This post is a part of our weekly email called “Presence+Practice”. You can have early access to this weekly content by subscribing to our newsletter.

---

Presence:

Twenty years ago, a group from Second Breath – then called The Servant Leadership School – traveled to Virginia to take a training from Christina Baldwin entitled “Calling the Circle.”

When we hopped in the van, we did not know each other very well; but during our week together, we spent hours practicing Calling the Circle and connecting with one another in the evenings and at meals.

Over the course of the week, we became friends. On our drive back home, we decided to meet once a month in order to practice Circle. Twenty years later, we continue to meet monthly and our time together – which we refer to as “Circle Sisters” – has become a deeply significant support through the challenges life has brought us.

We begin each Circle with several minutes of silence before checking in. During check-in, each person shares (without comment from others) not only the general goings-on of their daily life, but the times in the past month when they were able to give and receive love and also when they felt least able to give and receive love. At the end of one person’s sharing, we pause in silence (and with awe) at the life our friend is living.

We have been through many life changes together: deaths of family and friends; the cancer diagnosis of a child; lingering illness; retirements; and job changes. Our unconditional love saturates it all.

The “Circle Sisters” evolved from acquaintances to supportive partners on this amazing journey we are on together. We offer each other time to be vulnerable and listened to in safety and trust.

Having a few close friends who are on the spiritual journey with you is scientifically proven to positively influence our lives. This week’s featured spiritual practice invites you to seek out community in order to support your movement toward transformation.

We encourage you to open your heart to friendship, connection, and love. Committing to these powerful forces continues to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Practice:

This week’s featured practice is the final practice in our 5-part series titled Making Lasting Change. It begins with this prayer from Tasha Silver:

My Beloved, free me from attachment to any situations or relationships that do not serve my highest good and your Divine will.
Whoever needs to come, let them come.
Whoever needs to go, let them go.
I am yours.
You are mine.
We are one.

You can find the “Making Lasting Change” Series Spotlight at the bottom of the Second Breath app home screen.

---

 

(To try out this week’s Featured Practice, visit the Second Breath app on your iPhone or on your Android and find the “Practice of the Week” on the home screen.)