Like Home

Hello Marsh House. Located at Aldermarsh Retreat Center. Just off Maxwelton Road. On South Whidbey Island. It’s good to see you again, and spend a week with you.

It’s no secret that place matters when convening in conversations that matter. I’m in one version of that convening. And in one version of “place matters.” This week it is The Circle Way Practicum. There are 14 of us gathered. I’m cohosting with Amanda Fenton and guest co-host, Chantilly Mers Pickett. It’s time for the 14 of us to lean into learning about circle as method, as practice, and as way of being. I’m glad for that. Something feels like home.

It’s now been…, hmmm…, probably near 20 times that I’ve hosted and participated at events in Marsh House. And in this context of The Circle Way, this has been home teaching space for Ann Linnea and Christina Baldwin for over 20 years now. There are whispers from the floor, from the open sky light, from the seats where many bodies have huddled together to share story, questions, tears, and cheers.

There is a certain anticipation that I feel in beginning at Aldermarsh. This feeling of home, and that perhaps, when it comes down the to very simple of it all, that we are accompanying each other home. Home within. Home among.

Here we go.

 

Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature
is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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