objects, such as tables or large tubes, also adds to the adventure.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Spotting by the facilitators is essential in order to maintain a safe rescue environment. The crash victims should also be encouraged to move slowly and deliberately as they clamber down the mountain. After all, few plane crash survivors are in the mood to jog. When working with blindfolds, keep in mind that not all people tolerate them well. Offer the option to keep eyes closed, should some find the blindfolds to be objectionable.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Sherpa story is offered as a playful example of how to generate and maintain enthusiasm for an activity; helping the group fall into the experience and suspend their disbelief. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As a journeying activity that is focused on a goal, a briefing might include conversation about interdependence; critical listening in order to understand messages from others that on the surface are unfamiliar or unclear; what kinds of resources do people bring to any type of journey toward a specific goal? The framing possibilities of this and all adventure activities are almost limitless, determined by your imagination and the needs of a particular group.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Air Traffic Controller

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Newark, Logan, LAX, O’Hare, Orange County Airports. Nine AM. Winds are light and variable out of the North-Northwest. Skies have broken clouds at 15,000 feet. Its a perfect day for flying with a blindfold on! This is a pairs activity, with the usual role reversal after each partner has had a turn either flying or guiding. The responsibility of the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) is to choose and guide her pilot along a flight path, while avoiding other airplanes in flight. This is done through voice commands only as the ATC runs alongside her plane. The pilot, who has decided for some peculiar reason to fly blindfolded, must listen intently to the voice commands of his ATC in order to maintain operational safety, like not crashing into a wall or a set of bleachers. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Establish a runway using cones, ropes or the group’s imagination. Each pair taxis to the head of the runway then takes off into the wild blue yonder. For the facilitator, the sight of 10 pairs of pilots completing loops, barrel roles, banks and dives is enough to minimally bring a smile and maximally a belly laugh to even the most veteran adventurer. Encourage sound effects, and elaborate maneuvers (loops and barrel roles permitted), while stressing the need to avoid mid air collisions or impacts against immovable objects. Flight insurance is optional. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Within the category of Be Safe there are many lessons to be learned from this experience. The Flying Blind status of the pilot requires the placing of great faith in the spotter. The nature of the relationship can be the basis for creating a powerful metaphorical scenario. When is it wise to put your faith in another? What are some of the consequences, positive and negative? If you were doing couple’s therapy, for example, how could ATC be used to get at couple relationship issues? The activity is there for the framing depending on needs and imagination.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Pitch Pole

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity has one huge caveat associated with it. Don’t do it until you are sure your group is ready. While you may have heard that before, we think it is especially relevant here. Well, you decide after you get the particulars!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Form the group into a tight circle around a volunteer. Have the group levitate him (see Levitation). Once levitated the group rotates the participant a quarter turn past a full three hundred and sixty degrees. This means that at one point in the rotation the person’s head is pointed straight down to earth, while the feet are pointed straight up at the sky. This is a spotting critical position. Spotters must literally be underneath the rotatee, supporting his weight by the shoulders. Hands must also be pushing upward while holding the upper torso. Other spotters must be stabilizing the legs while also bearing some weight. The rotation is complete when the person’s feet are firmly planted on terra firma. As with all activities, if you don’t have confidence in the group, or a thorough enough understanding of the activity, don’t do it!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This higher order **Be Safe** activity places the volunteer in a completely vulnerable position. Vulnerability can be a good thing, if there is a high degree of confidence that you will be kept physically and emotionally safe. Vulnerability in a dependant or unhealthy relationship is an entirely different story. The framing of this activity might focus on these dependency issues, which are at the core of many relationship difficulties with significant partners, and in groups. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Let go and move on; caring for self and others <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place a picture of the Pitch Pole about here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Set Goals** (Initiative/Achievement and Hopelessness) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Attributes of Goal Setting**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Commit to action
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The “trying” as success
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Initiative and Empowerment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Risk Taking and Key Learning
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Creativity and Metaphors

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Being

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This book is about establishing and nurturing full value within your groups. The Being, and the next activity the Village, climbs deeply into the heart of Full Value, allowing for the group to create its own operating norms while keeping in mind that there are negatives and obstacles (detractors), in this sometimes imperfect world, that crash against our best intentions.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The symbolic representation of your group’s Being depends on its needs and purposes. So let’s lay out the basic plan. The first step is to give group members some time to think about norms that they can support. A surefire rapid way to get the ball rolling is through the activity “**Quick Norms**.” Here, participants are asked to pair up and create one or two behavior norms they want to advocate for use within the group. They are also asked to come up with one or two detractors. The dyads are given 3-5 minutes for this creation. During the report out, the leader writes the “norms” down on a piece of paper. A brief discussion is held, giving the group the chance to come to an agreement about the suggestions. The whole activity can be over in 10-15 minutes. What it provides, however, is a beginning framework for group operation. Leaders of short, volatile groups have reported to us that “Quick Norms” //saved the day!//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now for creating the Being. Roll out a sheet of body length art paper. Ask for a volunteer to lie down face up on the paper. Hand out a bunch of brightly colored markers and ask the rest of the group members to trace the body’s outline. Next, enter the agreed upon norms into the body. Outside the body goes the group’s detractors. Its good to also have on hand a bunch of other decorative options like, confetti, stars, pieces of fabric, and the other necessary tools, such as scissors, glue and tape. If you are creating an outside being, participants can add stuff from the outside; pinecones, leaves, flower petals…whatever will make The Being unique.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Despite your group’s best efforts, their Being will never be complete. It is a work in progress, continually revisited, as needed, to be added to, argued over, and always serving as the group’s moral and ethical compass.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Village

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Someone of a strong political persuasion once said, “it takes a village” to properly raise children. What she was getting at was the need for a total community effort to create an environment conducive to raising healthy kids. Our adventure village parallels this philosophy insofar as commitment of the entire group to its norms is necessary in order for them to have power and effectiveness. The village activity provides another way of getting at establishing Full Value Norms with a number of added features. It is often used with groups that can handle the additional metaphorical complexities of creating a community that reflects its norms as well as group and individual goals.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Another large sheet of paper needs to be rolled on the floor. Villages are not created in the shape of a biped. Groups have been known to develop symbols, such as a heart with wings, or a bicycle built for 12. Any type of group representation is fine, as long as there is room left inside for norms to be written, and space outside for detractors. Space also needs to be set aside for individual goal huts (ah, so this is where the village comes in). Within these huts reside the goals that individuals have committed to related either to supporting group Full Value or connected to individual growth and change. As with the Being neither the group norms or individual goals are static. Living norms and goals is a dynamic process in and out of the group. Plan on making a habit of strolling through your village often and with a critical eye for new construction and minor and major alterations.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The activity:** Full Value Call (Hog Call for you veterans)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As adventure practitioners we are always looking for clever ways to make much of what we do activity based. After all, it is our own level of hyperactivity that takes comfort in learning by doing. Here is a hilarious way for groups to decide on norms for their Being or Village and to say it like they mean it. Form pairs and ask them to spend just a minute or two (See Quick Norms) deciding on two values that they feel would be important to have as basic principles of group operation. For example, a pair might choose, “faith” and “listening.” Now let’s say you have 16 people in your group comes out to eight pairs, each with two values…whew we’re sweatin’ already. Split the pairs to far corners of a gym or an open field. Hand them blindfolds or have them close their eyes. At your command, and with their bumpers up to avoid facial collisions, have them yell their value as loudly as possible, while listening for their partner’s value at the same time. While yelling, they must find their partner in the cascading (but nurturing) mayhem of screams from other pairs who are searching for value! Once all pairs have been reunited, horse conversation can occur around the norms/values each pair selected for inclusion in the group Being or Village. Before the Full Value Call begins make sure you have enough spotters on hand to avoid collisions with bleachers, chuck holes or low element ropes course cables.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Honest, Let Go and Move On

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Full Value Speed Rabbit

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Looking for way to motorically, spatially and thematically integrate the conceptual dimensions of Full Value? To avoid the embarrassment of appearing to not understand the previous incomprehensible sentence just nod your head, “yes” and read on. Here is an example of an old and popular standard, Speed Rabbit, adapted to get your group thinking about what Full Value means to them. Let’s lay out the generic version first. Have the group divide itself into trios, with you or a volunteer standing in the middle of a large circle. The volunteer has a simple yet crucial job, that is to point at a trio and yell either, “elephant,” “rabbit” or “gorilla.” Rather than thinking the yeller quite mad, the trio who has been pointed to must form the critter they have been assigned within ten seconds. If the group gets their animal together within 5 to 10 seconds, the person in the middle points to another trio, and so on until one group can’t get it done in time. The offending member of the trio becomes an expatriate moving into the center while the person in center becomes a part of his trio. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Prior to beginning all of this senseless fun, you need to determine with the group how each animal will be represented. For example, the gorilla might have the center person of the trio scratching his private parts while making screeching noises. His two outside comrades would be picking nits out of his hair.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The adaptation to reinforcing Full Value involves co-creating representations of concepts rather than animals or other objects. For example, ask the group how they might represent “trust,” “compassion,” “strength,” or “honesty.” The game is played in the same manner, but the trio formations now take on a different and more important meaning to the group.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Balloon Trolley

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In this activity you just pick a destination and go for it as a group. Sounds simple enough, but as you know adventure activity appearances can be deceiving! Materials for this challenge include a bag of balloons and a group of people willing to go on a trip. Pick up balloons of some substance, at least 12 inches in diameter inflated, minimal regulation size for this activity. Theme balloons can be fun, such as all smiley faces or Star Wars. If you can find a bag of fat elongated balloons, grab em. We once searched eight party stores in vain for those suckers, which seem to be discontinued as per a marketing genius who determined that round is in, elongated is out. Go figure! Anyway, here is the set up for balloon trolley.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Lay out a course of travel with a difficulty level that relates to your program goals at the moment, and the nature of the group. One bunch may need to travel up and over boulders, while for another the challenge of just getting there without committing homicide may be sufficient. The task is to have a line of people, with a balloon held between each of them move from one place to another. Hands may not be used to hold the balloons in place, only bodies pressed together exerting pressure on them. The difficulty of this innocent task should now be coming readily apparent. As an initiative to illustrate the components of goal setting, this is a real winner.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Some thoughts around variations include allowing the group to determine what constitutes success. Does that mean no balloon drops, the fewest over three attempts, one, two? Empower them to determine the level of success they find acceptable. Now give the group some planning time before the trolley leaves the station, then let them have at it!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">To get the group thinking about what they are transporting (and taking good care of) the balloons provide a terrific writing surface. Full Value Norms, Individual and Group Goals, or just questions to consider, may all be markered onto the balloons.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Leaning Tower of Feetza

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">An important aspect of successful adventure activity is its ability to appeal to ones sense of visual ascetics. If it looks cool, than more than likely it will be fun to do. The Leaning Tower of Feetza is at the top of the charts when it comes to visual impact. Imagine yourself in Pisa, Italy standing at the base of that improbable white tower. You turn to a man at one of the fifteen tourist kiosks surrounding the place. You reach into your pocket ready to shell out 150,000 Lira for a plastic souvenir. Freeze frame, just in time. The town is different, it’s Rockville, Illinois and you are standing in a gym, staring up at an improbable tower of white sneakers straining to touch a basketball hoop set at ten feet. The tower leans left, then right. There, it touched the rim! Now that’s a Leaning Tower of Feetza!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is a high energy, spotting intensive, sweat inducing problem solving activity. The goal is to build a tower of heal to toe touching feet, with no one person’s feet placed consecutively to a height of ten feet or so in the air, and to hold that position for ten seconds (where H= height and FPS = feet per second). Good spotting is essential here in order to lift and protect the upper reaches of the tower while making sure that it doesn’t collapse in a heap onto the bottom participants. Any estimated height of ten feet will do as long as there is no wall to lean against to support the group’s efforts. It’s hard not to get involved! It’s hard not to be amazed at the sheer visual excitement! And it’s darn hard to get it done!

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place a picture of The Leaning Tower of Feetza about here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity tends to stress fun, support, interdependence, problem solving, goal setting, balance, commitment, trust, journeying, and some small share of selflessness. In looking at these core elements the purpose of this activity, as with all others, begins to take shape within the context of teaching Full Value experientially. Let’s talk about “balance” and think of how it links metaphorically from Feetza spiraling out into daily life. Balance is pervasive in all aspects of living, whether it be balancing work/family/community commitments, physical and mental heath, or the types and degree of risk taking we indulge in. In Feetza, balance can only be achieved through cooperation, support from others, and commitment to serious (but fun) participation. The thoughts, feelings and actions that make Feetza successful, are the vary same ones requisite for developing a healthy balance in our lives. Making this connection both in the briefing and debriefing of the activity sets the stage for accelerated and integrated learning and making those personal connections. Connections can be made with whatever aspect of this activity is relevant to where the group needs to go.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Toxic Waste (Protect those values!)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A terrific way to get people thinking about the values they’ve chosen to reside within their Beings, is to have those values cared for by the group. This nurturing of norms can be built right into your activity design. Your Toxic Waste kit should include the following items: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Lay out two circles of rope, a large outer circle, with a diameter of approximately 30 feet, and a smaller rope circle centered in the larger one, about 5 feet across. Call group and ask them to give voice to the values they have carried with them throughout their group experience. Write each value they recall on masking tape, then attach each to a small diameter plastic ball. The balls should then be reverently deposited in one of the cans. Now, place one #10 tin can on a spot marker inside the smaller circle. Place the can containing the group values on the second spot marker just outside the smaller circle. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Array the group around the outside of the larger circle. Hand them the bag filled with ropes, inner tube, and other assorted retrieval items. Using these resources the group must transfer their values from the can “bobbing” in the sea of toxic waste to the blissfully serene can in the inner circle. It is imperative that no group values be desecrated by tumbling into the toxic waste during the transfer process from one can to the other. The group may not cross into the outer circle without risking their corporeal lives. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">We have witnessed many solutions to this most challenging of initiatives. The inner tube figures prominently in the most common solution paths. If you are feeling particularly strict, blindfold any participant whose hand breaks the plane of the outer circle when holding onto a rope. She may continue to hold the rope but her movements must now be directed by a sighted helper. This strategy maintains the integrity of the challenge and will insure that you are unanimously hated by members of the group, at least for the duration of this activity! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A bicycle inner tube, cut
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A bunch of ropes that when tied together will allow for lengths to reach ¾ of the way across the circle’s diameter. Use yellow polypropylene, some retired 9 mm rope, harness webbing, and a few lengths of bungie cord.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Miscellaneous toys to add distracters
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Two #10 tin cans (the kind baked beans and sauce come in for institutional kitchens)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Two gym spot markers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Permanent markers and masking tape
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">6-10 small diameter plastic balls, like Pensy-Pinkies, but hollow and light. For those of you who never had the transcendent experience of whacking a Pensy-Pinkee with a stickball bat, they are now being manufactured again. It is the highest and smoothest bouncing pink ball on the planet. But we digress…

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Electric Fence

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This once verboten activity has made a comeback with a few adjustments to the rules that has significantly increased the safety factor. Here is the set up. Find a piece of thin bungie cord and stretch it between two fixed points at a height of approximately four feet (adjustments to be made dependent on the average altitude of your group). Haul out your virtual generator and extension cord, the one you recently purchased along with dried food to weather the Y2K meltdown. Once the generator is fired up and the cord attached to your fence the group is now ready to proceed. The object is to get the entire group over the now sizzling bare wired fence without touching the wire or any of the area underneath it, which has also become positively charged with electrons smacking against each other. Breaking the plane beneath the fence or touching the wire temporarily incinerates the group and all need to return to the starting side in order to be regenerated (ugh, what a lousy pun). The reason all are toasted at once is because during the journey over the wire, the entire group must maintain physical contact at all times, ergo when touched by the wire or breaking the plane beneath, zzzzssssst, the circuit is completed. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The interconnectedness required in this activity forms a power(full) metaphor around the importance of including others in your goal setting process. One can set a goal, but without support and feedback from other it may be impossible to reach and difficult to know if you’ve gotten there. This activity can literally not be achieved without everyone being connected to each other. It is a basic rule of this activity, and a pretty basic rule of life.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here; Be Safe; Let Go and Move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Moonball

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is a perennial favorite with most groups, no matter what their focus. The props and objective are simple. Keep a ball of one description or another floating above the heads of the group for as many taps as possible (keeping in mind the numerous olympic Moonball records that have been set and broken). The only starting rule is that no person can tap the ball more than once without an intervening tapper hitting it. Boy that was wordy; in other words you can only hit it once in a row! An almost maniacal urgency to keep the ball up there develops, particularly as the number of successful taps begins to rise. There is also that uniquely distinct group sigh when it prematurely returns to earth. There are a bevy of ball variations to be had. Name the ball to be symbolic of something related to group process, such as the Full Value Ball, or the Corporate Team Ball. Cover the ball with strips of masking tape, then copy the norms from your Being or Village onto it. Now the group has to work to keep the norms protected off the ground. Ask the group to think about what it takes to make that happen. Get more than one ball going at once. Play traveling Moonball setting a distant finish line as the group’s objective. Have folks alternate hands on each hit, or use their feet. As with most of these activities, the possibilities are endless.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Activities:** Be Here, Be Safe, Be Honest

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Mine Field

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Journeys are often exciting, but if not carefully planned can contain a significant element of risk. How about walking through a Mine Field with a blindfold on? Now there’s an example of stupid risk taking, unless it is an adventure activity! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity allows for the creation of a relatively benevolent Mine Field using fleece balls, rubber chickens, chairs, sprung mousetraps, plastic squids and other creatures, hanging Cray paper, and any other non lethal objects you might have handy in your bag of tricks. Mark off a large boundary area, rectangular in shape, say 20 feet wide and 40 feet long. The dimensions of the Mine Field can be varied to increase or reduce the challenge or adjust to group size. Now take your explosive items and scatter them about the Field, making a straight line path through the exploding debris impossible to negotiate.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Get your group divided into pairs, using the usual assortment of uniquely adventure methods for doing so. One member of each pair loses her sight either by keeping eyes tightly squeezed shut or with the use of a blindfold. The partner must guide her through the obstacles you’ve created while remaining outside of the boundary area. A suggested planning session is essential in order to reduce the risk of going, “boom.” Completion may mean reaching the other side, only setting off a proscribed number of mines, or any other definition of success that the group wishes to establish.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sending more than one mine sweeper into the field at a time from different directions adds to the incendiary potential. Switching guides mid field is another delightfully sadistic variation. Ask the group to think metaphorically about the exploding objects. What might they represent as obstacles to reaching individual and group goals? Label them using the group’s ideas. This is another terrific place for provoking group thinking about detractors to their Beings and Villages.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Great Egg Drop

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Like deliberately breaking eggs? Who doesn’t. The anticipation and emotions generated from the drop to the impact can almost be tasted. Think back to egg and spoon races, or the egg toss competitions of your camp days. Whenever there was implicit tension in a game, an egg could always be found lurking somewhere nearby. In the Great Egg Drop, as with most potential egg breaking activities, the point is to protect two eggs from their ultimate demise. Divide your group into smaller sub groups, three or four people are an optimum number, and offer them the following material; two eggs, 20 straws, and 30 (not 29) inches of masking tape. Groups members must work together to design and build a deployment system that when launched from a height of at least seven feet will protect their precious eggs from attaining open gelatinous status. What could be more fun than deliberately and legally dropping eggs! Points can be awarded for pitching your deployment system to the other groups, parsimonious use of resources (i.e. the least amount of tape, fewest straws), dropping technique, artfulness of deployment system design, and egg survival. If you come up with enough point categories there will bound to be a tie!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Thinking metaphorically, the egg could represent the family unit, and the straws and tape the resources one must bring to that unit to keep it from breaking apart.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">After the systems have been developed the launch takes place from a step ladder surrounded at its base by a liberal number of plastic garbage bags. You can certainly use a bare floor, but don’t count on any favors from your building custodian for the foreseeable future. On the count of three, drop!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be here, Let go and Move On, Caring for self and others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Blindfold Square

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is another low prop unpredictable problem solving initiative (the root of all goal setting) that, depending on the karma of the group, will either be solved quickly or not at all. Reach down into your adventure kit bag for a rope anywhere from 100 to 200 feet in length. The rope length will ultimately determine the dimensions of the square. The larger the square the more difficult communication can become, which certainly ups the challenge quotient. Do a quick line up by testosterone level. If that suggestion results in blank stares try by height, date of birth, length of shoelaces, or the birth date of each person’s maiden aunt. Once the group has formed up in a line by any means you chose spread them out along the rope as you hand it to them.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Once rope equipped, the group members put on their blindfolds. Direct the group to form the rope into a square, and to not remove their blindfolds until there is a consensus that the task has been accomplished. It is important to have some spotters on hand to protect group members from wandering trees, bushes, highway Impact Attenuators (did you know that’s what those big sand filled barrels are called?), and other human impediments. Groups will tend to drift about while holding the rope so be prepared. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Pipeline

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If you’ve ever played the game, Mousetrap, or been interested in Rube Goldberg devices, this initiative will be right down your alley. Some construction is required as well as a short list of supplies. Take a trip to the local plumbing supply store or lumber yard and purchase an 8 to 10 foot section of white PVC water pipe. Three quarter inch diameter pipe should do nicely. Now find a friend who owns a table saw and ask her to rip the pipes lengthwise into two pieces. This will leave you with two lengths of track which objects can be rolled down. Cut these tracks into smaller lengths of various sizes, the smallest being a foot in length, the largest, two feet.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place picture of cut pipe about here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now get yourself a bag of nicely colored regulation size marbles (ones that will fit in your tracks) and you are ready to play Pipeline. The generic objective is for the group to move a set of marbles, three being a nice challenge to begin with, from one place to another, using the pipe tracks to get them there. Group members may move the tracks to get them in position, but once a marble enters a track section it must be held stationary until the marble exits onto the next track. The marbles in the Pipeline, the more difficult the challenge. Picture this; a group of adults running madly along with their pieces of PVC track frantically trying to get into position to catch a bunch of rolling marbles. Delicious, ain’t it!?!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When is a marble not a marble; when the group co-creates a scenario that attributes a different meaning to the journey and to the objects being carried.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Let go and Move On

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity: Duct (duck) Tape**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Here’s a goal setting activity that may raise a few eyebrows, if you haven’t already taped them down. Bet you’ve found lots of uses for duct (duck) tape over the years. The stuff is amazing. It seals packages, fixes leaks in hoses, patches holes in sheet rock; just about anything that’s broke it can fix, at least temporarily. But had you thought about using it to tape a human to a wall, suspended off the ground? Nah, we think not.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Offer the group a role of duct tape and a sturdy box to stand on. “Borrowed” milk crates labeled “Property of Ding-Dong Dairy” make excellent temporary stands. Make sure to pre-test the wall you are taping to for tape-fastness. This is equivalent to testing colored fabrics before throwing them into the laundry with the whites. Nothing irritates a building administrator more than to find a large strip of industrial paint torn off the wall.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The object of this activity is simple. The group must plan a strategy for duct taping a willing participant to a wall, so that when the temporary stand is removed he remains hanging with only the support of the tape. Sound nuts, well... it is. It is also an hysterical visual, a ludicrously delicious proposition, a goal to achieve, and a real problem to solve. Give them the crate and a roll of duct tape and let them have at it. The tape job should be of sufficient quality to allow for at least a five second hang time.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A few small caveats; tape to skin contact should be forbidden. Think of the application of duct tape to the skin as akin to a huge Band-Aid that would need to be rapidly torn off to make removal possible. Make sure to make that point clear to the tapers prior to commencing the activity. Have spotters at the ready once the pre hanger supports have been removed in the unlikely event that the tape job doesn’t hold. Finally, the participant(s) should have the option of a face forward or cheeks forward position on the wall. Once the group has taped one person successfully, try for two people with one role of tape!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Team “A” Vs. Team “B”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is little doubt that healthy competition is a good thing, except when it goes against a group working together as a unit to achieve a common goal. The 250 pounder who insists on being the last over The Wall (a freestanding 12 foot high wall that an entire group must get over with certain ground rules) makes the potential for success rather slim. Here is a way to get a group to look at the foolishness of competition when they are trying to keep all of their oars in the water rowing with synchronicity. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Grab a fleece ball and circle up your group. Ask them, while being timed, to pass the fleece ball from person to person around the circle. After establishing a benchmark, have them attempt a faster and faster time. Once they have reached an Olympic number, explain that you are going to divide them up into two teams, “A” and “B”. Team A will continue to pass the ball in a clockwise direction, while Team B will try to best their time in a counterclockwise direction. Now it’s time to really heat up the competition. Get two fleece balls going at the same time in opposite directions. Where they cross always provides a delicious moment of confusion. Now wait, you say, that’s ridiculous, it is the one and the same group! It’s seems implausible, but the singular group does start to compete with itself, sometimes “dissing” the “other team” even as it realizes on another level the absurdity of the competition. Another interesting variation is to pass first names at high velocity first clockwise (Team A), counterclockwise (Team B), then in both directions at the same time. Try it, playing your presentation as straight as possible. You won’t believe how people get sucked into the competition.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Human Knot (Tangle)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity has been around as a mainstay of adventure programming since as long as we can remember (which is getting to be a longer and longer time!). The ground rules were simple; have the group bunch together as tightly as possible, all facing in, then reach out and take someone’s hand. The only exception was that you couldn’t hold both hands of another person, thus creating a square dance partner, but not much else. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">We have noted over watching countless knots being untangled, that there is a tendency for people to get a death grip on each other’s hands which can lead in the worst case scenario to sprained fingers and wrist. A clever way to avoid this problem is to issue each participant a Buddy Rope; a four foot piece of Polypropylene. Now instead of grabbing another hand, you simply grab a free end of a Buddy Rope. Create Buddy Rope handles by tying an overhand knot at each end. Presto, no more twisted digits! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Once hands and Buddy Ropes are connected you have one righteous and massive knot to untangle. Participants must untangle the knot, ultimately forming a circle, without letting go of the Buddy Ropes; simple but devilishly difficult. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity ripe for engaging in problem solving, working as a team, looking out for others, self sacrifice and fun! There is this tremendous sense of satisfaction as the tangle suddenly evaporates due to a series of movements, no unlike finally getting that valuable spool of kite string straightened out. The linguistic and metaphorical possibilities are also rich. Think about how we get, tied up in knots” with problems in our lives. Then there is the feeling of having a, “knot in your stomach.” What kind of proactive and cooperative work does it take within families, with friends, in your community and with co-workers to untangle problems. Make the best fit with the needs of your group and get that group tangled up and ready to go. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be safe, Be Honest, Caring for Self and Others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** The Flying “V” - John Grund

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is a wondrous Joni Michell song called, “Urge For Going” originally released on the back of the single “Big Yellow Taxi” until recently only to be found in England. There is one verse that is particularly evocative. The winter is coming in and she voices, “See the geese in chevron flight, laughing and a racing on before the snow. They get the urge for going, and I guess they have to go.”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">And so it can be said for goal setting, as our own drives to become ever more full with life urges us forward. The title and demands of this activity, evokes the intensity of the commitment involved in goal attainment, and the planning and pitfalls that one encounters along the way.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Begin by posting the group’s goals or norms on a tree or other stationary object some sixty yards from the group. The group may eyeball the route from their position, but not conduct a survey walk to their goals. Have them shut their eyes and begin to navigate toward their destination. Along the way, they may ask three questions of the facilitators regarding their journey. It is interesting to note that the group quite naturally moves into the shape of a chevron, with one leader guiding the flock. Once the exact destination has been reached the group can debrief what it took to get there and how the work they did together applies to the goal setting process.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Group Juggling

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Group juggling perhaps has more variations than most any other adventure activity. Juggling is magic and group juggling is even more magical. As a **Set Goals** activity it is second to none, but there are certainly a bunch more applications. Here is the basic rendition with some variations to follow. Ask your group to arrange itself in a loose circle. Starting off with one fleece ball, set up a sequential throwing and catching pattern with no one person getting the ball twice, until everyone in the circle has handled it. If you start the pattern, then the ball should return to you.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have the group practice for awhile until they become comfortable with the their catching and throwing order, making accurate throws and good catches. Now for the juggling part. Tell the them that the Olympic Juggling record for a group of their size is having six balls going at once. Casually ask them if they are up to the challenge. Rarely will you get a negative response. Start the throwing sequence again adding the additional balls at appropriate intervals. If you can get five or six balls going at once for even a few minutes, that juggling. An interesting variation is to give each person an object to throw and have them all tossed at once to their designated catcher. This one, two, three unison toss is challenging and visually spectacular. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If you begin to think about Group Juggling more metaphorically, than the creativity and learning can really start to kick in; while still having fun! Some thoughts to share with your group might include:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Implicit in there questions are such components of Full Value as Be Here, Be Safe, Be Honest, and Caring for Self and Others. Group Juggling, as with many of these activities, is just an enchanting vehicle to wrap your creative process around in order to meet the Full Value needs of your group. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe, Caring for Self and Others
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Are we just juggling fleece balls or can they represent something? (now you are co-creating!)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When we add objects other than fleece balls (chickens, rubber feet, Koosh Balls) what might **they** represent?
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Can there be a larger meaning to giving and receiving?
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">What statement is being made when balls are tossed with care or carelessly?
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Should the connections stay in the here and now or contain elements that transfer out of the group?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Be Honest** (Identity/Individuation and Role Confusion) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Attributes of Honesty
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Identity and Individuation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Resilience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Honesty and the Supportive Group
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Taking Responsibility

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** In the Loop/Out of the Loop (Starwars, Safe Spaces/Stuck Spaces)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The activity presents the problem of diminishing safe spaces for an entire group. Offer participants a pieces of rope of varying lengths and ask them to assist you by tying off the ends of the rope into a circle. Rope lengths need to be pre-determined by the co-facilitators, after surveying the group size, in order to make sure that at the end of the activity there is a circle large enough to hold the feet of all group members

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">To start things rolling have each person creatively scatter themselves around a large play area. Ask them to stand in their rope circle. Tell them that only their feet, but both of them,, must reside within a circle. Choose a word that directs them to leave their safe space and find another. The word should reflect the metaphorical experience that you have created or co-created with the group. This could be as non symbolic as “switch” or “change” to a specific detractor in life that people need to get away from in order to maintain a healthy balance in their lives. On command, they must depart their safe harbor, travel through unknown seas, and dock at a new circle.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">On the fourth switch, using great stealth, remove one of the circles, and for each subsequent turn remove another one. You can tell folks notice when their movements toward the remaining circles becomes more purposeful, rapid and panicked. Allow everyone to get settled, issue the command and continue removing circles. Eventually the entire group will have their feet squoozed into one surprisingly small safe place. If every one can see each other, this is a terrific time to hold your debrief. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">An interesting reframe of safe spaces is “stuck spaces.” During your briefing raise the issue of how we can become too comfortable with the knowns in our lives, causing us to stagnate. These spaces might include a job that provides tenure and income security but no challenges, a relationship that is predictable but unhealthy, or just a way of thinking that is so rigid as to avoid entertaining the opportunities that other ideas might have to offer. Asking participants to offer examples of their stuck places (if that is appropriate for your group) will certainly lead to a thought provoking Debrief at the other end of the activity.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Evolution

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">All of us either voluntarily or involuntarily take on certain roles in life. Our sense of values, of who we are, tend to be projected into these roles and associated responsibilities. Behavior is inseparable from our character. “He’s a devoted husband.” “She’s a loving mother.” “He’s a wastrel” (well no one really uses the word “wastrel” anymore). “She’s a real leader in this company.” In groups, members also take on different roles, which tend to reflect a self assessment of strengths and deficits. In groups there are leaders, followers, agitators, enablers, isolates, critics, helpers, caregivers; the list goes on and on. Some of these roles are healthy and some are not. Member quite often take on multiple roles over the life of a group.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">But whoa, hold on there, let’s just wait a minute, you’re serving up pretty heady stuff here. This game is supposed to be about eggs, chickens, monkeys and humans! True, but its also about giving groups of all compositions and intentions a chance to self assess the roles of its members, and how it feels to try on for size any one of those roles.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">So here’s the set up. There are four groups in Evolution, Eggs, Chickens Monkey and Humans. Everyone quite naturally begins as an egg. Eggs, being at the bottom of this evolutionary scale do not have the power of speech. They simply walk around with hands over their heads forming an oval shape, looking egg like. As with most hierarchical systems, eggs yearn to be chickens, chickens ache to be monkeys, and monkeys being somewhat ill advised, would almost die to be humans. This transition is inevitable and often rapid in Evolution. The transformation occurs when two members of a similar caste, i.e. two eggs, meet as they wander about. The old reliable odds or evens shoot out occurs between them. The winner moves up to the status of a chicken, while the other remains a lowly egg. Now let’s say that newly anointed chicken meets another chicken. The winner of their odds/even shootout moves up the ladder to monkeydom, while the looser returns to lowly egg status. You can see how quickly ones fame, fortune and intellectual capacity can rise, fall and rise again.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Chickens, who are fairly short on brains, strut around flapping their wings while making chicken noises. That’s about it for the chickens. The monkeys, who are a bit more upscale on the ladder, swing their arms in ape like fashion while alternating between screeching (when offended) and grunting. They also occasionally groom other monkeys by picking nits out of their hair. Nits are apparently quite a delicacy among monkeys. Finally we have the humans, who sashay about uttering expressions like, “I’m cool, I’m a human.” “Ugh, monkeys, chickens and eggs, who threw this party?” and other similar but no less condescending remarks.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While there is a significant amount of hilarity associated with Evolution, people also experience real feelings about the rapidly shifting roles they find themselves in as the game progresses. While eggs, chickens, monkeys and humans are the generic roles we have defined, the possible assignations are endless, limited only by the role issues you wish to look at in your group. Aside from this activity’s great metaphorical potential, it is also a heck of a lot of fun.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Set Goals, Let go and Move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Human Camera

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While we have placed Human Camera within the category of Be Honest, this is but one example of many equally weighted uses. As mentioned before, it is all in the creating and co-creating prior to beginning that activity that gives the unmolded clay its shape and meaning.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Pair up your group and explain that one person will be a camera (35 mm, single lens reflex), while the other will be the photographer. The photographer will lead blindfolded (shutter closed) “camera” to take a picture that she feels represents a contribution that has been made to the group during a day of being together. The picture is taken after the photographer has lined up the camera in the correct position, usually by gently tugging on the camera’s ear. Roles are then reversed with the camera becoming the photographer and vice versa.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This can be a difficult task for some groups as it requires symbolic reasoning. So give them some examples that may in fact reflect behaviors that you witnessed that were helpful. For example you might say, “I noticed one group member practicing being calm during a argument today, which could have led to a major confrontation. That pond over there, with the still water and the sun bouncing off of it, would make a great picture of “calm.” And remember when we did The Wall, and how some people were strong and patient lifters? Well that big rock behind us has a feeling of strength and patience about it.” In all but the most limited of groups, these suggestions will get the metaphorical ball rolling.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">While this is a great way of getting people to offer self affirmations and think about each other’s positive roles group, there is also a huge trust component implicit in being lead around blindfolded. The Human Camera can be used for developing Full Value norms for Beings and Villages, for identifying past thoughts, behaviors and feelings that you want to let go of, and certainly for goal setting. All you need is creativity, a roll of film and a willing camera!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe, Be Honest, Let go and move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Accepting Yourself

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">It is a sad but real truism that we are better at giving affirmations than receiving them. More difficult still is to give voice to positive attributes about ourselves. This activity gives group members license to do just that, hence the name Accepting Yourself. Here is a small script you can follow when introducing the activity to your group:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">“In this exercise, you will be asked to discuss your strengths openly with the other group members. This is no place for modesty. You are not being asked to brag, only to be realistic and open about the strengths that you possess. Take five to ten minutes to think it over and make notes. Follow this procedure for the exercise:”


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Think of all the things that you have done well while doing the Adventure group, all the things for which you feel a sense of accomplishment.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In the group as a whole, each person should share the full list of his or her strengths. Then ask the group, “What additional strengths did you see in me?” Add these to your list.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Think about your successes and your strengths. Think about how your strengths may be utilized to improve your relationships, school, work, etc. Then, set some goals around these issues.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This exercise works well because it stresses the positive aspects of the participant’s experience. It can be scary, because the individual becomes the focus of attention. But it is a worthwhile risk, if the group is ready for it (the group needs to be securely in the “affection” stage), because the feedback is extremely rich, reality-based, and usable.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe, Let go and move on, Caring for self and others

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Have you ever?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Typically used as an ice breaker, this activity can also be useful in bringing to the surface honest disclosure and conversation around behaviors that are less than desirable, particularly when dealing with how people relate with each other in family, work and social situations.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Form another one of those large circles, using spot markers or some other designation to indicate a station where each person will stand. Ask for a volunteer to come into the circle, removing the marker he was standing on. Now we have one more person than we have spots, a critical element of this initiative. Explain that the volunteer is to ask the group a question employing a, “have you ever” format. Your might want to offer a few tame examples such as:


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever worn polka dot underwear?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever ripped that tag off the pillow that says, “do not remove under penalty of law”
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever gone swimming with your clothes on?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever sneaked into a ballgame, concert or movie without a ticket?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Once the question has been asked, those who “have” must leave the spot where they are standing and find another spot to occupy, other than one directly adjacent to where they were standing. Meanwhile the person in the middle is also gunning for a spot. The situation of having too few spots produces the inevitable new person in the middle, who then asks a Have you Ever question.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">OK, you say, this sounds pretty much like the game I have known and loved for years. Ah, but here is the wrinkle. At some point early in the game you or your co-facilitator will somehow not make it back to a safe spot and find yourself in the middle. You can initiate a quantum shift in the level of content within this activity by asking any one of the following questions:


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever made fun of someone with a group of people?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever violated someone’s trust?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever taken something from someone that didn’t belong to you?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever thought about really hurting someone?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever felt sad and alone and not known who to turn to?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever been let down by a good friend?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever felt like an outsider looking in?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have you ever felt misunderstood or not heard?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As you and your co-facilitator intersperse these questions, group members will have freedom to move to another spot, a silent indicator of identification, and to ask similar questions when they are at center stage. The questions from participants will become very telling. Clearly the intensity level of your questions has to be carefully geared to the purposes of the group. Recreational groups that need a Be Here type of activity to loosen up should stay with the polka dot underwear questions. Recovery groups, corporate or therapy groups may benefit from questions with an entirely different focus. We have found that people often find it easier to own behaviors and feelings in this format, particularly after initial disclosure around less charged items gets them moving. Sequence it right, take the risk, and you will be richly rewarded with grist for the debriefing mill!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be here, Set Goals, Let go and move on

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Let Go and Move on** (Differentiation and Dependence) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Attributes of Letting Go and Moving On
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Old Baggage, New Beginnings
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Differentiating within a supportive Community
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Choice without Shame
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Challenge and Risk

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Stepping Stones

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Stepping Stones holds the potential for crossing many categories. How you use it, as with all adventure activities, depends upon the creation and co-creation that occurs within the briefing of your group. We have placed all of our activities where they seem to us to have a good fit, but their positions are by no means like fixed constellations. Move them around, and find the best fit for your group depending on needs and circumstances.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">So, get yourself some paper plates, spot markers, pieces of cushy Styrofoam; anything that will allow for two sets of toes to find a perch. Avoid bone china, Tiffany lampshades, and anything else that might be breakable. Your stones should be approximately a foot square. Of course the smaller the stones the greater the challenge, as you will soon see. The other challenge variables are the number of stones you offer the group, and the distance you set for the group to travel. You’ll also to need to establish a beginning and an end of the journey. Pieces of Polypropylene always come in handy for boundary lines.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The goal is for the group to journey from one place to another using the Stepping Stones as safe spaces during the trip. Line em up at one end and give them one less stone than there are people. If a person steps off, teeters down, disembarks or in any way falls off of a stone, they must return to the starting point. Stones may only be moved in a forward direction, and physical contact by a digit, toe, elbow or any other human body part must be maintained. Violation of either the forward moving or contact rules results in the permanent (until the next round) loss of the stone in question. After the loss of the first stone, their value tends to increase immensely. One begins to discern “Fort Knox” written on them. The group finds success in getting everyone from point A to point B.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Stones can be labeled with norms, values, twelve steps, old bad habits, group and individual goals, almost anything you’d like in order to bring into focus important issues that you are exploring with your group. An interesting variation is to start two groups off from opposite directions, that is, coming toward each other, with a smaller number of stones for each group. Initially stone hoarding will occur until a light goes on within someone that sharing the stones is a much more effective way for both groups to be successful in completing the journey.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe, Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Run – Shout, Knock Yourself Out

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This comes as close to a Primal Scream adventure experience as you can get. Line the group up at the end of a long open field, preferably free of woodchuck holes. On your command have them run as far as they can while screaming as loud as they can on one breath. Once verbal exhaustion has set in the person stops. Aside from the purging quality of this activity, there is a weird doppler effect that occurs as the screamers recede into the distance. That’s it!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Be Here

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Activity name:** The Luminari Circle (best done after dark)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Luminari… The word concurs up images of fireflies, moon on water, the glowing orb of the magician. If truth be told, Luminaris are lanterns often set out in lines to light the path from one place to another. As the light is candle driven, the luminaris’ flicker and dance in the wind, casting growing and receding light into the darkness. They are easy to make, requiring a small brown lunch bag, small votive candle, and a bit of sand to provide stability against the wind. How they are used is limited only by the facilitators’ imaginations. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When placed in the Full Value context of **Letting go** **and Moving on** Luminaris can be used as a springboard for a final group debrief. Using markers, watercolor paints, and decorative materials such as tinsel and stars, have group members create a symbolic representation on their brown bag of an important take-a-way that they will make use of in their lives outside the group. Once created the Luminaris are assembled by simply opening the bag, placing the candle in the bottom center, then pouring a small amount of sand into each bag. Then the Luminaris are lighted! Each group member sits just behind their candle forming a circle of glowing memories, contemplation, and bright faces of hope. In turn, members are asked to share out their representations, as the candles continue to brightly burn, illuminating the way out of the group on the path to a more fulfilling future.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Set Goals: Luminari’s can also be used to represent individual, group and spiral goals. Be Honest

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Caring for Self and Others** (Doing For Others and Preoccupation With Self) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The attributes of caring for self and others
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Selfless Caring
 * Taking Responsibility for the Larger Community
 * A sense of the spiritual “other”

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Web Wave

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Web Wave is a truly elegant activity. It is simple, yet powerful. It requires nothing more than a length of sturdy rope and a group who needs to really feel what it is like to literally support each other. Find a piece of comfortable rope that folks won’t mind wrapping their hands around for a period of time. A piece of retired 1” diameter Multi-line is the crème de la crème although any retired belay rope will do. Secure the ends of the rope together using double fisherman knots (see illustration). They are a simple knot to learn how to tie, and when assembled correctly will give you a feeling of knot and nautical savvy! Once the knots have been put under a significant load, which they will be in this activity, don’t plan on untying them without the use of a hacksaw. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Once your “hardware” is ready, now it is time to assemble the group. Have them spread out along the rope to form an even circle. Since there is a innate tendency to start pulling on ropes that are held (no doubt a remnant of too many tug-o-war games of youth), remind your group members that holding does not imply pulling.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now once everyone is set ask them to spread their legs into a comfortable standing position, with feet hopefully set in one spot. With hands spread approximately shoulder width on the rope, have each member slowly lean back until the rope is singing (taught, that is). There may very well be some slipping and sliding as group members adjust their stance and lean in order to maintain balance. This will be followed by ongoing minute adjustments as the group and rope gently sway and pull as all work together to stay afloat.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There are lots of variations to this activity, with a few provided and the rest left to your fertile imagination.. While leaning back, ask the group to slowly go down into a sitting position, then lift themselves back up again. While in the sitting position, get the rope moving rapidly in a circular rotation, three times clockwise, then reversing to counterclockwise. Now ask each group member to rotate their upper bodies in the same manner. You’re really webbing and waving now! In order to truly experience the feeling of the group working together through the rope, have everyone close their eyes while in the standing position. It is truly remarkable to feel the rope shifting, pulling and relaxing as the group supports each other in this endless, undulating circle. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Place picture of Web Wave approximately here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Cross Categories: Be here, Be safe, Set goals <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Activity: The Yurt Circle <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How you do it: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Yurt is a hut that has existed since time immemorial, that is typically built of thatch. It is circular in shape with a domed roof, bound together by a central band. When all of its pieces are intact it is strong, easily holding back the elemental forces of nature. However, should one piece of it weaken, than the whole structure is subject to collapse. And so this might be said for groups. The one disaffected child, the one alcoholic parent, the one member of the organization that can’t or won’t work with others, an unbalance an entire system, sending it crashing to the ground.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Yurt Circle activity allows for the group to practice physically constructing a Yurt like structure through the use of their bodies and their willingness to make the emotional commitment to maintain healthy interdependence.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Have the group form a circle, then hold hands. Back the circle out until arms are stretched out to provide tension. Ask the group to spread their legs comfortably apart. Starting from anywhere in the circle, assign the number 1 or 2 to alternating group members. Clearly this will either require an even number of participants or one person with four arms, two of which are exceedingly long. Anyway, if you need a person, here is your chance to step in and experience the Yurt Circle in action! Now tell them the history of the Yurt so that they may get to thinking about how a structure like that might have implications for the group, how its currently operating, and possibilities for the future.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Now on the count of five (three is so tedious), have all of the “twos” slowly lean back, keeping their bodies stiff and arms extended, while all of the “ones” lean forward at the same time, also keeping bodies still and arms extended. If this is done slowly and with care, you will have created a self supporting circle, not unlike the Yurt. You may find the need to have the group self adjust the circle, depending on body weight and position. Once a stabile Yurt Circle has been formed and held, try having the “twos” slowly lean in, and the “ones” lean out, then alternate back and forth between the in and out positions. There is great power and learning in the Yurt Circle that we are sure your group will profit from.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe, Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Balance Broom (Witches Broom)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">For those of you who are familiar with this tried and true activity, you might be wondering how a game whose object is to make a person dizzy, disoriented, and perhaps throw up, could possibly fit into Caring for Self and Others? Well follow us through this interesting metaphorical adaptation.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Part of living a balanced life is to be able to take intelligent risks in the service of growth and change. The Balance Broom activity can provide a physical representation of finding the balance between intelligent and not so intelligent risk taking, and how peer pressure can suck us into making unfortunate choices. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Using as an example a group of high school students who are participating in a drug and alcohol prevention program, here is the set up. Find a volunteer (there is always one in a crowd) and hand her a straw broom. Ring the rest of the group around her in spotting positions. Designated as “party people,” they should be close enough to break the fall of a very dizzy and stumbling biped. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The volunteer in the middle either holds the broom straight up above her head and spins rapidly 360 degrees while staring at the thatch, or if you are a balance broom purist, direct the volunteer to place her forehead on the top of the handle and spin around the broom. Either technique will produce the necessary vertigo.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tell the group that two complete rotations equals one drink or joint. The volunteer must decide on her level of consumption. The party people should encourage the volunteer to spin as much as possible (you should limit the spins to 15). The natural consequence of excessive spinning is to become more and more out of control. In the debrief the concept of “caring for self” can be connected to how out of control you allowed yourself to become.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is but one example of how the activity can be sculpted to produce a powerful metaphorical message. In a rehabilitation model, the spotters could be designated as the “recovery group” that offers support and encouragement to the volunteer so that she limits her “risk taking” in order to avoid relapse.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Some safety notes: This is a difficult activity to spot due to the unpredictable movements of the spinner whose balance center is experiencing a major meltdown. The group members must have the emotional commitment and sufficient training to provide for a safe catch. There are also some folks for whom spinning is a really bad idea, those prone to vertigo or who have other problems related to balance. Check in with the group on this and have those who cannot tolerate spinning act in a spotting capacity only.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Holy Alliance – (Four Way Tug of War-revisited)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is one of the relatively high cost initiative props that we would suggest you include in your program budget. If you are adept at weaving rope, which means you must know what a Fid is, then the cost can be reduced by fabricating your own Holy Alliance. The initiative consists of a heavy metal ring, approximately 6 inches in diameter, with four thick pieces of multi-line, approximately 20 feet in length, attached to it. This allows for a four way tug of War with groups on each rope heaving to pull the central ring over their side of a rope square. Temporary (unholy) alliances form when one group learns that if it helps another it may ultimately guarantee its own victory. Team work, nah. Cooperation, nope. Guile and trickery, yep! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">So how about if from the very beginning, all four groups were cooperating to complete a task? Now we have a very different but equally as difficult scenario. Four groups to twenty participants holding four different ropes, delicately moving in unison is no easy feat or, err, feet! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Set up your group at one end of a large field. Place an Earth Ball in the center of the ring and ask the group to exert tension on their ropes until the ring has lifted the ball off the ground. The initiative becomes to keep the Earth Ball Balanced on the ring while moving the distance of the field and across a finish line. A more difficult goal for advanced alliances is to dump the ball into a box or crate, after moving it some distance. Now that’s a Holy Alliance!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Human Ladder

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The ladder, aside from being a handy item for getting stuff off high shelves, changing light bulbs and house painting, has always been a symbol of upward mobility. The appellation, “he is climbing the ladder of success” is a part of our upwardly mobile vocabulary. Up is good, down is clearly not so good. However, ladders when used in the context of adventure are not always vertically oriented, and that can be a very good thing!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The human ladder requires a significant commitment from spotters and participant alike in order for the trip to be a successful one. The group breaks out into pairs who are each given a dowel approximately three feet in length and at least 1 ¼ in diameter. Pairs line up with their dowels braced between them to form a large horizontal ladder. If only a limited number of folks are available, pairs can move their rung to the front of the ladder, once it has been climbed over. Rungs can either all be at the same height or varied in altitude, distance from each other and angle.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">We have placed Human Ladder in the category of **Caring for self and others** given the metaphorical possibilities inherent to this activity. A person in recovery for example, might wish to link each step along the ladder to their recovery process, while thanking those who are providing their bedrock support through bracing those key elements necessary for maintaining abstinence. In a corporate scenario, the leader may be making the journey from conceptualization to product delivery, but she will literally, “fall down on her face” without the support of all those “beneath” her who are helping to turn the idea into reality.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As for set up variations, we wonder if the dowels could be held to create a gradual spiral, allowing for the climber to do a three-sixty as part of the traverse? Haven’t tried that yet, but perhaps someone will and let us know!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe, Set Goals

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Activity: The Trust Line – John Grund

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is a unique and powerful extension of the Three Person Trust Fall. Have the group form two equal lines facing each other. At the head of each line are the first two spotters. A volunteer is needed to fall backwards and forwards between them. The second person in each line is considered to be, “on deck” and also in a spotting position. After going through the calls, the Faller sets off either forward or backward. If the initial fall is backwards than the forward spotter is replaced by the second person in line who announces, “I’m here” and the name of the person he is protecting, i.e. “I’m here, John.” The original spotter moves to the rear of his line. While the forward catch is being made, the rear spotter is replaced by the second in line who affirms her presence and commitment in the same way. This rolling spotting progression continues until the Faller signifies he is nauseous or just finished by announcing, “I’m done.” A new Faller moves in between the two lines, the spotting cadence is spoken, and the activity continues.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">[Insert a photograph of the Trust Line about here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Safe

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**The Activity:** Panic Evac

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**How you do it:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There is truth to the observation that in crisis families, and larger communities often tend to pull together. Aside from the more publicized baby boom resulting from the great New York black out of the sixties, also noteworthy was a reduction in crime, folks directing traffic, helping people in and out of darkened apartments, and a general reaching out to offer mutual support for each other. While it would be somewhat difficult (and illegal) to turn off all the power in your town to provoke a caring community outcome, this activity might be the next best thing. Make sure you have a large “townlike” crowd, say 25 or more participants. The set up is a bit complicated so bear with us! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Grab two long ropes, one approximately 150 feet and the other around 100. Knot them and form two circles, one inside the other. Spread a bunch of carpet squares donated by a local store or snapped up at a flea market, around the inside of both circles. Two special squares should be placed as “exits” adjacent to the rope edge of each circle. They may be red in color or have the word, “EXIT” drawn on them. Now using maybe 5 or 6, 2x4x8 boards lay them down amid the squares, creating transit barriers that block participants from directly proceeding from one carpet square to another. In essence you have created a ground maze. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Outside of the larger rope, next to the “EXIT” sign, lay out a small diameter rope for participants to stand in as a safety zone, once they have successfully made it out of the two rope circles. Next to this safe island are a set of trolleys, placed within easy reach (are you out of breath yet we’re almost ready to begin?) Approximately 30 feet from the safe island in yet another small rope circle are placed two, one liter uncapped plastic bottles filled with water, two plastic glasses and ten water balloons (glasses and balloons also tanked up with water). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Bring your group to the masterpiece you’ve created and instruct them not to discuss what they see until the activity has begun. Ask them to position themselves on a carpet square, with some members of the group blindfolded. Now a sample metaphor: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">“You are a group of neighbors, all living in an apartment building together. One of the apartments has caught on fire. Power has gone out in the neighborhood, and while someone has attempted to call the fire department, they still haven’t arrived. The person in the burning apartment is old, frail, and with poor vision. You have all looked after him over the years, benefiting from his wisdom and humor. The group of you have decided to attempt a rescue! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">You must all first find your way out of the pitch black apartment complex then carry water back in to put the fire out. The carpet squares are safety zones, the wood boards impassable walls. You must get a group out to the trolleys, retrieve the water supply, and use it to douse the apartment fire by filling a # 10 tin can, (which you have previously placed at the center of the inner rope circle) to overflowing. The bottles and glasses may be passed from one to another. You must toss the balloons from one circle to another, then break them over the can. If you touch the ground, (outside of a carpet square or the ground underneath the trolleys) you have suffered an injury and must stop actively participating. However, you may still offer advice to your co-rescuers. If you can successfully fill the bucket to overflowing within 8 minutes, the old man has been saved!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Prior to visual contact with the activity brief the activity. The briefing of this activity is critical to establishing a metaphor within the context of **Caring for Self and Others**. Ask the group to imagine the thoughts and feelings they might have in this scenario. Encourage honest disclosure by sharing your ambivalence implicit in potentially risking your own physical safety for the life of another. Each carpet square can be labeled with behaviors and commitments group members feel are essential in attempting a successful rescue, such as commitment, selflessness, planning, cooperation, communication, etc.. Ask members to keep mental note of some of the thoughts that run through their heads. They can even call them out on the fly with you acting as group scribe. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This activity can be wrapped around all type of scenarios. Here’s another option; A family conducting an “intervention” with an alcohol abusing family member in denial. Water and balloons are replaced with intervention statements that must be brought to the family meeting in time to assure the person will agree to go into treatment. What might those statements include? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Clearly the “psychological depth” of the experience is determined the needs/purposes of the group, and your level of training. The basic activity structure provides for a wealth of possibilities along a continuum. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">By the way, if you want to add a touch of realism to the basic scenario, get a sound effects tape (available in most large CD/Cassette stores) that has loud fire engines/police car noises and play it during the activity. Nice touch, eh? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Cross Categories:** Be Here, Be Safe, Set Goals, Be Honest