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Purpose: To come together as a group of people who have had the privilege of sharing fears, hopes, feelings, thoughts and dreams about the past, the present and, most especially, the future of life on Earth. Length: 4 hours Opening Circle – 15 minutes
- One minute of silence
- Check-in: One or two sentences
- Quotation:
"We cannot live for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow-man and nature; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." (Herman Melville)
The Journey Stories – 45 minutes
Each person gets five minutes to share the story of their journey in this Earth Circle.
Going Forth – 60 minutes
This exercise focuses our attention on what we will do going forth from this group.
Participants sit in groups of four. Each person will take a turn stepping into each of following four roles: yourself, the voice of Doubt, the voice of an Ancestor, the voice of a Future Being. (See the Corbett exercise at http://www.joannamacy.net/html/reconnects/newpractices.html#corbett)
Close your eyes for a couple of minutes, and think about an action you would like to take to make a difference now, at this point in your life and the life of our planet. It could be a new direction or the next step in a current project. Choose one action you want to do, by yourself, and/or with others. (Pause)
The person closest to (name some point in the room, such as the door) will be person A, who begins by describing to the small group the action he or she would like to take. The other three listen attentively without comment. Then the three "voices" respond, one by one, to this description. The person to A's left responds as the voice of Doubt—the nagging inner voice that tells us all the reasons we will not succeed. The person to the left of the voice of Doubt responds as the voice of the Ancestor, someone who lived a long time ago, and shares the feelings and thoughts that arise upon hearing A's intentions for action in these times. The fourth person responds as a Future Being, again sharing feelings and thoughts about A's intention. When the three voices have spoken, A reflects aloud on what he/she has heard.
If you are the person who is starting, go ahead and tell these listeners what you are going to do, and once you are done, each person in his/her role, starting with the voice of Doubt, responds, taking up to two minutes each. When the three voices have finished, you have a chance to comment on their responses. Then the next person becomes person A.
There is adequate time for this exercise if each person in the foursome takes up to two minutes for each voice. The facilitator will let you know when there is 5 minutes left for each turn.
When everyone has taken a turn in each role, ask the entire group to get together, with each person announcing, in no uncertain terms, and what action she/he plans to take.
Open Discussion - Appreciation of Our Journey – 60 minutes
We’ve been together for many weeks, and we have begun to tap into the power of our group. How might we describe the story of our journey together? What do we appreciate most about this journey? - (20 minutes)
What is the plan for this group? What will end? What might continue? - 20 minutes
OPTIONS: No formal continuation, renegotiating for another 7 sessions, taking action together as a whole group or within smaller groupings, joining with other community groups, planning a reunion, staying in email contact, starting Earth Circles for new people. Each group and person are encouraged to find their own natural evolution.
This is also a time to discuss and evaluate the Earth Circle design. What suggestions we would like to offer to those who developed this Workbook. What worked well? What would you like to change? Designate a volunteer to post these observations and recommendations on the Earth Circles web site.
End - 5 minutesTake a moment to come up with a word or short phrase that describes where you are now with going forth.
Celebratory Meal Together and Future Talk – 45 minutes This might be a pot-luck, with simple easy food to prepare and clean up.
We’ll conclude with a celebratory meal and a chance to talk a bit about the future of the group. This can include working out the concrete logistics of future planning.
Closing Circle – 15 minutes - A moment of silence for each to contemplate where they are in this moment of "Going Forth."
- A final go-round with a word or phrase from each participant about ending and going forth.
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