Circle Of Love

Nov 10, 2016 | permalink

Tonight was the most number of people Trishna had crammed into her living room for an Awakin Circle. 

After the hour of silence, sixty-five of us did a short circle of introductions.  It was clear that everyone felt the love in the room -- although no one could pinpoint its source.  Some were moved by the space, some by the feel of the room, some by the shares, some the number of people -- one even by the smell of the food. :)  

I also shared some stories around the power of circles and then concluded with Neil's 11th birthday story -- which was particularly special because Neil was right there in the room!  He later came up to me and looked me squarely in the eyes, and said something like, "Thank you.  I really appreciate this."  I knew he deeply meant it.  Another woman poignantly, "It felt like some Boddhisattvas were among us tonight."  It did feel like one of those nights. :) 

As usual, just by being together, lots of magic unfolded.  Several people now want to start circles in their own context. A blind woman shared how she is excited to volunteer.  People were tagging each other, right in that room.  Bunch of folks brought home-made dessert.  A young man later wrote, "I've picked up Smile Card fever. Can I pick up some more cards?"  A psychotherapist shared this …
 

Thank you for yesterday evening. It was wonderful to bathe in the circle’s atmosphere.  I thought you’d enjoy hearing about the immediate impact meeting you has had on some of my work.

I consult to a group of Nursery (kindergarten) schools and today we were discussing some children’s difficulty in sharing. I was thinking about how much focus is put on children sharing and on taking turns, how much they are rewarded for it but also how transactional some of the approach is, i.e. if you do this then you will get that.  So I re-framed the focus with the staff and talked about the pleasure the children could get simply from giving. In sharing there is a sense of losing, of giving up. I think it would be helpful to give the children the opportunity of experiencing the pleasure of giving.

Another example was of a boy with very delayed language and how they thought it would be helpful to take him out of the main group but with another child. The discussion was about whether  to choose a particular child to assist him with his language problems or to vary the children. There was concern that the accompanying child would mind or be upset at leaving the main group. Again I thought about what you have said about kindness and the power of giving. I suggested asking different children on different days and making it quite a privilege to be the child who is kind and will help this little boy. Children can be acutely aware other children’s needs and I thought it would be great if they felt they were being kind and helpful. It’s a win-win situation. Staff then spoke of how one little girl had already said happily that today she had helped him make words.

So there you are, the ripples are spreading.

In the circle, I shared a story of how my Dad gifted his sweater to a circle guest who was moving -- who then moved to India and would tune into the live-stream of the circle wearing that sweater.  To illustrate, I picked up a sweater of someone sitting next to me.  By the end of the night, he gifted me that sweater! :)

Onwards we march.