Listening Circles, 10-20-25
The October 20th Listening Circle will be in-person at the Center and on Zoom!
Listening Circle will offer folks an opportunity to speak in a circle of safety and compassion. Come to share, or just to listen.
Have you lost your anchor in these stormy seas?
Are you overwhelmed and unsure of where to turn with these feelings?
Join us to listen and be heard in a supportive and judgment-free circle of trust.
No fixing, problem-solving, or advice-giving, just an opportunity to offload energy and re-center yourself in a compassionate community.
Contact Buffie Finkel for more info and Zoom information or just come for the experience, as we listen to each other into wholeness once again. All are welcome. 360-791-4070
“Listening may be the single most powerful action the leader can take. Leaders will always be under pressure to speak, but if building social fabric is important, and sustained transformation is the goal, then listening becomes the greater service.” Community – The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block
And so we begin! CSL Olympia has a history of using various forms of Listening Circles to further deepen our interrelations. Between 2008 and 2014 we held all our community gatherings using Circle practices. During these, as we sat shoulder to shoulder in large and small circles, we honored our intention to listen first, as each person spoke to the topic presented. I believe our community grew stronger and more interconnected as a result of these practices.
It is now time to bring these circles back, to further strengthen our community’s inner connections. Our culture is undergoing some significant shifts at this time, and we are all, at some level, feeling these undercurrents. I liken them to ‘static’ in the air, often subtly (or not so subtly) influencing our senses of well-being and peace. Feelings of fear, grief, sadness, or anger, when unexpressed can create dissonance—or dis-ease—in our bodies and our lives…and frankly it is hard to move forward when the ‘static’ is so loud inside us. Our first, and possibly second, Listening Circle will offer participants an opportunity to just let it out, and speak these feelings into the center of the circle, where they may be released. We are not together to fix, teach, or advise, but simply to listen. We come together in reverence and respect, remembering who we are as companions who hold each other in love. I will stress this piece—in these circles, we seek only to be aware, and listen.