From my earliest recollection, I've had a fascination with words and writing, paper and pen. A deep force, very early on, pulled me onto a page and its grip has yet to release me.
I've been an avid writer since I was a child. Probably because a page felt so much more personal than most people I met. It was not about them so much as me. I like to swim in deeper waters than most.
It's no surprise I kept a diary as soon as I was able to write. I grew up in a noisy house, with people coming to and fro. We emigrated from Cuba and helped our family get on their feet when they arrived. The house often felt like Grand Central Station, until they found jobs and moved to their own homes. I remember jotting down these everyday experiences and how I felt about them.
Later, when I had my own room, closing my door was my favorite thing to do. My Mom thought I was being anti-social. It was more that I could shut out the external noise and listen to my own voice. Only then could I pull out my notebook, write my thoughts and make some sense of the world.
Writing has been my long-time friend. Writing was my first friend. It will probably be my last. However, it doesn't have to be an exclusive friend. Writing does not have to be a solo journey.
Why Participate in a Writing Circle?
There are many methods to explore and discover your sense of self. How you choose to do that is a personal matter.
I've often experienced myself as a lone ranger/strange ranger, highly sensitive and deeply aware. I don't always fit in. I first came across a women's writing circle in 2005. I discovered that writers, with their introspective and creative nature, felt like home. We met on a bridgeline and took turns leading the writing. We wrote, we shared and acknowledged one another.
I've learned a lot from hosting and participating in hundreds of writing circles. There is tremendous power in a gathering of conscious and creative women. It will accelerate your growth. It will deepen your connection to yourself and others.
Here are 4 ways that a women's writing circle helps you to tap into your feminine essence and access your feminine power:
1. Self Awareness. Writing circles give you an opportunity to be in the practice of connecting to your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. You get to name things, or at least to articulate as much as you have right now. Your writing is a picture in time. It gifts you clear sight of what is actually occurring in your head. Once it's on paper it's hard to deny, even when you want to.
2. Self Reflection. Writing circles give you the sacred space, and loving container, to see what your deeper self is trying to uncover. Often your writing will reflect things below your conscious level of awareness. Similar themes will surface in your circle giving you the opportunity to see your own challenges mirrored by another. Here you get to sift through the ones that work and relinquish the ones that don't.
3. Self Discovery. Writing circles will give rise to surprises. You will discover talents you've yet to claim. I discovered I could write poetry (and I hated poetry in high school). A sacred circle of women is an energy conduit to your true self. As you trust more and more, with every writing session, who you are comes to the forefront.
4. Self Actualization. Writing circles give you a safe space to try out new ideas and ways of being. A sacred circle of women activates your feminine power: feeling, intuitive, heart-centered movement. You do not need to disguise your creative, collaborative, and caring nature. It is your superpower, your gift, your strength.
I've been writing in online women's writing circles since 2005. That's a lot of circle writing with women who are now not only friends, they're sacred sisters. We've shared the adventures of joy and sorrow, losses and wins. Whatever the experience, it has moved through our circle gifting awareness, acknowledgment, and acceptance.
Are you ready to awaken your true self? I invite you into the sacred circle. Will you join us? You'll get to participate in writing circles, join a luscious writing community, and launch a new YOU.
