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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>Dear Peter and Esther<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>I’m terribly behind with my readings
in the list, but I love your essay on Sacred Circles. I forward it to Christine,
a church woman in my town, to see if something is meant to happen, as well as
to her predecessor Helen, who left her job to start development work in
Guatemala. Open Space is a sacred circle in itself to me… Thank you for sharing
this with us! <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Liebe Christine und Helen, wenn Ihr mehr wissen möchtet über Open Space,
bitte zurückmailen – ich erkläre Euch die Regeln gerne und kann Euch auch mehr
Quellen nennen.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>Much love and good developmends with
your and many more sacred circle(s)… Catherine<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><!--[if supportFields]><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>AUTOTEXTLIST \s
"E-Mail-Signatur" <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span></font></span><![endif]--><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>Catherine Pfaehler</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;mso-color-alt:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Kellersriedweg 8</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;mso-color-alt:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>CH - 2503 Biel</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;mso-color-alt:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>T/F/B ++41 - (0)32 - 365 68 41</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy;mso-color-alt:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><!--[if supportFields]><span class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span></font></span><![endif]--><span
class=EmailFormatvorlage15><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black'>-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Von:</span></b> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Im
Auftrag von </span></b>Peter or Esther<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Gesendet:</span></b> Mittwoch, 31. </span></font><font
size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>Dezember 2003 17:23<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>An:</span></b> OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Betreff:</span></b> SACRED CIRCLES</span></font><span
lang=EN-GB style='mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>To the
OS list:<br>
<br>
Here is an in-process draft of a write-up on "Sacred Circles" that
came out of Open Space. Any comments and/or changes to improve it would be
greatly appreciated.<br>
<br>
Happy 2004!<br>
<br>
Peter & Esther Fisher<br>
Asheville, NC<b><span style='font-weight:bold'><br>
<br>
SACRED CIRCLES<br>
</span></b><br>
The Asheville, North Carolina Sacred Circle came together in October 2003 out
of an Open Space event. We consider ourselves "spiritual pioneers” as we
explore spirit together and continue to evolve our Sacred Circle. But as we
note below, it is not for everyone. <br>
<br>
Our Sacred Circle is a process of deep expression, listening and hearing by
every member of the Circle, as we consider each other’s responses. We are open
to quiet, to song, to toning, to talking, to acting and to expressing and just
to be or do “whatever”. We are respectful of each other’s expression and there
is a goodly amount of “space” between our participations so that no one feels
hurried, pushed or cut off. We watch and listen closely for threads of
commonality and diversity. Both are desirable. We evolve and spiral -- in
usually about two hours -- through layers of our personal and group spiritual
awakening and reawakening. We often come to an “ideal” vision or situation --
for the moment -- and are then always quite ready for the next outworking -- to
yet another ever more new reality. It is an exciting and deeply satisfying
process of love outworking.<br>
<br>
We believe that Sacred Circles inform the next step in humanity’s conscious
evolution. It just might be incumbent on some pioneering wise, spiritual and
thinking people to experience these new ways of being, of participation and of
self-organization. It can jump start our conscious evolution toward more
profound understandings of our new world -- that seem quite necessary in our
world today, for the New Millennium.<br>
Some say we are similar to the Friends (Quaker) religion, and we do not mind
that comparison, however we have absolutely no creed, no hierarchy, no history,
no expectations, no fixed beliefs -- and we are simply not part of any
official religious connection nor denomination. We do not have ministers,
assistants or hierarchy of any sort. <br>
We all participate and it is heart warming to feel the Circle come alive each
time with that participation. (As John Stewart, of The Daily Show said on the
Larry King program recently: "we don't need anyone to interpret God for
us!") Those of us who participate in the Circle have a direct connection
to whatever we each sense God to be. We consider ourselves wise, spiritual God
beings having a human experience. We know we have absolute CHOICE in our lives!
Something beautiful and sustaining happens as we “do whatever we do."<br>
Sacred Circles are creative, self-organizing, non-hierarchal and participative.
In our Sacred Circle we assume that all participants are both learners and
teachers, both students and ministers, and that each and all bring valuable
wisdom, knowledge and life perspective to the Sacred Circle. Our Sacred Circle
is collaborative and transformative, resulting in many altered states of being,
individually and collectively. Sometimes we go beyond BEING to DOING -- with
personal or collective action -- spiritual, social, cultural or otherwise. We
endeavor to always be in the NOW!<br>
<br>
Sacred Circles have several precursors. Open Space, developed by Harrison Owen,
is primary. Open Space is a group dialogue “technology” and more importantly a
way of life --much as Sacred Circles. Except Open Space events are usually held
for hundreds, even thousands of people at the same time (over 1 to 3 days) with
techniques to break into smaller groups. As we implied above, our Sacred Circle
was sparked by and evolved out of an Open Space event.<br>
<br>
The Open Space phenomenon is an organic approach to facilitation of groups of
people and a style of living. It enables a very natural process of
self-organization found everywhere in nature. Open space works by creating a
simple structure through the application of a few simple rules and allows for a
free flow of communication between all its parts. Inside this process, groups
unfold in a seemingly random fashion, but in truth, its participants interact
guided by their passions and natural attractions. Thus was our Sacred Circle
created.<br>
<br>
We also found the Sacred Circle approach written about by James Redfield in his
“Celestine Prophecy” where he said: “Part of the Eighth Insight is learning to
interact consciously.” This entire approach, however, also harks back to
the 60’s when George Leonard, then a Look magazine editor and a New Age
proponent, wrote a small book entitled “Education and Ecstasy” that was about a
possible new state of being. It was about all of us having been brought up to
sit quietly in rows in school as small children, about having been required to
be attentive to the pronouncements of others as youths and about sitting in
audiences, churches and seminars as adults even today -- listening to others
talk AT US. The old idea was that others knew more than we did. <br>
<br>
We are changing that! Some of us have discovered that we have a very strong
passion to explore our spiritual wisdom together in Sacred Circles. <br>
<br>
Sacred Circles are not for everyone, however. One almost has to feel
restlessness with his or her current spiritual practices. Those who seem to
take to the Circles most have that passion to express their wisdom in
interaction and participation with others. These Circles require a profound
level of presence and awareness. <br>
<br>
If one is still very comfortable and content with others taking the primary
responsibility for one’s religious or spiritual sustenance and consideration,
then the Circle is probably not right yet. If one can accept a temporarily
greater degree of uncertainty and looseness they may wish to meditate on their
motives for attendance at their current religious or spiritual practices. <br>
<br>
If one has any degree of passion or restlessness toward greater participation,
they may wish to attend a Sacred Circle. If you do decide to attend a Circle,
please give it a good try, and participate fully three or four times until it
“feels” comfortable. There is always a time of angst in “leaving” old familiar
friends, practices and expectations. At any rate one can soon find a new
community of friends and caring fellow seekers in a Spiritual Circle that will
be most supportive, loving and caring -- if you simply give it a chance. <br>
<br>
We would love to have you join with us or help you get started where you are! Please
call or contact us if you are interested in any way. <br>
<br>
With love,<br>
The Asheville Sacred Circle<br>
Asheville, North Carolina<br>
828-298-5800 </span></font><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB style='color:
black;mso-color-alt:windowtext;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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