| Chestnut Ridge, New York
On the morning of March 14, 2004, eighteen women gathered in
Chestnut Ridge, New York, to "envision a world that works
for all". Our event was held on the grounds of the Green
Meadow Waldorf School, in their beautiful and light-filled eurhythmy
room.
As each woman arrived, she was greeted and welcomed by the
organizers. A bowl of water and essential oils was presented
at the door to the room so that each woman could prepare herself
for the circle in her own way.
Upon entering the room, women were invited to move freely
to the gentle music of a harpist, and when ready, to find
their place in the circle. When all were present, the leaders
stood and invoked the blessing of the four directions.
We were then led in meditation and asked to visualize what
a world that worked for all might look like. After meditation,
a beautiful crystal wand was passed as a talking stick, and
each woman was invited to share her vision. Each had been
asked to bring a personal object that represented her vision
of a better world, and sharing included the significance of
the personal object as well.
After sharing in the large circle, we broke into small circles
of three or four, where each woman had an opportunity to talk
about how she could bring her own personal vision into reality.
Each group was given several long satin ribbons in pastel
and rainbow colors, and the women were asked to write their
intentions for bringing their vision into reality on the ribbons.
Some wrote a single word, some wrote phrases or long descriptions
of what they might do.
Again the harpist played, and the women were invited to move
with the ribbons, weaving the ribbons together as a metaphor
for weaving together our intentions for creating a world that
works for all. The result was a beautiful, tumbled, colorful
mass of soft satin, holding everyone's intention and
prayer for a better world.
We ended by closing the sacred space, followed by sharing
of food and friendship.
This circle provided the seed for Circle the Women, a project
of Consult North Star.
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