MANUAL FOR SETTING UP A WOMENS GROUP

A. Preface

Welcome to the world of Circles!

I became involved in Women’s Groups, or Circles, (and I use these words interchangeably) when I was living and working in Singapore. At that time I was studying Gestalt Therapy and facilitating workshops in the corporate world. I was a participant in one of Diane McCann’s workshops, “The Goddess Within”. As a follow up to the course, women were invited to participate in monthly evening Circles. I had the opportunity to facilitate them and just loved being a part of these Circles.

I learned that women have been sitting in Circles for centuries all over the world. Through the ages, they have come together to acknowledge important milestones in their lives such as, menstruation, pregnancy, birth, marriage, menopause and death. They have used this forum to mark and honor the natural cycles of their lives and to draw upon the profound support and healing that comes from one human being bearing witness to another human being’s existence. I learned that women also came together in Circles outside of these milestones, to simply support themselves and each other and to bring more community and intimacy into their lives.

I feel very passionate about Circles for many reasons:

The lack of ritual in our Western culture leaves many people feeling isolated, alone and empty. Coming together like this allows us to connect deeply with each other and to nature. The love and peace that women bring forth in these Circles is extraordinary as is the sense of community that is created. A space is opened up for the sacred or spiritual to enter our lives.

The frenetic pace with which we interact with the world means that we don’t often stop to connect with ourselves internally, to see how we’re feeling. Sharing our own imperfections and inadequacies in a safe and confidential environment is very healing and offers crucial support to accept those imperfections with more compassion towards ourselves. This process is known as ‘normalizing’.

We live in a society that is obsessed with appearance and we are bombarded with messages about the importance of looking after our physical appearance. Attending to how we feel on the inside is not a focus in our society yet it is essential for our mental and emotional health and well being. Being part of a regular Circle or Group provides this opportunity.

The Circle experience can, and often does, have a radically positive effect on relationships outside the Circle because it can provide a model - a place to practice honest and caring communication as well as deep listening, until this becomes normal practice in one’s life.

You may be wondering what actually happens in these Circles. There are as many different ways to gather in a Circle as there are countries, cultures and tribes across the world. The ones I facilitate have both a spiritual and emotional focus. They provide a place for women to explore and develop their experience and understanding of their own spirituality while offering a vehicle to increase self awareness and simply learn more about themselves and who they are in the world. They are different from a therapy group in that the facilitator does not do therapy with group members. Everyone learns from each other’s sharings and how other group members handle similar challenges or difficulties in their lives.

I wrote this manual for women who wanted some guidance in creating their own monthly groups or Circles. This manual is also useful for women who are interested in setting it up as a business. Either way, I wish you many blessings in this exciting journey.

Namaste

1. STRUCTURE OF THE CIRCLE