What do Bees and the Circle Process have in Common?

I am happy to announce that after 2 year in the making, and after 2 years before that exploring Circle as a Master's thesis for Environmental Education- my baby has finally arrived and it's just in time for Christmas!

I'd like to introduce you to my first published book: Circlebee: A book about Circle & bees.

It's a short (150 pages), educational resource and guide for - how to keep Circle - as seen through the world of bees. Drawing from the wisdom of bees and beekeeping, I explain what is meant by the Circle process and describe how we can use it for empowering collaboration, and for creating healthy communities for all.  I also offer a new take on Circle and pioneer this message: Circle is environmental education in practice!!!

While ultimately this book is to further the knowledge and practice of Circle, it also brings to light the plight of the bees which serves as a mere paradigm for other environmental concerns we now face today. Circlebee offers a message of hope in a time of ecological crisis and uncertainty, and tells of a way to take better care of self & better care of others, so that together - we can take better care of the natural world starting with the tinniest bee.

Finally, if you are interested in Circle, beekeeping, or work in the field of community-building, the environment or education - this book is definitely for you!

I invite you to order a copy today - and enjoy this bee-autiful read! 

Visit my website for contact & order information: www.thebumblebeecircle.com

Stay tuned for more exciting events around the celebration of Circlebee in the New Year including a book launch party, bookstore readings, library visits and more.  It's going to bee awesome and I can't wait to fill you in!

Circle to Kick-Off the First Community Meeting

May 29th is National Day of the Honeybee!

Today I called the first Beekeepers meeting for folks that live in Chilliwack, Aggasiz-Harrison, & Hope. Being the very first time for people to meet others present - Circle practice was a great way to 'break the ice'. 

I used a hive tool as the talking piece for each person to introduce themselves, share what they love about bees & beekeeping, and talk a bit about what they are hoping to get from a beekeeping community, and what they bring to that community. The hive tool made the perfect talking piece - considering that it is the most held & used object in beekeeping practice - it received several chuckles in agreement.

There were three rounds of sharing:

1. Introduce self, hometown, style of beekeeping, and what you love about bees & beekeeping.

2. What do you hope to get from a beekeeping community, and what do your bring to it (e.g. skills/gifts)

3. Anything you would like to add? And being that it is National Honeybee Day - in celebration of the bees - and what they give to us (diversity & life), in what ways do you honor them, and give back to them.

So much was gleaned from these three rounds; and they served to set the group pace of sharing, and respectful listening & speaking. The conversation then flowed into connected, respectful, freestyle clusters.

What a great way to start a new community - by applying a community-building tool - right from the get-go!  I'm so happy this tool was well received. I wonder how many present were experiencing this process for the first time?

Upcoming Workshops!

An Early Summer Update

I've been spotting bumblebees everywhere lately. They keep reminding me to keep up with my bumblebee circle work. While I've been neglecting my blog lately, I have been busy writing for other projects that I will some day soon share with you here. For now, please enjoy and BEE inspired by these bee-autiful bee moments I captured this month:

And of course, I invite you to share your bumblebee photographs, stories and love with me here :)

Earth Day Fun!

So happy to set up my first information booth at a community event @ Earth Day Chilliwack, April 21!

And a beautiful sunny day to bout!

Shared the space with my other home-business Garden Gabbers: www.gardengabbers.com 

My kids "Creation Station" was a hit!  Brought a couple craft items to make 'bumblebee hats'!

I loved seeing kids walking around wearing their cute little bee hats!

I facilitated some creative fun during the day too:  Interactive games & laughter yoga exercises!

A great day!

An Earth Hour Circle

(Picture: On my living room wall above where we held our circle.)

Held an Earth Hour Circle this past Saturday, March 31!  The opening of the Circle began at the start of Earth Hour (@8:30pm!) and closed ~10 minutes after its end (9:30pm). 

I put a plate of candles in the center of the group (4 of us) and one by one we lit the candles and opened the Circle with words of GRATITUDE. I started the rounds, lighting one candle saying, "I am grateful for..." and passed the lighter to my left. The next person spoke words of gratitude and lit a candle, and passed the lighter to his left. This continued around the circle until all the candles on the plate were lit. When the last round was complete, there was one extra candle - so we decide to put it in the center of the plate - for something that may come up later on in conversation. 

The intention of the Circle was to share our JOYFUL experiences of birth & death. The first question was something along the lines of, "What is it about birth and death experiences or cycles in your life right now that have brought a sense of joy to your life?"  Using the web Circle method (several talking pieces in the center) we took turns (in no particular order) selecting a talking piece that spoke to us, and sharing what that question meant to us. We started by sharing why we had selected that particular talking piece and the conversation went from their. Sharing around this question lasted about three rounds. I waited until I felt a sense of 'deflation' in group sharing and threw another spontaneous Circle into the center. At some point the candle in the middle was lit, in remembrance of all those that have passed before us (honoring death). The last question that surfaced during the Circle was, "What is your motto, inspiration... that you can/will lean on to empower you forwards to where you want to go (in regards to moving through the experiences of 'birth and death' that were shared)?  The last question seemed to help pull the emotionally-charged content shared with one another, into a more tangible sense of knowing and plan for the challenges lying ahead for us. We closed the Circle by blowing out the candles (one by one), by saying any last words or insights that had come to us. After the Circle, came an evening of celebration!

Three important elements about this Circle, and important to incorporate in all Circles was:

1. Opening a Circle with Gratitude

2. Tapping into the "Joy" of experiences (even the more painful ones like death). 

3. Bringing participants back into a place of empowerment (and wholeness) before the Circle closes.

Learning from Our Elders

“A healthy community is one that shares their stories” I heard someone say.  Several speakers joined together to have a conversation about the state and stewardship of Cultus Lake, a major water body in the community, that the First Nations also refer to as one of their mothers.  This event included a traditional First Nations meal of elk and fish, hosted in their community longhouse. The purpose of this meeting as communicated by the host was to:

“Come into our home, eat our food, listen to what the family has to say, witness it and share it with others”.  

I was touched by the First Nation’s spirit of generosity and welcome.  Even after years of conflict with ‘white people’ they ask us into their home and said, “We don’t talk about the past or how long it took us to get to this place, but we are here now, so welcome!”  I recognized that there was a sense of vulnerability simply by asking people to come into their home. This sense of ‘open vulnerability’ made the space feel more safe and helped me to listen more deeply to what was being said – as I also felt vulnerable being in their space experiencing a longhouse dinner tradition for the first time.

There were several things that stood out for me that made me think about Circle work:

The event was ‘opened’ with traditional songs that the host later described as the ‘heart’ of their community. Even the woman next to me whispered, “Did you hear how the welcome song was to the rhythm of a heart beat?”  (Circle is all about heart).

Witnesses were called to take special care and attention to what was being said. I was told that the witnesses were given a gift (tokens) which connects and commits them to this role. (We are called to be witnesses in Circle).

Those hosting the conversation (opening speakers) wore a blanket across their heart. I am unsure as to why this tradition is practiced when speaking, although I am certain there is some significance here. (There is a relationship between the heart and speaking in Circle).

The longhouse consisted of a large dirt floor, surrounded by benches along the walls, making one giant circle. The crowd sat around the circumference. (We sit in a circle, when experiencing Circle).

It was communicated that, “We gather to hear real voices from a real floor (dirt), because this is how we have real conversations (versus the world of texting we live in)”.   (Circle is about getting back to ‘real’ conversations – effective listening and speaking).

* * * *  

The experience overall reminded that “A sense of community is found only through giving.”  Then I had an epiphany:  If story-telling is a kind of giving of our stories and selves, than it absolutely makes sense that healthy communities involve sharing our stories!!!