Gather
the Women
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WISDOM CIRCLESAn important part of the Gather the Women, Save the World congress held in Washington DC on Nov 12, 2005 was the forming of wisdom circles. In Jean Shinoda Bolen's book entitled the Millionth Circle, she said that she felt that if we had a million circles of women around the world we could change the planet. Circles lead to lifelong friendships and open up our life to new experiences and ideas. Wisdom circles are being formed throughout the United States based on the ideas of GTW. In these circles women work on community, national or global projects. They support each other in their activism. Each circle differs in their mission. The main link between them is that they are using feminine ideas and values to transform the world. As
a result of the GTW D.C. congress, women volunteered to lead or join
wisdom circles in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Washington,
D.C. If you are interested in joining a circle or starting one on your
own, contact the following women in your area. MARYLAND Annapolis
Cabin
John Chevy Chase Columbia
Edgewater Ellicott
City Germantown Laurel Olney Rockville Silver
Spring Takoma
Park
VIRGINIA Arlington
Falls
Church Fredricksberg Round Hill
Berkeley
Springs Ideas for Circle Work"Creating a positive future begins in human conversation. The simplest and most powerful investment any member of a community or an organization may make in renewal is to begin talking with other people as though the answers mattered." Adapted from Who Will Tell the People by William Greider .
Organize a gathering
of 2 hours or so to create a women's circle. Ask each woman to introduce
herself, and what drew her to the invitation. Go around the circle in
rounds to get each person's thoughts on a question or topic. Gather the Organizations. Invite organizations in service to women, women's groups, or circles in your area to your gatherings for networking and sharing information about their work. Find out what is working for these groups and what is not. What mutual resources are available? What are the possibilities for partnership or collaboration? Be sure to invite counterparts from all view points to create a balanced representation and opportunity to meet on neutral grounds. Events. Create seasonal events to provide opportunities for personal sharing and or ritual and ceremony around seasons or holidays, like International Women's Day. Virtual conversation
forums. Form a Yahoo Group or World Café Conversation to begin
a network for collaborative dialogue, knowledge sharing, and action
around topics of interest in groups of all sizes and in all geographic
locations. ©Jung Society of Washington 2007 |
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