It’s already three years!
The time has really flown by, I have to say, since I started holding my ‘Women Circle of Wisdom’ on 24th July 2014!
It has gone so fast that I only realised after I held the circle this week that this month coincided with my third anniversary and that it was happening even on the same day …
Three years ago I woke up one morning in July and heard this subtle voice telling me to start a circle, little I knew back then how this would have changed me as a woman and as a person.
That morning all my fears came up to my consciousness to visit me and have a chat, but what was the turning moment for me was the realisation of who I am and what my values are and how important they are in making who I am. I realised that I am a meditator and a visionary whatever I do, wherever I live and whomever I encounter along my way, therefore holding circles would just be in line with me and wouldn’t be an extra thing to do. So I started whole heartedly!
The commitment
Well, of course there is the commitment of holding the space every month whatever might be the circumstances of my life, but so far so good, I haven’t missed one, I actually held an extra one, so I can say that it is a good start.
Of course life will get in the way sooner or later and I might not be able to hold circles in the future, but realising that I will hold women circles for the rest of my life was another turning point in me. If I won’t be able to hold a circle for a month here and there won’t be the end of the world!
I can allow the stress to go as I don’t know how many more years I will be on this Planet and I can’t constantly live in stress, right? So I imposed myself to accept whatever is happening as my intention to be there for women and support them is always present and is pure: my intention is to create a space for women to be.
Being in line with who you are will always make you happy and serene, therefore whatever might be the commitment you subscribe to, it will always make you free, unlike what one might think …
How has the circle changed me?
The honest answer is “In many ways”, let’s see if I can explain few of them …
First of all I have to mention that as my menstrual awareness changed me and made me more Moon and cycle aware so has holding circles on the new Moon.
Our modern life is very hectic and to really pause can be so challenging at times.
Teaching women to be menstrual aware has obliged me to practice even more myself this teaching and so has holding circles on the dark Moon: a moment to stop and breathe.
The new/dark Moon is the apex of the feminine energy therefore a time to let things go and rest and look into our darkness where everything is, figuratively speaking; we tend to ignore our dark side and even hide it to ourselves!
Holding a women circle is a reminder every month that it is okay and actually advisable to stop anything that is driving us or going on in our life to pause and sit with other women for the sake of it and just be present.
Nothing is so important that we cannot stop it, and it is down to us to use our will power to redirect things in our life and decide to have some quality time with other women for mutual support and to recharge ourselves.
Like meditation is not an easy thing to do, it requires practice, so is to sit with women who can be total stranger to us and accept completely their presence and whatever they bring along. Holding a circle has strengthened my acceptance in a huge way.
Holding space for myself and others has been working on me over time and has made me stronger and humbler at the same time; it helped me recognise how similar we all are with daily challenges and in fact how easy it is to allow Life to help us out …
Another thing that has come to the forefront of my awareness is how strong and resilient women are, sometimes it is much easier to notice aspects of ourselves in others and I am no exception, I learnt so much from all those women who decided to sit in the circle with me and shared their truths.
I also realised that there is a higher consciousness at play that I can’t control consciously, as at times there have been some strange coincidences with the women who came to the circle that I couldn’t have possibly orchestrated myself, even if I wanted to. This made me aware that my job is holding the space and allow whatever is required to happen to happen without interfering with the process itself. This is not always an easy task to do as our ego likes getting in the way and wants to have a say in everything …
At least once a month I have to force myself to be as present as possible for at least a couple of hours and this is really hard to do; having committed to do this helps me to hold myself accountable and improve my awareness.
I also face all my fears at every circle, as opening my home to women that most of the times I don’t know makes me feel very vulnerable to say the least.
This also gives my inner critic the upper hand against my self-esteem and self-worth, so there are months when I feel on top of the world and others when I feel just the opposite.
Holding circles also increases my awareness at not judging myself and others which is something that we all do all the time, it is just the way our mind operates and we can’t really change it, we can only by-pass it.
The physical fact of opening my home and myself to hold space for others obliges me to stretch myself out of my comfort zone and give/receive whatever is coming my way. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I detest it!
Holding a circle at the new Moon also requires an extra effort because the general energy is at the lowest point, therefore people are least enticed to do things and their energy can be darker/lower than normal and so is mine!
Possibly the biggest thing for me is having to ask for support, it can be emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual, energetic, financial or in whatever way the struggle is to be okay with asking and I have still a long way to go before being able to do it and feeling totally okay with it!
I prefer to give and, even if I can understand the interference of my upbringing with all of this, I still would like to address it and improve myself on this front, I am definitely a work in progress.
Of all things mentioned so far as important as they are, they don’t even come close to the one that is definitely the most difficult of all: doing nothing.
Yes, doing nothing is possibly the most difficult thing to do in a world where only action is recognised and validated, to be receiving and passive is a no-no therefore having no agenda and finding meaning in this is super and outrageously difficult.
To be still and be aware of our breath which is the most important thing as it keeps us alive is the biggest challenge of our time: accepting the nothingness.
To sum it all up holding a women circle has been the best therapy I have experienced so far and hope that you might give it a go yourself soon.
If my reflections intrigue you and you would like to find out more about me and my work, check my website: Flying Inspiration
I am looking forward to reading your thoughts and comments.
May the feminine energy help you live a more fulfilling life.
Thanks for reading!