In this post I wanted to take a brief look into some of the day-to-day work we do at interself. This post provides a quick overview of our Bus Tour exercise, which is one of our core modules and required for all of our counselors to complete in order to work at interself.
The Bus Tour is a reflective exercise that utilizes one’s biography as the catalyst for growth by directing one’s present experience toward acceptance, integration and healing. Now, it should be mentioned, the Bus Tour cannot be completed adequately in a day or a week. Rather, it takes a minimum of a few months. Recall it is a reflective exercise. I cannot overstate that maximizing the effectiveness of the Bus Tour requires both intentionality and time: collecting one’s memories and hopes into a cohesive and adaptive whole that compels transformation is a process that cannot be taken lightly or done quickly. Further, the Best Tour is best completed in community with those really invested in you.
How does the Bus Tour work?
As symbol, memory, imagination and time are central to the formation of identity, the Bus Tour joins narrative theory to the psychodynamic theory of multiple self-states to develop self-understanding anew. Today it is well-accepted that personality is not understood in terms of “nature vs. nurture” but both “nature and nurture.” In other words, personality is not only something that we inherit, but it is also constructed through various key formative experiences throughout our lives. The way we felt and saw ourselves at certain times, and the way we imagine ourselves being, has strong lasting impressions that inform our identity at various conscious and unconscious levels.
The objective of the Bus Tour is healing through integration. Often, we experience dissonance and confusion because of conflicting experiences and expectations. The Bus Tour is an exercise of self-organization through embracing the world and experiences. It has seven steps:
Step 1: Imagine a 40-person tour bus full of people from all ages and walks of life just setting out for a tour. You are the bus driver and it is your job to tend to your passengers needs and to get them to their destination safely and efficiently.
Step 2: Now, draw a seating chart for your tour bus. Make sure your drawing is big enough to label the names of passengers on their respective seat leaving room to write a few brief notes (i.e. nickname, characteristics, appearance) about your passengers. The bus should have 20 rows with an aisle down the center and a single seat on each side. Don’t forget the bus driver’s seat up front.
Step 3: Now, it’s time to imagine your passengers and seat them on the bus. However, there is a catch …this is where the exercise gets interesting (note, to do this step correctly it will take weeks maybe even months but, the outcome is well worth it!).
The catch is this: each of these passengers is you! However, not the present you – the present you (the you you present to the world every day) is the bus driver. Instead, the passengers are various past, future and feeling versions of you. Who you were, hope to be and how you feel at various times as well as what you believe about yourself composes your passenger list. Thus, your bus’s seating chart should have passengers of all ages, each of whom understand themselves in particular ways that involves feelings (i.e. anger, happiness, sadness) and role obligations (i.e. parent, sibling, spouse, professional). Note, it is important to recognize here that many of your passengers will most likely be a complex mix of many elements. You task in this step is to personify each of your passengers as a symbolic character that readily communicates who they are and what they mean to you. For example, an angry destructive feeling might be suitably characterized as hit man or even the grim reaper. Characterizing your passengers is especially important in the case of feelings and beliefs, doing so will give them an equal voice. They deserve it– they are an equal part of you. Make sure to name your passengers too – it doesn’t have to be formal or personal name, only that which you designate them. Pick a name that resonates with you – that is what is most important.
Note, it is cannot be overstated how central it is to this step that you let both your memory and imagination do the work. When you start composing your passenger list, see what memories come to mind, what feelings and what hopes. These present experiences of these different versions of you inform who your passengers are.
Step 4: Now, once you finally have a good passenger list and you feel like you know each of your passengers well, step away from the exercise and relax for a week. Give yourself the permission to not reflect that much. Do not skip this step. It is like days off from a gym routine – down time is incremental to healing and growth.
Step 5: After your hiatus, the time has come to finally introduce your passengers to one another. Pay close attention to what they say and even closer attention to how you feel about what they say. Most importantly, make sure to observe how you, the bus driver, responds to the interaction of the passengers. Note, how well the passengers get along and if any dislike each other. What does the bus driver do when the passengers don’t get along? Does the bus driver show favorites?
It should be stated that introducing your passengers to one another and observing your bus driver’s response to their interaction will provide weeks of reflection. Note: the experience can be very intense at times. Make sure you have a network of support, not so much to think through your reflections as much as to be present with you as you reflect and endure anything had that emerges.
Step 6: Take the appropriate time (1 – 2 weeks) off from step 5 once complete. Time provides an occasion to let your nerves settle and for the unconscious processes to work themselves out. Like with step 4, do not skip this step. Taking time off is like rest at the gym – it is is necessary for healing and growth.
Step 7: Once you have with through the steps and you feel at peace with your passengers, select some people you trust to share what you discovered. These should be sensible people who celebrate you. Make sure to allocate enough time in the conversation and do it in the appropriate setting. Sharing in community is integral to healing.
We would love to hear your thoughts on the Bus Tour, especially your results if you choose to do the exercise. And, if you would like signup to do this module with an interself counselor, please don’t hesitate to arrange a free consultation today to find out more.
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