Celebrating Women. Circle Experiences.

Martha Llanos

by Martha Llanos Zuloaga, Peru

I describe myself as a Peace Ambassador. My life mission is of global service to children, women, and families. Thanks to the understanding, compassion, appreciation, and courage that I have experienced in Circle with other women, I have been able to fulfill that mission. This support enabled me to advocate and take action for women’s rights in a world that shows violence towards women and girl children, especially when they are indigenous, poor, and illiterate.

Circles focus on the principles of Inclusion, Wholeness, Unity, Nurturing, Centering, Sharing, Deep listening, and Completion. To Indigenous peoples, the Circle illustrates “the way the world works.”

Since my childhood, Circles have been very meaningful. I recall myself seated on the floor listening to stories told by my teachers. Mythology, gods, and goddesses fascinated me. In my adulthood, I have continued in Circles with Indian communities sitting around the fire and sharing stories of their everyday life. This time, the gods and goddesses are real human beings. In Peru in the 80s I was working in the Andean area of Cuzco, Puno, and Apurimac. There, with many teachers and mothers, we created Tarpuy Circles. “Tarpuy” is a Quechua word meaning to sow and our lema (motto) was “The seed that you sow today will be tomorrow’s harvest.”

Around 2000, I was happy to connect with Peace x Peace and share my reflections about the ripple effect we get in Circles. It is produced from the self to the Circle, first ripple, then to the community context, second ripple, and finally to global consciousness.

2002 was an exceptional year. I received an invitation to participate in a Circle of women from around the world in Iona, Scotland. Jean Shinoda Bolen, Elinor Detinger, Kate Collins, and others were also included. In Iona, I discovered the power within us women to share the joy, the pain, and the dreams of many generations and to work collectively for equity, peace, solidarity, and the fulfillment of rights. I came to realize that the sacred is always there in the Circle and that we can call on it in any different situation 

On Iona, every morning I would go alone to meditate in the XIII century abbey. There in the silence of this sacred place, I would dance and dance. The room seemed to be filled with the inner music of ancestors buried there. The inner music, the joy and my breathing were tributes to life. At the end, when I closed my eyes, I would see myself with many children, girls and women in a circle. In Deep Silence a great message “La grandeza humana tiene rostro de mujer,” “Human greatness has a woman’s face,” came to me. My mission in life was then reassured. I was encouraged to facilitate people to discover and unfold their many potentials and share their lives.

After all these years, I am reflecting on the power of Circles, on the value of feminine principles with the internal drive to “love, nourish, care, and connect.” These qualities are essential for global peace and environmental sustainability. They help us shift away from patriarchal power structures toward collaborative, empathetic, and inclusive, humane leadership.

In 2022, I started to contribute to University Women Observatory. This is a division of the Women’s University of the Sacred Heart (UNIFÉ) in Lima, Peru. I was writing about worldwide resilient women’s lives under the lema (motto) “Human greatness has a woman’s face”. Stories for 80 women have been completed. As a synchronicity, while preparing the exhibition for inauguration of the 2024 academic year, Gather the Women appeared. Dawn Gandalf invited me to participate. Now here I am in a circle with the central fire that comes from the elders whose lives are such an inspiration. Every day testimony reinforces the strength of the collective and us “Women as Weavers of Peace”. We are woven together to create a tapestry

strong enough to fulfill Jean Shinoda Bolen’s vision, Gather the Women and Save the World.