Mar 20-22, 2009
When we embark on a journey, four things are essential. First, we must know our destination. Second, we must know how to orient ourselves along the way to make sure we’re headed in the right direction. Third, we need the courage and faith to face the unknown. And fourth, we need supportive allies, for no one can complete the journey alone.
Collectively, our society fails on all four counts. We don’t know where we’re going, so we can’t tell if we’re on course. We fear the unknown and build defensive walls to keep it out, over a quarter of all Americans claim to have not a single close friend.
This weekend we will come together as women committed to “being the change we want to see in the world,” as Gandhi put it. Within the container of a sacred circle, we will examine our purpose and explore our true goals—not those society would impose on us, but those that satisfy our hearts and souls. Stepping back from our busy lives, we will come to a full stop and enter into inner silence. From that place of peace and stillness, we will open to guidance, take stock of where we stand, open to the spirit of courage, and drink deeply at the well of loving support women so naturally offer one another.
Jalaja has an extraordinary ability to guide women into a space that is profoundly healing, nourishing, magical, and sacred. This weekend, she’ll be working with myths and stories, guided meditations, writing practices, movement, music, and poetry to evoke a state of centeredness, and clarity.
Jalaja Bonheim has been leading women’s circles and training women in circle leadership for over 25 years. She is the founder of the Institute for Circlework and leads circles for Jewish and Palestinian women in Israel. She is the author of several books, including Aphrodite’s Daughters: Women’s Sexual Stories and the Journey of the Soul, and has just completed a new book on global transformation and spirituality that will be published this year.