SoulCircles

In chapter 5, we brought together  in a homecoming the most vital aspects of self, ego and soul,. Now that they are both in the same house, as it were, they need to keep up the dialogue they began while the ego still secluded itself in its private quarters. Ego needs to talk about its worries and concerns and soul needs to talk about its passion. Ego wants to be safe, as any ego wants to be safe, so that it can talk about itself. It wants to love and be loved. Whereas the ego has extensive experience with judgment (and reasoned, analytic thought to support its judgment), the soul benefits not from any analysis, but from the love that nurtures it and promotes its growth. Indeed, the soul and its passions are parts of the Universal Mystery that may forever defy scientific analysis and yet forever remain available to human experience. Both the ego and the soul need a safe place in which to talk about their needs, desires, and passions. A SoulCircle provides just such a place.

SoulCircles:

SoulCircles are small groups that convene for the express purpose of helping one, some, or all of its members open the envelope(s) that contains their "Earth Orders." A SoulCircle can be of any size. It may consist of none other than your self¾your soul and your ego¾and this book., but four to seven seems to be optimal. SoulCircles have a precedent in Quaker clearness committees that they have used for over three hundred years to conduct the pastoral affairs of their meetings. I have come to appreciate the power of clearness committees through a lifetime of exposure to Quaker ways. In Quaker practice, a Friend seeking help in finding a solution to a problem (a concern in Quaker terminology) convenes a clearness committee to which s-he brings the concern. Because s-he is (obviously) the center of attention for the clearness committee—s-he is its focus person— and they are her or his support persons. Personal friends make wonderful support persons because of their support and sympathy.

Quakers long ago established guidelines that would help support people avoid personality traps. Because Quakers believe that the "Light of God" is within everyone, the focus person has within her or him all of the resources s-he needs in order to resolve her or his concern. Therefore, the support persons who comprise the committee do not have to judge, criticize, make recommendations, or give advice. Instead, they ask open, honest questions for personal clarification only; they reflect on what the focus person is saying and share those reflections; and they affirm the focus person for her or his work on the concern. In Quaker-Rumi ways of seeing the work, the unseen presence of The Friend—the source of the Light—facilitates the process.

In SoulCircling workshops, within a matter of but one hour, a SoulCircle can complete the clearness work to the satisfaction and benefit of a single focus person. Participants in SoulCircling workshops describe the process as one of taking a fearless personal inventory of their assets and describing them to like-minded, supportive people. For those who come to SoulCircling occasions sponsored by HOPE, we have developed the following guidelines that we read aloud together at the beginning of the SoulCircle work:

• We are a SoulCircle.
• We come together in support of each other as focus persons.
• We agree to hold the focus person in loving regard and respect at all times.
• We agree to withhold all criticism and suspend all judgment.
• We agree to refrain from any and all tendencies to give advice or make recommendations.
• We agree to listen with heart and mind and reflect fairly and honestly on that which we see and hear.
• We agree to affirm the focus person for her or his unique gifts.
• We agree to keep all personal information that is shared in this SoulCircle in complete confidence.

SoulCircles search for those paths of life that bring meaning to the lives of all their participants. The work of circling one’s soul is never done, so SoulCircles can continue to meet for a lifetime.

Love is the primary characteristic of a SoulCircle. Love is the essence of open and honest relationships. It is the context in which we work, critical to the successful achievement of SoulCircling process. Intention is the focus of a SoulCircle, for it focuses on discovering the reason for a soul to come into human form. Faith in the spiritual nature of the process is the belief system of a SoulCircle. "Feedback" is a living instrument affirming the focus person by answering the question, "How am I doing?" It is Nature and Spirit talking to us … mind and body working together. SoulCircle support persons take notes that will help them recall the points of the story that got their attention. Support persons make a gift of these notes to the focus person.

You are now ready for the creative work of your SoulCircle—SoulCircling.