Clear the Clutter

"As we learn to let go of the extraneous chatter that clutters our mind, 

we discover that our true nature - our essential self - 

is actually the center of awareness, peace and compassion."

--Joan Borysenko

Pioneers

Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary!

I just wrote a post for one of my other blogs on the subject of happiness and my relationship with my daughter.

photo by: Robert Anschutz  

Our experiences in life are woven together.  For example, my experience with my daughter this week affects what I bring to this circle of women this week, as does my level of satisfaction with my work life, and whether I’ve gotten enough exercise this week, enough rest, and enough time to recharge, whatever those things are for me, particularly.

I expect each one of us in circle are juggling and managing between meetings, and I so look forward to each time we come together to experience how the weaving together of experiences will play out after being apart and making individual progress.  Coming together again as continually expanding individuals committed to personal growth, we get to experience a pretty rare phenomenon; rapid expansion.

It can sound scary.  It can feel intimidating.  We face resistance of the unknown.  We move together into uncharted territory, and we’ve gone down dead ends.  We find our way together.  It’s a choice.  It’s not for everyone.  You have to be willing to sometimes sacrifice the comfort of routine for progress.  For the pioneers who headed west in covered wagons, they didn’t welcome the rocky bed at night or the illnesses along the way, but they were determined to explore and to move into the new.  They were committed to change and to creating a better life.

We may not be enduring physical hardship, and we may not be circling up covered wagons, but we come together in a circle at regular intervals and we have declared a common journey and a desire to travel together.  We may not always like each other.  We may not always understand each other.  We may not always trust everyone in the circle.  And still, we are there for each other.  We are a community.  

Some of us started this journey a year ago and others have joined along the way.  Some have left the circle to pursue other journeys and we miss them and remember them with love.

We have beautifully completed the exploration phase of Center Circle, and we are ready for a more structured and consistent experience that delivers on the values we have expressed. We are super excited to move forward in new and exciting directions!

The following changes to the structure are effective first meeting in April.  Our intention is to keep things simple and work out help with administrative tasks and such, outside of circle time.

Our new meeting dates are 1st, 3rd, and 4th Sundays every month,  6pm- 8pm :) !

Established Structure Elements Going Forward:

1.      Wear comfortable clothing.  We may do some amount of movement in any given meeting.

2.      Going deeper – an opportunity in every meeting to go deeper individually and as a group.

3.      Improvisation – an element of Improv in every meeting to support creative and authentic personal expression. 

4.      A variety of exercises to include reflection, sharing, somatic, and art/creative experiences.

5.      All meetings will be facilitated by Lori and Andreea the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.  We are also joyfully offering the facilitation role to any of you, who for the sake of personal growth or out of love of sharing something of value with the circle, wish to take the opportunity to facilitate or present on the 4th Sunday of the month. On this day, we follow your instruction, and it can be as simple as sharing poetry together, watching a film, or as in depth of an experience as you wish.

6.      As usual there will be no meeting on the 2nd as well as the last, or occasional 5th Sunday of the month.

Changes:

1.      April 1st  will be the last “open” meeting

2.      April, May, June, July and August meetings will be closed to new members

3.      Guests are welcome to “try out” circle during the months of March or September.

4.      To become a member, one needs to be accepted by the group, with Lori and Andreea making the final decision on who is invited into the next 5 month series (October – February or April – August).

5.      Cost is $ 150 per person for each five month period  - payable during the “open” months of March and September; a second option is paying $30 per person per month, if that fits your budget more. (This covers the new fee of using the studio, materials, and compensation for a new level of facilitation and time on our part).

6.      If unable to pay, contact Lori or Andreea.  Alternative arrangements will be made on a case by case basis.

Center Circle’s Golden Rules:

The following are the things we’ve collected as essential elements for the group rules.  We will do a check in with these during the last part of our next meeting and then they will officially be in effect!

   ~ Compassionate- nonviolent communication -- whatever the nature of the emotion shared (ranging from anger to joy), it is welcomed and supported in the circle as long as its communication is respectful to all who are present.

 ~  Agreement to be an honest witness -- if you observe a communication pattern in a circle member or members that seems like subtle or not so subtle bullying,  please speak up about it, and we will address it together as a group.

   ~ Responsibility for one's self -- each person is encouraged to respectfully voice their needs, assumptions, or expectations, and is simultaneously encouraged to release the notion of being obligated to cater to others' needs more than their own. 

  ~  Talking Stick -- picking up the talking stick means :

                                             1) I wish to speak

                                             2) Let me speak until I am complete

  ~ Enter and leave mindfully -- the circle can be a place of deep processing and sharing, please honor the sanctity and charged potential of the space we all create. 

   ~ Sharing is Caring --  whether it's just a smile, a personal story, or a vulnerable passage - sharing who you are supports the expansion of trust within the circle - but please be true to yourself and do not share more than you are ready for.

We are so glad to share this time with you, and explore new levels of self and life whilst having each other’s support! See you all soon,

Lori and Andreea

Circle Meeting Cancelled this Sunday, March 4th

Dear Center Circle Friends and Wonder Women :)


Since our first meeting of the new year, we have all felt the winds of change in the natural unfolding of the circle. We are excited to say that after our last meeting, we have gathered enough fire to come to a new place of understanding and vision of what Center Circle is!  This past year has been full of exploration, coming together, and precious lessons. Now we are ready to move forward past the experience of simply gathering socially and into new, unknown territories- where personal and collective growth, deeper bonding, and real fun takes place! Last year we have only skimmed the surface and it was the perfect expression at the time; now, we are ready for much, much more!

Lori and I realized that we needed to cancel this Sunday's meeting to use this momentum of creativity wisely, and commit to writing and meeting regularly for the next days and weeks to put down on paper everything pertaining to the next chapter of our experience together in Center Circle. We will be in touch with all of you through email to let you know of the progress and new direction. Apologies to anyone that may be affected by this cancellation. Thanks for your continuous support, your wisdom, and amazing grace. Please contact us directly if you have any comments, questions, or personal concerns- we are here for you and happy to hear from you anytime . We will see you next on Sunday, March 18th, at 6PM.  In the meantime stay tuned for new updates through email and website posts!

 A wonderful weekend to all,


Andreea and Lori