Yesterday, I finished my Circle Facilitation Training with Sister Stories.
Over the course of four months I have experienced an entirely different way of studying, of approaching course material, of teaching. Structure was offered but optional, the timetable and materials were expansive and generous, the messaging was crystal clear and the expectations were minimal. Presence, heart and openness were presented as being the only real requirements. And even then, there was an explicit message that our individual capacities trumped all else.
I sat with other women from all over the globe, up to three times a week, to share, learn and grow together. Some days we spoke of our lives, others we turned to one another for inspiration and support regarding the specifics of the course and our professional development. For an hour each week we worked quietly together on Zoom, a space for encouragement and accountability that, in a crowded field, proved to be one of my favourite parts of the course. We were led by experts in the fields of grief, finding our voice, soul led marketing, and inclusivity, through profound and revealing interactive workshops. We celebrated our wins and held one another’s losses and were encouraged always to show up exactly as we were in each moment. I’ve never experienced anything like it. And still it felt entirely known. Like coming home. A sense of an ancient magic deep in my bones. Alchemical. People often talk of trainings being transformative. Well this one was. I am a different shape now. My heart feels larger. My capacity expanded. Because for the first time in my life I trusted in a group of women I didn’t know, without the assistance of any kind of mind altering substance, and allowed myself to experience their generosity, their complexity, their joy and pain, their laughter and gravity, without suspicion or cynicism.
The Sisterwound has been strong in me. As I know it is in so many women. For me and my fellow Gen X women, coming of age under the cloud of the lad and ladette, it has a particular flavour. Always pitted against one another. Always compared and found wanting. Always expected to excuse mens’ terrible behaviour because god forbid you weren’t cool. And this course, this act of gathering with other women on a regular basis and trusting them to hold my truths, has been profoundly healing on that front. I feel the kinship, the support, even online. It’s palpable. And it has been so soothing to my poor worn out nervous system. In fact with all the bullshit going on in the world right now it couldn’t have come at a better time. We shared our horror at the Epstein Files, the wars, the evil, and the oppression being perpetrated by patriarchal, capitalist, racist, sexist systems and I was inspired and galvanised by the passion of that group of glorious, strong, tender, fiery women. Our rage was given space and voice. Our sorrow and grief taken with exactly the right amount of seriousness. Our tears welcomed and allowed to flow without apology or excuses.
It’s going to take some time for it all to land and organise itself within me. But it has already shown me the power of women gathering. I knew theoretically that Circle work was important. I felt in my soul that it was work I needed to be doing. But now I know why. Because I have experienced the power and magic of being held in Circle with other women and I know in each layer of my being, in every part of myself, that it can change the world.
I will be hosting monthly online Women’s Circles under the name Soul Stories. The first one is on 27th March. You can find more information here.
To book click here.