In the silence before we speak in circle, we give ourselves permission to access and allow any emotion that is present. Circle gives us the strength to feel and explore what we might otherwise have buried. We don’t direct emotion to any other member of the circle but, instead, offer it to the center as fuel for the fire.

Sitting on the rim of the circle as host and guardian, we bear witness. If we have done our work exploring our own emotional interior, we can stay longer with another’s pain and suffering without being triggered ourselves. The ancient Taoists called this “earning your pearl;” it is holding without taking on, or catch and release.

The following blog posts provide more information.

Fear and Anxiety

Sitting with Uncertainty

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The following discussion (originally posted January 22, 2012) is an example of circle taking place in many forms. Because Terri Mason asked the original questions, this post is attributed to her, but many others contributed. In the thread below,…

The Faces of Fear

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Participants in a Callanish circle were invited to name the many faces of fear.

Grief and Loss

elephant sitting on bench

Dying without an elephant

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Toward the end of my brother’s life, he spent every waking hour in a faux-leather armchair by his living room window. He was companioned by the puff-puff-puffing of an oxygen concentrator, a walker with a basket full of pills, a laptop that…

Let the Sacred Festivities Begin

Christina Baldwin was the "sacred emcee" at Kelly Lindsay's celebration of life. What follows is her introduction, which makes more sense if you kept up with Kelly's CaringBridge blog. Christina and Ann Linnea are founders of The Circle Way…
Veins of a leaf

Poems and Essays Written in Honor of Kelly

Gathering by Gary Vallat (written after a massive circle for Kelly that took place at Soundview Center) For Kelly and Diana Lindsay The crowd enters the sanctuary milling about appreciating the beauty of the place, anticipating the…

Tributes to Kelly Lindsay

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Tributes from Healing Circles Langley Kitty Adams: Kelly’s mind was brilliant, but it was his warm welcome that drew me into HCL. In my raw state after the death of my husband, every time I walked through that door, Kelly greeted me with…
Snowy winter scene

Words from a Caregiver 

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Claire Robson from Vancouver, Canada, joined a new healing circle at Callanish and shares her experience and perspective as a member. 
Commonweal bluffs

Caring for a Soulmate

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Deborah Baker first learned about healing circles at Commonweal’s Cancer Help Program. She describes her caregiver journey and how healing circles could have helped. She is inspired to start a healing circle for caregivers in Hawaii.
Fire in wood stove

A Healing Circle for Supporters

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As co-host of a new healing circle for caregivers at Callanish (in Vancouver, Canada), Susie lets the circle do the work. With minimal structure, the participants create their own healing and meet their own needs. 
Healing Circles Houston

Healing Circles Houston: Where BIG Meets the Pace of Guidance

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Healing Circles Houston has been opening doors of opportunity since 2016 in partnership with many like-minded organizations throughout our communities.

A Conversation with a Widow’s Nervous System

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The pain of loss is such an isolating experience, where the outside and inside of us are not aligned. We are out of sync with humanity, and yet we are inside an experience that each and every one of us will have.

Love and Joy

The Healing Power of Love

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A terminal diagnosis led to 10 lessons on love and the start of Healing Circles Langley.

Allow

There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado.  Dam a
stream, and it will create a new
channel.  Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground.  The only
safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild with the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes.

by Danna Faulds
from her book, Go In and In
Published with permission

The Three Questions

In the video below, Khris Ford, of The Austin Center for Grief and Loss, discusses the three questions that we face as we walk the path through grief:

  • What is lost?
  • What is left?
  • What’s possible?

Header photo courtesy of Callanish