Facilitator Courses
This course is designed to enable trained facilitators to deliver The Mighty Heart® course effectively and confidently. The course is made up of eight modules which will be delivered online to the group, in each session our experienced Course Guide will take you through the texts, the stories, examples and challenges.
The course also includes one to one sessions, self-practice between sessions, evaluations and the option of extra coaching.
The Mighty Heart course is both a training and a transformational journey into the power of the heart. We ask that facilitators make use of the skills they have learned in the spirit of service, taking their knowledge to communities and situations where it is needed most.
We will be announcing our next course dates shortly through Scilla’s newsletter, along with how to apply and course costs. We offer bursaries for those working in conflict resolution and in areas of armed conflict.
Your journey
8 modules over 10 weeks delivered online will offer you:
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What breaks your heart? When we own the loss, the grief, and the anger in our lives, we can discover and tap into a vast energy for change. Opening the heart makes compassion possible. Heart centred communication can change family life, transform negotiations and even stop a killing.
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Deep Listening. Fully listening to another person, especially someone you dislike, can enable insight and start a process of profound connection and understanding. It takes practice, but once learned can reveal vital information that you both can use to prevent and resolve conflict.
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Taming your Inner Critic. This module enables those (90%) of us) who are plagued by Imposter Syndrome, to transform this inner critic into an ally, and even a guide. The taming process includes a much-heightened awareness, and access to tools that work with this energetic force.
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Cleaning Anger. We learn how to notice the rising tide of our anger, examine it, and then turn its power into an internal fuel that ultimately gives us the energy to put right cruelty and injustice. This transformation can change lives.
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Developing Presence. Using pure alert awareness, train yourself to have the kind of innate presence that is powerful enough not only to de-fuse a tense situation but can even save lives. Herein lies a great true story.
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Heart Intelligence. Left-brain linear thinking is obsessed with argument, results, measurement, and ‘winning’. As you develop the intelligence of the heart, when faced by an apparently insoluble problem your intuition will begin to see the whole picture and use compassion to find solutions that benefit all.
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Taking a Stand. When faced by an issue you care about, learn to be able to stand up, stand your ground, and deliver your message with courage, clarity, presence and purpose. You know what that looks like. You can do it.
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You are in Service. The major decision reached by the Business Plan for Peace team last year is that The Mighty Heart has a huge role to play in re-balancing the current consumer mantra: “what can I get?” with a new passion: “what can I give?”. This course enables you to be part of the millions worldwide who have decided to be in service to building a safer future for all.
All these skills require one thing…the expansion of the heart. Each module is backed by exercises and small group discussions, and participants are provided with resources that fully illustrate all the material with stories and space for personal reflection.
Our team
Dr Scilla Elworthy
Founder
Triple nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with Oxford Research Group to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics. She founded Peace Direct in 2002 to fund, promote and learn from local peace-builders in conflict areas, was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003, the Luxembourg Peace Prize in 2020, the GOI Peace Award in 2023 and advised Peter Gabriel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in setting up ‘The Elders’. Her TED talk on nonviolence has been viewed by over 1,500,000 people. Her latest books The Mighty Heart: how to transform conflict (2020), and The Mighty Heart in Action (2022) were the inspiration for The Mighty Heart online courses which she teaches alongside her daughter Polly. Connect with Scilla here.
Polly McAfee
Head Facilitator
Polly is an experienced trainer, therapist, author and group facilitator in the field of sexual empowerment and relationships. She helps participants live fully in their bodies and joyfully explore sensuality, free from inherited scripts about what they should be doing or should enjoy. Polly has also been instrumental in spreading the idea of crowd funding for social change through her co-founding of thefundingnetwork.org.uk . Last but not least, Polly is Scilla’s daughter, and delighted to be collaborating with The Mighty Heart, a beautiful overlap of their respective passions. More about her work can be found here.
Sophia Pollexfen
Administrator
Project and events manager, Sophia has worked with Scilla for the last few years on various projects including the evolution of The Mighty Heart. Her previous work includes organising global events, brand strategy and creative copy writing. Being able to support an organisation that so closely matches her values is a heartfelt joy!
Your words
Testimonials from previous participants on The Mighty Heart® Facilitation Course.
The Mighty Heart is a reminder that all true wisdom and knowledge reside in the heart. In times of confusion and polarization, this heart-centered knowing is essential. In my work on fostering dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, I integrate the Mighty Heart skills into every dimension of my peacebuilding work — from women’s inclusion and peacebuilding training to creating spaces where feminine qualities can guide and sustain this vital work.
It is through the heart that we must connect — civil society and politicians, women and men, people across conflict lines and beyond. The Mighty Heart is not just a method; it is the foundation for any meaningful path to peace.
– Ludmila Lipskaya, Women Centred Coach, Educator and Facilitator
The Mighty Heart course was a turning point in my life. In the beginning I was a bit sceptical, because I always romanticized the heart, but in the end I felt that it is the seat of wisdom, love and freedom. It was and is an exciting, intense journey and I am happy and grateful to have started it.
– Elisabeth Weilenmann, Author, Director and Journalist
The course has really raised my awareness of the sheer power and strength of the heart as a physical and also spiritual source of energy. In turn, this has strengthened my own being and led me to speak out as an elder in my communities – at home and work – in clear and direct ways which I would not have previously spoken. For example, I have spoken to the pain in the hearts of US scientists as they discuss the threats to their research and their colleagues; I have acknowledged in a group call the sad and desperate email from our Hungarian colleague who fears his EU-funded nature organisation will be closed down by the government. And I feel released into stepping into my elderhood in these communities and holding the heart space for all as more friends and contacts turn to me / my heart for sharing and support.
– Elizabeth Riminton-Drury, Environmentalist, Campaigner and Political Strategist
During the recent Mighty Heart online course, these words hit me like lightning – “Don’t die before you take a stand” – clear, fierce, undeniable. That moment became the turning point of my life. I took a two-year sabbatical from the Japanese bank where I have worked for 24 years; it was a leap into the unknown. I have now enrolled in the Peace Studies and International Development at the University of Bradford in the UK. I want to bring my skills in project planning and management into the field of global peace building. I want to serve in a way that spreads compassion, understanding, and courage.
This path won’t be easy. But it’s mine. And it’s worth walking. And to you who are reading this: If you’re standing at a crossroads, wondering whether to follow your heart – it’s never too late to choose a new path.
– Kayoko Nemoto, Peace Studies and International Development student
FIND OUT MORE
Please contact us for more information or personal requests.
We will announce the next course on Scilla’s newsletter along with costs, information about bursaries and how to apply.
If you’d more information about the course content, coaching or any other aspect of the work of The Mighty Heart® we’d love to hear from you – email Sophia on contact@mightyheart.co.uk.
