As social art practitioner I
support
transformation
through
presencing
Creating generative spaces for
future impulses to emerge.
We practice deep listening,
staying with discomfort,
and being with not-knowing.
I co-create and
cultivate stillness, mindful
presence, awareness of and
attention to the
social field.
Presencing Institute
www.presencing.org
"If you want to affect and impact outer change, you need to culitvate the interior dimension first. That's the leverage which will transform our relationships. And if we transform our relationships, we transform everything."
Otto Scharmer
Co-founder of the Presencing Institute
pause, open,
listen
Opening the mind, the heart, and the will is the gateway to holding space for others and for listening with care, compassion and courage, also to oneself.
What I offer
I specialize in providing training courses and practice circles and holding space in one-on-one sessions that support self-awareness and deeper knowing. The processes lead to a felt sense of the depth of our connection: with oneself, with the potential waiting to be realized, with others, and with the living Earth.
Suffering burn-out in 2005, early in my teaching career, I discovered how a breakdown can be a break-through. During this time I found Joseph Jaworski's Synchronicity and Otto Scharmer's Theory U and discovered how both dovetailed remarkably with my inquiry into centre-periphery wholeness and the double time-stream in my movement work (as eurythmy teacher) alongside my mentor, Ursula Zimmermann. I learnt increasingly to teach from the heart, to stay in touch with the body, and operate from presence in the moment.
From Robert Sardello's Heartfulness practices I have gained how the body-world continuum and this unified process stands at the centre of sensing with the heart.
Now in my 60s, my training to become a practitioner of Social Presencing Theatre has introiduced me to my new teacher in Arawana Hayashi. My eploration of the social field, listening modalities, heart-centred leading, and presencing comes together in this beautiful social art and it enhances my movement teaching.
I have been enrolled in the Presencing Institute's u-lab 1x courses since 2024 and continue to discover more depth and potency in it.
My quest is to facilitate and support my clients and course participants in their growing awareness, honing their capacity to listen deeper and learn from deeper knowing.
And then there is Love.
As a member of the Active Practical Love Initiative, furthering the work of Dr Tessabella Lovemore, I facilitate the How to Love course and the Hoe om Lief te Hê kursus.
(Visit www.tessabellalovemore.com or click on the arrow in the Contact page.)
Embodied Presence
Eurythmy
Particular eurythmy movements express being present in empathic listening, or help to become centred in the body.
Social Presencing Theatre (SPT)
I use embodying practices in all my courses and sessions to cultivate a felt sense of the social field or the dynamic interplays in listening. The practices of Social Presencing Theatre help to feel the body in the current reality and to sense potential and possibility.
SPT Practitioner Development Program
Please support my campaign to attend the 9-month Social Presencing Theatre Practitioner Development Program from June '26 to March '27: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/support-cobies-training-in-embodied-presence
Features
Sensing from deeper inner places of knowing, you or your team can develop listening capacity, access grounded clarity and a stronger sense of purpose, learn to connect from the heart, and recognise your authentic contribution to the good in the world.
One-on-One Presencing Sessions
I hold a generative space where you explore and connect with what is emerging in your work or personal life. Find more centred grounding, or clarify intentions and identify your next steps - the space is yours. Each session is like an artwork that comes into being through our co-creating, conversation, and embodying. You choose if you want only 1 session or a series of sessions, each building on the other. We meet in person, in Cape Town, or online on an agreed platform.
Learn MoreListening Practitioner's Circles
In this intensive series of 7 sessions participants immerse themselves in the Theory U listening framework This framework guides you: - to shift your inner place of listening, - to practice listening in real time, - to learn to hold space for deeper connecting. We cultivate stillness, embody, journal, discuss, explore and experience, and practice the capacity to lead from the heart.
Learn MoreListening Circles in the Workplace
A complex world asks for ever deeper listening to know how to steer through, to make good decisions, and to operate from a stronger sense of our inherent connectedness. Teams that bring attention to their listening create the potential strengthening the quality of relationships, bring care and connection into the workplace, and enable transformative change. The levels of listening framework is a potent framework to facilitate generative decision-making in meetings. I tailor the course to your specific needs.
Learn MoreTestimonials
Alix C.
Participant in a Listening Practitioner's CircleThe listening circle helped me to strengthen the bridge between me and my friends. I have learnt to be more attentive, more observing, more gentle and understanding of others around me. It is amazing what happens when one truly feels heard.
Nadia L.
Participant in a Listening Practitioner's CircleCobie's work had a profound impact on me. I would go as far as saying that meeting her, and embarking on her work, changed my life. I am exploring ways to understand myself and life better and love finding ways to "know thyself", but this gentle and incredible new learning of listening that she teaches is subtly potent and powerful and it will awaken you to things you didn't even consider or know before. I still have much to learn, but I would deeply recommend embarking on this process. It's the biggest gift you could give yourself.
Ebrahim J.
Client who attended a Listening Circle in the WorkplaceCobie helped me unlock a deeper level of communication—adapting how I speak, strengthening how I listen, and improving my relationships at work and at home. Through practical tools and thoughtful guidance, I learned how to navigate difficult conversations, express myself with more clarity and confidence, and understand others on a deeper level. Her approach is insightful, grounded, and immediately applicable, creating lasting positive change both personally and professionally.
Dennis S.
Client in One-on-One Presencing SessionsOver the years I have found that the essence of meaningful wisdom seems typically and consistently to be found in the present moment, experienced with alertness. The one-on-one "Presencing" sessions that I have enjoyed with Cobie Roelvert have been highly distilled experiences, presented with well sharpened tools that I am able to take away and use again and again, in my own time.
Blog
Contact
- Cape Town, South Africa
- In person sessions in Plumstead, Cape Town. Online sessions: Monday to Friday 08.00 to 16.00 SAST or by arrangement. Trainings / circles in your workplace, school, or community.
Let's get in touch. I offer a complimentary 30-minute conversation to get to know your needs and for you to meet me.
thing today