Red Thread Circles

 A practice I've engaged in several times is choosing a word for guidance over the year ahead.  My friend Kathleen has offered this in early January at our church for 7 or so years (virtually during lock down), and i joined the group again last weekend.  We start with sharing our last word, the a review of the previous year, listing highs and lows - and look for themes. Feel into what you wish for this year ahead, and for a word to support you.  Kathleen invites us to use a dictionary or thesaurus as we come time this word. Last year I chose Weave, as I wanted to share new friendships and experiences. One of my church friends began a singles group, and a Native Voices bookgroup, and I also joined our Edible Landscaping group, so deepened with current friends and wove in new ones!  Weave - 2023 Our singles group meet Saturday for a wee feast,  and each drew a card from a Hawaiian healing deck. My card 'Kaulike' invites balance - and we bespoke finding balanc...

  Many of us reflect on gratitude during November, and that was our focus for this month's Red Thread Circle.  We each shared something we are grateful for as we passed the Red Thread; some were connection, pleasure in small moments, Community, clarity, presence and our time together.  I used a compass in my journal, inspired by Cindy and Linda to create a couple of mandalas. I so appreciate collaborating with these amazing co-facilitators! Neuroart Gratuitude mandala Neurographica is a form researched and developed by a Russian psychologist, Pavel Piskerev, and taught by practioners on several countries.  It dovetails beautifully with Intentional Creativity, as you begin my focusing on an intention, or something you wish to shift. Pavel observed that while angles make us somewhat uncomfortable, round shapes are soothing and calm our nervous system.  Linda and I took the basic class last year, and often use neurgraphica as inspiration for our own neuroart adapta...

  When someone joins our circle for the first time, it can be for many reasons - but generally there's a sense of wanting to meet with others ( especially in these times of limited personal interaction!) They may have felt the call to set aside time for creativity, may have lots of art supplies, or just pens and paper! Some are very experienced with arts and crafts - others are new explorers - All are welcome! Can we do a RT circle Grammie? The blurb on our MeetUp group reads, " We are a group of women who meet to access our own internal guidance system through Intentional Creativity®, a process which incorporates writing, visioning, sketching and painting to help us each develop a deeper sense of self awareness. Event hosts are graduates of Color of Woman, Motherboard or RT Guide programs, and o ccasionally we will have a guest host from another mindful creative practice. We each bring our personal medicine basket of practices and experiences; our gatherings and offerings r...

What do you do when your nosey, noisy Critic pipes up and tells you why you can't ___? You know the things she likes to taunt us with -  " I can't do that!"  "I'm not creative, ____ is the creative One!" "I'm too ___ (old, out of shape, uncoordinated, not educated...) "I never learned...."   "I never have enough time!"    "I'd love to do my art, but I don't want to end up a starving artist" .. .   "I can't afford__" Shh!!      One of my favorite ways of quieting her voice, shifting her rhetoric and countering the Old Stories is crafting  Soul Compass Cards  to point the way. Many of us have written affirmations! Douglas Bloch,  author of 'Words that Heal ' suggests going a bit deeper - writing an affirmation, then processing "what comes up ;" and asking ourselves,  "who told you that?" "Do you believe it's true?"   ... With Story cards, we identify the...

  Red Thread Circles are a way to connect in a respectful, mutually supportive group, and inter-weave the threads of our stories. The Red Thread has a profound capacity for connecting hearts and minds around what matters. When we face a challenge, we "tug on the Red Thread" as a reminder we aren't alone, and may tap into this web of support. We often meet around a topic, and share stories, dreams and aspirations. At other times, we will focus on a  simple project, first setting an intention, or framing an inquiry. At the beginning of our time together, we sit in circle, and then pass the thread: each sister takes a minute or two framing her response to the inquiry  What is lighting me up?  What old story I'm ready to release? Today I could use _____ What is mine to cause and create? She then wraps a length of yarn around her wrist, and passes the rest on. During the second round, we often claim a gift or talent we'd like to deepen with, and snip the thread betwe...