“Writing begins your path to healing.”

Dr. David Hanscom

I truly believe that writing and healing are intertwined–I’ve personally experienced it and, as one of the hosts of the Writing from the Heart circle, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing it in others.

My initial love of writing came as a flow of consciousness. I was encouraged to sit in meditation and arrive in that calm space where thoughts arise and fall like clouds, attend to my breath, and then pick up a journal and simply write from that place. What often arose were beautifully profound messages in a language that was outside my daily expressions and vocabulary. I have several journals full of these writings that date back to 1989. I see them not only as beautiful writings and poems but as lessons and reminders of my journey through life.

Writing from the Heart evolved as an invitation for others to tap into a similar experience within the healing circles framework, which cultivates grounding and safety. Often, what circle members write involves adverse life or traumatic experiences that they may hesitate to share in a traditional talk-focused circle. Several participants have said that these circles have had a profound impact on their lives.

I was exposed to the health and neurological benefits of writing after a severe back injury in 2015. I had the good fortune to meet Dr. David Hanscom, a well-known orthopedic surgeon at Swedish Hospital in Seattle at the time. I had undergone a new, minimally invasive back procedure at the University of Washington with a brilliant neurosurgeon and was working with a physical therapist who introduced me to Dr. Hanscom. At our first meeting, he pronounced, “Expressive writing changes your brain and addresses your pain.”

Inspired by him and my own experience, I continued researching, reading, and digesting all that I could about the positive impacts of writing on the brain and overall health.

In the early stages of our collective experience with the 2020 COVID lockdowns, I was asked to become one of the early hosts for HCG. I was hesitant, a bit reluctant to learn new technology, and skeptical about whether it was possible to interact deeply with people online. However, these feelings quickly dissolved when I saw the power of the HCG training methodology, which cultivates a container of safety, deep listening, connection, and a mysterious magic. I was hooked!

I was then called to support the first writing circle hosted by another volunteer, and after that series ended, I was inspired to start “Writing from the Heart,” which launched in mid-September 2021. Over time, my co-hosts and I found the perfect balance between the group-based healing circle methodology and private time to write.

These circles are unique from other HCG talking circles because the simple act of writing stimulates multiple facets of our brains, a process that is described in greater detail by Dr. Hanscom, studies, and articles. By enhancing brain structures, chemicals, hormones, and other neurological functions, writing facilitates healing. It’s an excellent way to stimulate new neural pathways for our self-care.

The Writing from the Heart circle is a community made up of people from around the globe who are now deeply bonded and connected. I’ve learned so much and feel so deeply held by them! Whether the faces I see are new or familiar, this circle remains committed to nurturing co-creation, compassion, connection, and resilience.

How we incorporate writing into our healing circle

• The circle begins with a check-in, often with a theme related to the poem we read to stimulate the writing experience.
• We then bring in silence with the bell and incorporate a short grounding meditation.
• We use PowerPoint slides to read the agreements, and then incorporate a poem and image, which is read by the host, guardian, and/or one of the participants.
• We may offer writing prompts or simply invite the participants to “write what’s on their heart today.” We leave the poem/prompts on screen, and then invite participants to go off-screen with their audio muted to write in their own personal space for 15-20 minutes (most prefer 20).
• The guardian tracks the time and rings a bell two minutes before the end of the writing period.
• We return to the screen for the heart-share, during which participants can share their writings, the process of writing, what’s on their heart, or simply sit and witness. All is welcome.
• Participants honor and acknowledge what’s shared with simple gestures of hands over hearts, the universal gesture of prayer hands, a simple bow of the head, or the guardian rings a bell and says, “This bell is for you, [name].”
• If there is sufficient time, the hosts will also share. (If not, the hosts remain online after the circle ends to share among themselves or other participants who wish to stay.)
• After participants have shared what’s on their hearts, we invite a short harvest (a few words) of what we are taking away from the circle to sustain us until our next circle.
• Our closing may incorporate the host weaving a tapestry of words from the harvest into a short expression of the whole, then blowing out the candle and ringing a final bell.

Ode to my circle sisters

by Catherine Dussault
Written during a Writing from the Heart circle and inspired by Robert Longley’s poem titled “Connection”

I sit, I pause, I breathe… in and out.
Into the bell, then silence…
Deep Listening.

Memories flood my senses of circle stories shared,
of emotions the color of the rainbow,
all forms, all feelings,
all experiences are welcome here.
A reminder in this space we are not physical
we are virtual,
in our own physicality,
yet we are connected by heartbeats,
resonating to each other,
by threads of mycelium networks
grounding each other,
by star constellations
guiding each other.

We create and open all possibilities to stand,
to heal, to grow.

Surrounded in nature, my physical space here, connected into the bird sounds,
look up to see your beautiful faces scattered in different places.

Now sensing into sound…
Bird song, Your song, My song, Bell song,
All singing together.

Feeling the oneness.
Feeling the joy.
Feeling the grief.
Feeling the gratitude.

Healing my heart.
Healing my body.
Healing my mind.
Healing my soul.