In
practice – The Four Intentions +1
Within
the circle there are four intentions that hold the space together,
which when observed, create safety and allow truth and trust to
build in this very simple and powerful practice.
• Listening
from the Heart
Attentive listening, witnessing.
Seeking understanding and accepting others as they are, staying
present and centered and when we give full attention, helps
another to reach their truth more easily. Beyond ourselves
and the other, is the soul of the circle. This is heard from
the heart.
• Speaking
from the Heart
Speaking our personal story,
using "I" statements. Favouring feelings and making
as transparent as possible our process. Speaking from the
heart doesn't necessarily mean using words – sound,
movement, spontaneous expressions from the heart in all forms
that are responsibly made are welcome. Even silence itself
speaks.
– "Speak
what will serve yourself, the circle, the highest good" –
• Succinctness
Being of lean expression, helps
us to attend to what is important, recognise that our truth
need not have to be reinforced by repetition, since we are
being heard, and as there are often many in a circle, allows
time for all to share.
• Spontaneity
Surprise yourself by not planning
on what or rather how you will speak. Focusing on your own
story while others have the talking piece will reduce capacity
to ‘listen’ when they speak. The heart does not
plan. Spontaneity encourages playfulness, realness and the "voice" of
the moment to be free.
+1
• Confidentiality
Essential
for sake of trust and respect, Confidentiality is the fifth intention
held outside of circle times. What is said within the circle,
stays within the circle.
----------------
When Native people speak
they are not talking from the head, relating some theory, mentioning
what they read in a book, or what someone else has told them.
Rather, they speak from the heart, from the traditions of their
people, and from the knowledge of their land: they speak of what
they have seen and heard and touched, and what has been passed
on to them by the traditions of their people. It is their inner
silence that allows them to listen to the prompting of their
hearts and to the subtle resonances that lie within each word
of a language and which, when uttered, reverberate throughout
the world.
– David
F Peat –
Blackfoot
Physics
