Welcome Circles
Shared explorations and curiosity-inspired intuitive learning.
The next Circles happens on:
March 25th at 5pm PST.
March 30th at 11am PST.
Intuitive awareness is nurtured in non-competitive environments.
Among friends and peers in an open-hearted space, your participation helps shape and expand a global community of like-hearted people who are exploring life as perpetual learners.
Our priority is to generate a coherent space where people share and listen from the heart, where self-awareness and honesty are celebrated, and together we receive each other in the absence of judgment.
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Welcome Circles
We are offering Circles on two different days at two different times!
Tuesday March 25th at 5pm PST.
Sunday March 30th at 11am PST
Use the buttons above to RSVP!
Each Welcome Circle offers a brief space of silence to open the event, followed by a short passage and seed question read by one of our facilitators.
Each member of the circle will be welcome to share their reflection - some will be prompted by the seed question, others will share from their heart in a different way. Some participants may choose to pass and not speak at all. The value of these circles is presence, listening, hearing and learning, side-by-side.
RSVP for one or both Circles.
Read the March passage below!
In the spirit of collaboration, we are so happy to introduce the new “Welcome Circles”.
Each Welcome Circle offers a brief space of silence to open the event. A volunteer will read a short passage and invite the first participant to share an opening reflection. After opening, they will offer seed questions. Each member of the circle will be welcome to share their reflection — some will be prompted by the seed question, others will share from their heart in a different way. Some participants may choose to pass and not speak at all. The value of these circles is presence, listening, hearing and learning side by side.
March 2025 Circle of Sharing Passage and Seed Questions
Passage From:
The Serviceberry - Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The question of abundance highlights the striking difference between our way of life which has come to dominate the globe and the ancient gift economies which preceded them. There are many examples of functioning gift economies -most in small societies of close relations, where community well-being is recognized as the “unit” of success- where the interest of “we” exceeds that of “I”. In this time when economies have grown so large and impersonal that they extinguish rather than nurture community well-being, perhaps we should consider other ways to organize the exchange of goods and services which constitutes an economy.
Most of us are enmeshed in the market economy, which by definition is a monetary system in which the production and distribution of goods is regulated by the “market forces” of supply and demand. Exchanges are voluntary and entrepreneurs are free to pursue profits. The market economy is based on private property and competition in navigating the gap between supply and demand -i.e., scarcity. The greater the gap between supply and demand, the greater the scarcity, and therefore the price to obtain those goods rises and profit increases follow. Food Security is assured by private accumulation.
Gift economies arise from abundance of gifts from the Earth, which are owned by no one and therefore shared. Sharing engenders relationships of goodwill and bonds that ensure you will be invited to the feast when your neighbor is fortunate. Security is ensured by nurturing the bonds of reciprocity. Margaret Atwood writes, “Every time a gift is given it is enlivened and regenerated through the new spiritual life it engenders both in the giver and in the recipient.” You can store meat in your own pantry or in the belly of your brother. Both have the results of keeping hunger at bay but with very different consequences for the people and for the land which provided that sustenance.
Reflective Questions:
When have you experienced reciprocity?
How do you relate to the notion that meat can be stored in your pantry or in the belly of your brother, and either keeps hunger at bay?
Where do you find a gift economy active in your life?
ILF offers these gently facilitated circles in the spirit of community connection from an open heart. We value an approach to conversation described by appreciative inquiry - we look to amplify what we like and perpetuate what is working. The result tends to be a mutually created space of listening without judgment where all participants can feel safe to share a reflection. If you have more questions about how these Circles are conducted, please write to us.