Wisdom Circles ~ Voices From The Circle Archives


A Wisdom Circles Quarterly Newsletter: The Archives Archives 1 2 3 4 5


	~ Voices From The Circle ~ From Cindy Spring, Director of Wisdom Circles: "I led several circles at the end of 1998 in an effort to focus community attention on the fact that our beloved independent bookstore in Berkeley, CA, Gaia Bookstore and Community Center, was about to close its doors. We asked people to be forthcoming, and say why they thought Gaia's sales were falling. What was revealed in those circles became a microcosm of how our habits and practices were changing and a new form of community center was pressing to be born. The upshot was an outpouring of renewed community support and new directions for Gaia. Best of all they are not closing, but planning to open an expanded center in 2000! " *~~~* From Jeanne Blackstone, Community Group Coordinator of the LA chapter of the Institute of Noetic Sciences: "I initially experienced a wisdom circle when Cindy Spring led one for the Southern California IONS community group leaders in 1997. The results were so powerful that IONS LA changed its monthly day-long meeting from a speaker/audience format to speaker followed by wisdom circles. Recently, Ted Hayes, LA's foremost authority on homelessness, outlined the issue and then everyone became a participant in framing possible solutions. Without the wisdom circle format, I don't believe we would have discovered - or shared - the depth of our own feelings, nor committed to take action steps together. Enthusiastic feedback from long time group members and newcomers alike suggests we've found a way to combine "noetic" pursuits, inner explorations and the issues of the world around us." ~~~ From a long-time practitioner of the Wisdom Circle format: Last year I received word that my mother was soon to die from her lengthy bout with cancer. I rushed to my home town in the Midwest to be with her and I knew my brother would be there also. He and I had been estranged for years because he could not abide the fact that I was gay. My sister, brother and I were with Mother for several days before she passed away. I decided to tell them about the wisdom circle format and surprisingly, they all agreed. So, in my mother's bedroom, the four of us held the circle. I raised the question of what we were each going to carry into the world as a legacy from my mom. I know she was deeply touched by the outpouring of love and admiration for her from the three of us. Later, in the hallway, my brother came up to me and said he was truly sorry for all the years we had not communicated and said he hoped we could be closer. I know that would not have happened if we hadn't had the safety of the circle to speak to each other from our hearts.