Creating Spaces Where You Can Be Yourself — and Support Others - learning from Japan

This session introduces Lessons of Life, a programme in Japan that explores how we relate to suffering and support in everyday life.

Beyond the programme itself, we will share how its ideas have inspired young people to create their own spaces for dialogue. One example is “Yoridokoro,” a student-led circle where young people come together to explore questions about life without needing immediate answers. (“Yoridokoro” in Japanese means a place where you can feel grounded or supported.)

Rina is a junior doctor in her 20s who first encountered Lessons of Life as a university student. At that time, she often found herself blaming her own feelings when facing difficulties. Through the programme, she began to notice the background of her struggles and the sources of support in her life, which gradually changed how she related to herself.

During university, she co-founded “Yoridokoro,” where young people explored questions about life and support together, without needing immediate answers.

Now working in a clinical setting, she continues to bring this learning into both her medical practice and community activities, sharing it with young people.

The session includes an interactive experience and invites participants to reflect on how they might begin creating such spaces in their own contexts.

In terms of format, we are planning an interactive session:

• Approximately 60 minutes: a facilitated, experiential introduction to Lessons of Life, including dialogue with participants
• Approximately 20 minutes  : Rina sharing her experience, including how she and her peers created “Yoridokoro” and how this continues to influence her current work
• Approximately 10 minutes: Q&A

Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82622396296?pwd=aO2gdjbDW0pSjpBgkkMB9ZhyTL800m.1

Meeting ID: 826 2239 6296

Passcode: 818362