Finding Purpose
through
Presence
&
Pleasure
A Small-Group ‘Refind-Your-Soul’ Programme
‘Halfway through the story of my life
I found myself in a gloomy wood.
I’d wandered off the path, away from the light’.
Dante’s ‘Inferno’
Something’s missing.
You feel lost.
A strange dissatisfaction.
You’ve neglected your passion, vocation or calling.
You’ve neglected your soul.
You want support – not ‘hacks’ and quick fixes.
You’re looking for space to dig deep without pressure.
You’re ready to (re)discover your own true way.
You want to be challenged.
You want practical guidance to get back on track.
You yearn to reconnect with passion.
You value support, and you want to support others.
Is it too late?
No.
A purpose-driven life is waiting for you: aligned, holistic, impassioned, fulfilled.
Presence and Pleasure can be your guide.
Not honouring your passion is…
‘…like falling in love with someone who is married to someone else, and deciding that it might be enough in this lifetime just to live next door to the beloved .’
Stephen Cope
The Great Work of Your Life:
You’ve made it this far. You’ve survived, thrived even.
Perhaps you should give yourself a powerful, heartfelt, genuine pat on the back.
It’s not over yet. It’s never over ‘til it’s over…..
There’s more to do, more to discover, new (or neglected) parts of you to honour and explore.
There are new ways of being you that you’ve never yet dared commit to.
Pathways you’ve not yet walked.
Aspects of YOU that you put to one side because other things seemed more important.
It’s time:
time to become whole,
time to take up space in the world,
time to honour the parts of you that, patiently have been waiting for today.
time to be brave.
No one is going to do it for you.
It’s your life’s work.
It’s waiting for you.
You don’t have to do it alone.
PPP is where you can do the work to make the life you yearn to live.
Since that day, unknowingly, I got a lot more serious about my job applications and was able to get a job.
Thank you for your time and compassionate guidance.
I never thought I will be able to understand what was causing my constant desire to push myself, but also to stop myself when I start doing really well. John helped me to discover what that is and it was down to one coping strategy that I have developed as a child to feel connected with others and to be nurtured.
So powerful!
I cannot recommend John enough!
It was a moment of horrible insight.
I was teaching postgrads at a university where I’d taken up a job, after decades as a freelance artist. I was talking about being a performer – and in my head I heard a voice saying: ‘you’re not an artist. You’re an ex-artist’.
I’d made choices. I enjoyed the wage and structure. I could accept no longer being ‘an artist’.
Then came the hammer blow. I was talking about presence – it was the heart of my training process. But I realised, in my head, I was running through a checklist of things I needed to prepare for a committee meeting that afternoon.
Not only was I no longer an artist, I had become a fraud.
That was the moment I knew I had to make a change.
John Britton
How does PPP work?
PPP is a combination of small-group and individual coaching, supplemented by a series of insight-videos.
You’ll start with an individual conversation with me to outline your current situations and your desires for the journey you’re on.
Then there’ll be a meeting every week for six weeks. They’ll combine conversation, reflective exercises, practical work, and a chance to share insight and questions with me and other people in the group.
After the final group session, you’ll have a second individual session to review your progress, and put in place a action plan for you to move forward with.
What you get
– an individual 45 minute introductory coaching session to explore your needs.
– 12 videos of insight and practical exercises.
– 6 x 90-minute group coaching sessions (total 9 hours).
– membership of a private Whatsapp group for accountability and support.
– a copy of ‘Presence: What it is, why it matters and how to get it’.
– a final hour-long individual online coaching session to review, reflect and set out next steps.
PPP is limited to 12 people.
What’s the approach?
My approach is holistic and psychophysical. It’s developed from deep research into mind-body connectedness.
All of my work is based in Self-With-Others – ‘a framework for thriving in an interconnected world‘.
My work is founded in a simple idea: to achieve more, do less. Worry less, struggle less, block yourself less, be distracted less, criticise yourself less. When you stop wasting mental energy on things you can’t do anything about, you become more focused, present and energised – more able to imagine (and build) your best life.
A ‘psychophysical approach’ recognises that ‘thinking’ is only part of knowing. We must also listen to, and respect, the body.
The body talks.
Let’s listen.
The clarity with which John talks about Presence is second to none.
I highly recommend this workshop.
with tools to introspect and apply in your personal life and creative practice.
Thank you.
‘Often the needs of the soul go against the easy flow of life or the comfort of the person and the people around…’
Thomas More.
‘Care of the Soul’
What will we actually do?
Sessions combine learning, self-reflection, discussion, focusing and physical sensitisation.
There’ll be practical guidance on becoming more present, exercises to uncover and refine your life-purpose, insights into the role of pleasure (including how to access flow state), one-on-one conversation with other participants, and time for group discussion, support and accountability.
If you’re accepted into the programme you’ll commit to attending all six group sessions and to contribute to creating a supportive and rigorous community in which all of us can thrive and grow. If you unavoidably miss a session – or simply want to watch one again – you’ll have access to a recording.
A map of the journey
Is it for me?
I work with people from all walks of life and from all around the world.
I’ve worked with therapists, coaches, educators, artists, business people, priests, activists, veterans, performers, health professionals and many others.
Most, though not all, of my clients are connected in one way or another with the arts, performance or creative practices.
Many of my clients come to me feeling disconnected, lost or trapped.
Often they sense there’s another life they could/should be living, or a new direction they might follow.
Sometimes they know what they want.
Sometimes they don’t.
They come to me to gain clarity and overcome blockages.
They come to reconnect with passion.
John is a wizard, powerful and wise, and uses liberating spells to unlock closed minds and soften toughened hearts.
Azariah France-Williams (UK)
‘We all make choices.
Often we make really smart choices.
The challenge is to know when a new choice is needed , and to be brave enough to make it.
It’s not too late, but nor is it too soon. If you know you need to change, start the process now. The longer you delay the harder it gets.
I ‘left’ the university three years before I left the university. Once I was on the path, I knew there would be no turning back.’
John Britton
Your Commitment
A group process needs a supportive and committed group. I ask, before you apply, that you commit to attending all six group sessions. They’ll take place on Thursday evenings at 7-8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time) via Zoom. They’ll be recorded so you can review them afterwards to dig deeper into the material.
Thursday November 7th: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
Thursday November 14th: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
Thursday November 21st: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
Thursday November 28th: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
Thursday December 5th: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
Thursday December 12th: 7.00pm – 8.30pm (Ireland/UK Time)
11.00 am (US West Coast)
2.00 pm (US East Coast)
9.00 pm (Athens)
11.30 pm (India)
The cost of the entire programme is £650 – with an early booking price of £550 available if you book before October 25th.
How do I apply?
If you’re interested in applying for one of the 12 places on ‘FInd Your Purpose (through Presence & Pleasure)’ please click on one of the buttons on this page.
You’ll be invited to choose a time to have a conversation with me.
Simple as that.
This initial call is ENTIRELY without obligation on either side.
Some more detail about the 3 Ps
Purpose
What’s your ‘WHY’?
Do you know what you’re trying to achieve?
Are you thriving or surviving?
Do you feel your real life is elsewhere, or hasn’t started yet?
Do you feel disconnected?
Without a ‘why’ – a sense that you’re doing what you were born to do – you’re denying your unique gifts to the world. That’s a terrible waste.
Once you know your purpose, you can commit – passionately – to shaping the sort of life you want to live.
Your Purpose is beyond words.
It’s a feeling of ‘rightness’.
You know when you’re living it.
Presence
Presence is a superpower.
It’s one of those things people know is ‘a good thing’ but usually don’t understand.
I make it really simple.
Presence means ‘not being distracted’.
Simple.
When you stop being distracted, you connect with the world around you – inside and out. You make better choices based on ‘what really is’, not the incessent chatter of your thoughts.
Being – and remaining – present is essential if you want to hear your little voice, from deep within, telling you who you were born to be.
Each week we’ll do some simple practical work to quieten the mind and enhance focus. From a place of quietness you get to hear your deepest and most vital voice – the voice your chattering mind usually drowns out.
During the sessions we’ll explore The 8 Principles of Presence.
Pleasure
There’s a thousand memes and quotes about it – ‘do what you love and you’ll never do a day’s work in your life’, ‘follow your bliss’……
But what does it actually mean – to put pleasure at the heart of your growth?
Prioritising pleasure means valuing intrinsic satisfaction over extrinsic reward. It means creating a life where you enjoy what you do, not only the rewards of what you do.
It means refusing to live a life of drudgery in exchange for a pay-cheque.
We’ll look at different TYPES of pleasure – in particular ‘hedonia’ and ‘eudomonia’.
How can they serve you at different times?
We’ll explore structuring your work so it doesn’t even feel like work anymore (accessing ‘flow state’).
People think committing to pleasure means doing what you like. None of us can do that all the time! Prioritising pleasure is not about doing what you like, it’s about finding what you love in what needs to be done.
