September 3, 2002

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THIS PAGE IS A REGULAR SPACE FOR UPDATES ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MILLIONTH CIRCLE INITIATIVE

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"Circles encourage connection and cooperation among their members and inspire compassionate solutions to individual, community and world problems. We believe that circles support each member to find her or his own voice and to live more courageously. Therefore, we intend to seed and nurture circles, wherever possible, in order to cultivate equality, sustainable livelihoods, preservation of the the earth and peace for all. Our aim is to celebrate the millionth circle as the metaphor of an idea whose time has come."

--Millionth Circle 2005

 

  

The Millionth Circle Initiative

 

RE: The Deepening Gathering

13 Aug 2002

 

Dear Friends,

 

You will be in my thoughts as those of you who are able to come to the Deepening gather this coming weekend, holding the center and influencing the morphic field of and for all of us as you do so.

It is my great regret that I will not be able to join you. I leave the day before, on the 15th, for a family returning to Norway and Sweden to visit the homes of my maternal grandparents - three sisters and three nieces (all 30ish young professional women) traveling to join our Swedish second cousin and his wife for the journey. It is a returning that neither my grandparents nor my mother and her sisters were able to make, and has been long in the planning. So obviously I lobbied for the Deepening to take place in early August, but. . . .

I feel privileged and blessed to be part of our Millionth Circle initiative work. I read every post with interest and heart, and save most of them. A few days ago I put those of the past several months into a big binder, giving myself a chance to relive the journey we are on. So many things to ponder and learn from each one of us.

The tremendous effort and planning that went into the Deer Hill gathering after the United Nations meetings, and then the reports afterwards. The gathering at Wainwright House and the beauty of its details. All the planning for the Findhorn time, and again my eagerly reading the wonderful reports after its completion. Jean's poignant post as to why she did not, in the end, attend physically. Work on the calendars and the buttons. Depth work and plans through GEA and the UN and URI. Plans for the Deepening Gathering. Following the work of the whole through the Conveners Circle Summaries - so valuable. The blessing of our listserv, sustained by the beautiful hard work of Tara and now Betty. The opportunity to be on the MC European list, which I will join on my return.

And the issues raised in our discussions. How does the vision of circles translate crossculturally? What is our role in dissemination? What about "tr aining" - of particular interest to me as a member of the Education Working Circle? How do we resolve the inevitable differences and misunderstandings that can arise? What about inclusion and exclusion?

There are personal notes too. I am thrilled that you will be with Judy Grosch in Germany, Jean. She is a member of the East Coast Mystery School community, listening to the tapes for the sessions she is not able to attend. She knew of the participation in Millionth Circle work of myself as well as Vera Grant, Anele Heiges, Donna Goodman, and we corresponded about bringing circle work to Germany, with my buying books for her through Amazon. And now it's happening!

Onzie and I were together the middle two weeks of July in Ashland at the Social Artistry Intensive of Jean Houston, so able to share Millionth Circle thoughts together there. Onzie brought the MC post about the Nigerian women to the SA group to inspire us all. (And we met Leslie at the Britt Festival!) I've asked her to bring my love and good thoughts to the Deepening. And now I've been asked to have lunch with two young women from the Intensive who want to start their own Women's Circle.

So again, know that I will be with you all this coming weekend, thanking you for gathering and for the depth work you will do together.

In Circle, Betty Rothenberger

After the Deepening

by Stephanie Hiller

The Deepening Circle was held at Joan Kenley's gracious home in the Oakland Hills. Eleven of us were present for the full weekend; Peggy Sebrera attended for friday evening only. It was definitely a deepening.

Invoking the ancestors and the Virgin of Guadalupe, inviting the presence of the dark mother, our conversation included the resolution of conflicts arising between members, the healing of old grief, the sharing of life stories, and even a small amount of circle business. On Saturday evening, inspired by the presence of the dark goddess, Jean Bolen told the story of Inanna.

We were delighted to meet for the first time, Betty Karr, who has long been Jean's secretary and continues to serve the Millionth Circle listserv from her present home in Indiana. We also were introduced to Katherine Collis, who has been organizing the Iona retreat.

We were graced by the loving attentions of our two hostesses, Joan of course, and her co-convener from San Carlos, Nancy Grandfield. Linda Merryman aired concerns about filming and described her deeply held intention to produce a short video introducing the circle experience to interested women. The word "training" seemed to slip out of the conversation in favor of sharing.

When the idea came up of making it possible for millions of circles to network with one another through our website, and of offering to attend and facillitate newly forming circles in neighboring towns, Betty Karr expressed enthusiasm to work on the web logistics while Mary Corrigan championed the idea of seeding circles in our communities. I, too, will bring my energy into this arena. Linda Merryman spoke of her intention in making a five-minute video to express the experience of the circle especially with women who have not yet had the opportunity to sit this way.

Justine Toms sharpened the focus with colorful metaphors based on her wide ranging knowledge and love of the world. The tale of the monarch butterfly in the context of the worship of Guadalupe was captivating. Penny McManigal shared the story of her journey of becoming a peace artist. Onzie shared her marvellous zest for life and warm humor. We all were transformed in the lap of the dark mother who guided us to strip away the layers of our armor and come forward with deeper and deeper truths about our experience.

The coming retreat at Iona, one of the Hebrides Islands of Scotland, was discussed and challenges related to sustaining the original non-hierarchical structure of MC were explored. We saw that since we do not follow authoritarian principles, we will yet need to evolve ways of effective decision making and matters of policy. We know this discussion will be ongoing as Millionth Circle evolves and takes shape. The progress of this organization in only one year is truly phenomenal, demonstrating that the experience of millions of circles is coming together around this fulcrum.

We all felt very blessed to share this deepening experience with other vibrant women sharing the circle.

SUMMARY - The Millionth Circle Initiative

OUR INTENTIONS:

Circles encourage connection and cooperation among their members and inspire compassionate solutions to individual, community and world problems. We believe that circles support each member to find her or his own voice and to live more courageously, and intend:

* to seed and nurture circles,wherever possible, in order to cultivate equality, sustainable livelihoods, preservation of the earth and peace for all.

* to bring the circle process into United Nations accredited non-governmental organizations and the 5th UN World Conference on Women in 2005.

* to connect circles so they may know themselves as a part of a larger movement to shift consciousness in the world.

 

THE VISION

A proliferation of circles with a spiritual center becomes a force for social justice by bringing feminine values of relationship, nurturing, and interdependency into a global culture in which hierarchy, power over others, conflict and competition dominate. When sufficient numbers of women and men bring these values into consciousness, culture will change and patriarchy will end.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

 

WHO WE ARE

We are a grass-roots, international volunteer organization of women who believe that the circles are the means through which world consciousness will change.

We first came together in March 2001 in California drawn by the idea of the millionth circle, with leadership from Peggy Sebera (California). Elly Pradervand (Geneva), and Elinore Detiger (Costa Rica & The Netherlands). We are evolving through a series of gatherings in which our purpose and participation has grown.

We are under the official auspices of Global Education Associates in New York <http://www.globaleduc.org>, a non-governmental organization with United Nations consultative status. Our 501.C IRS status as a non-profit is as an official program of GEA.

We are also sponsored by the Women's World Summit Foundation <http://www.woman.ch> headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, another international NGO accredited to the United Nations, and are informally affiliated with numerous organizations, networks, and individuals throughout the world.