Circle as Healing

Sacred Singing Circle, 2021

Circle is a space for you. We meet on neutral ground and we focus on what moves inside of us. This isn’t a space to gossip or judge. It is a space to unfold what means most to you. This may be in words. This may be in thoughts or feelings. Circle is a space for the heart.

So much of our lives is within our heads. Bound by thoughts and expectations, we run within timeframes and busy schedules. We are often distracted in our thoughts, and are mentally far fetched from the task we are actually doing in the physical world. We lack presence and awareness. This is an overall human challenge, to find presence and to let go of the power the thought realm has over us. Circle is a space to be present through words, experiences and listening. Time collapses as we sit by candlelight and nourish our hearts. We take a moment to truly be in our bodies and our hearts.

This experience inspires us to integrate more presence, more time, and more heart into our daily lives.

Circle is also a space to witness others. It opens a new realm of healing that breaks us free from what we know in one-to-one therapy sessions. We quite literally feel the mirror of ourselves through others and that moves our hearts. We find a belonging within ourselves and the people we share the space with that cannot be forged alone. We inspire each other. We empower each other. We move together. The spirit of the group is always unique. The themes which arise always align, comfort, console and gently heal.

Circle is not new to us. Gathering with sacred intentions and in a space we honour is woven into our heritage. We know this because when we sit down on the earth and flow through circle, it feels oddly familiar. It makes sense. We all have a heart. We all have a unique calling, a unique voice of soul that relates to all. We are from the earth, and we are human, so we share this deep, wordless connection that we feel intensely when we take space to acknowledge it. It is incredible what can happen in our lives when we do take that space to honour what means most to us.

It is immensely challenging for some who desire this space of heart but are afraid to gather with all that they are. We all have our unique timing and our unique way to come to know our heart. Circle is a space for all of you. But it isn’t a forceful space that says you have to share your deepest self. Everything we do is an invitation. However we agree that our stories are kept confidential and are not shared again outside of the space or talked about in conversation.

Within the flow of circle, there is space to be silent, to breathe, to relax, to speak, to listen and to create. Simply being there allows us the space to reflect on our lives. To pause. To be.

Guiding and curating circles is my heart calling. I have gathered in circle since the age of 6. I have held space for others since witnessing the birth of my brother at the age of 7. I revere the space of heart, the time to be present, and the experience of feeling the power of this moment. Time and again I have felt and witnessed the power this space has to gently transform and change our deepest selves for the better.

As a woman who isn’t guided by any particular religious or spiritual form (though circle suits those who are) circle has been like my church since the age of 18. It has been like the church of my heart and soul. I have been held through painful life experiences. I have witnessed the growing of babes in bellies, the perils and joys of motherhood and marriage. The pain of the heart and the gentle re-finding of the self. I have celebrated, and I have laughed till I cried. I have kept my feelings and thoughts to myself. I have also shared things that were immensely vulnerable but so liberating to finally say and know that my words were safe.

I invite you to a space for you. A space to be. To pause. To find meaning. Trust that you are meant to be there if you feel the call.

Thank you for trusting me in this space as guide. It is an honour to hold and celebrate your deepest self. I dearly look forward to witnessing you in circle dear woman.

At this time I curate circles for adult women through song, art and craft projects, sensory, movement and writing experiences. I also create experiences for mothers to bring their daughters seasonally and I work together with Phoebe Hofsteede in the summer months to work in nature in our skin through art and photography. My circles are in person experiences based in Samford, Brisbane, Australia.

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Thank you my dears xx

Photo credit to my dear friend Sam Macpherson