Drawing on a range of religious, spiritual, and secular resources, we've created a set of tools and practices to help people connect more deeply with themselves and others.
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Groups of five or six people are matched up according to common interest or life stage.
Programs last for ten weeks and take place as a series of videos calls, during which you’ll walk through conversation starters, readings, and exercises that have been developed by experts in spirituality, connection, and psychology. After the ten weeks conclude, groups are given a structure for ongoing gatherings.
A discussion and activity guide helps participants take turns leading the group, keeping time so that everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
The group’s norms are upheld by a set of agreements — the summary of which is, “Listen with an open heart, and speak with kindness and humility.”
Many elected officials struggle with burnout, threats to their safety, and despair in their roles. Often, they report feeling isolated, surrounded by colleagues who are often competitors and who may not share their distinctive identities and struggles.
In Elected Official Support Circles—a collaboration between a variety of organizations that recruit and train candidates, such as New American Leaders and Emerge—Nearness developed a new model of peer support for elected officials, including state legislators and city council members from across the U.S.
Following the program, participants reported, on average, an 117% increase in their sense of being supported in their work in elected office and an approximately 40% increase in their wellbeing in only eight weeks.
We’ve heard it again and again: People come away from Nearness programs feeling connected, seen, understood, and supported in their authentic selves.
I was skeptical about signing up for more Zoom meetings, but Nearness exceeded my wildest expectations. The depth of learning, connection, and personal growth blew me away. Put simply, Nearness changed my life.
I never want it to end.
The care everyone shows for one another is so beautiful… The level of connection and feeling recognized has just blown me away.
