Wisdom Circles ~ Voices From The Circle

A Wisdom Circles Quarterly Newsletter: The Archives

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Voices From The Circle

From Laurie Schur, Wisdom Circle Facilitator, Psychotherapist and writer in Los Angeles

I recently had the joy of leading a Wisdom Circle for Mothers and Daughters with my 28 year old daughter, Jessica. Jessica uses circle work with her K-2 students at a school in Santa Monica, CA, and I have facilitated circles with teens and adults in a variety of settings.

Jessica and I did a 2 night program at the Oaks, a spa in Ojai, CA. Our circles were small, intimate, fun, and deep. The participants enjoyed the opportunity to speak and listen from their hearts about mothers or daughters. They also reported to us that the easy flow of sharing and love between Jessica and myself was an added bonus to the circle. Working together in this sacred circle format with Jessica has taken our already close relationship to an even more profound level for me.

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From Cindy Spring in Meredith, NH., religious educator:

Two weeks ago I attended a church conference for teenagers. I had offered to lead a Wisdom Circle as one of the workshops. Twelve youth participated and we sat on sleeping bags on the floor surrounding a center with sacred cloth and candle. I opened with a reading from the book, then lit the candle. I had brought a talking stone and passed it as I asked each question.

I began by asking each of them to tell us their name and a little about it. Other questions were a favorite memory from childhood, something they wish they had handled differently, and what helps them through the hard times in life.

After almost two hours, I told them that it was time to close the circle. They were really disappointed, so I agreed to do one more round on whatever still needed to be said. Most responded with how much they appreciated having a chance to talk and listen in a safe and sacred space and how hard it is to find that in their daily lives.

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From Cindy Spring, Director of Wisdom Circles, in Oakland, CA:

A small group gathered into a wisdom circle on Spring Equinox and we used a large goose egg as our centerpiece. The egg prompted two questions: What about your life feels secure, comfortable, and something that you can absolutely count on? The next question was: Knowing that you cannot stay "in the egg" forever or else you'll die, what aspect of your life needs "breaking out of?" Where do you need or want to take a risk to "break out of a comfort zone?"

For each of us, a "significant other" was the most important thing we could count on in our lives. Then each of us spoke to some current situation such as work, physical health, or a limiting self-assessment that we wanted to transcend and improve. Everyone felt the two hours was very well spent.