Emptier The Host, Fuller The Circle

Apr 20, 2018 | permalink

Our London ecosystem is thriving in all kind of directions, with Trishna's untiring laddership. Every month, four different Awakin Circles are hosted in four parts of the city. Apart from Trishna's circle, Ani hosts it in Mill Hill, Mita in Harrow, and Vicky and Rosa are the most recent additions in Camden. All of them speaks of its transformative power. As a result, it has yielded connections with all kinds of micro communities, with a potent many-to-many field. Just in my few days there, we had 3 circles, 1 retreat, 2 conferences, and many interviews and meetings -- ranging from speaking to 500 investment bankers to deep-tie circles and a full day "Soil, Soul, Society" retreat.

In laddering, it becomes clear how many things native in ServiceSpace aren't so trivial to put into practice. For instance, as Awakin Circle hosts, we quickly realize that this isn't exactly "event management" -- the event doesn't start at 7PM and end at 11PM. It starts well before, with all the pre-work to "build the field" and continues well after, in supporting all the ripples. After a while, post-work becomes pre-work for the next circle, and the whole thing folds onto itself, and it's just more work after more work, without any expectation of an outcome. :) It calls for an untiring mind.

As I landed in London, we held a "deep ties" circle with about 25 local anchors. It was beautiful. Satish Kumar lovingly joined us as a "guest listener," and underscored the importance of working without a destination and embracing the more difficult path.



Another thing that also becomes very clear is that the circle's value is directly proportional to the host's capacity to handle deviance. If the host is one-dimensional, only people who relate to the host's worldview will be moved to join. But as the host is able to expand his/her heart, it allows for many more kinds of people to engage in the circle.

Emptier the host, fuller the circle.