Seeds of Change Circles

“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.”

In considering how to respond to the chaos of current political and cultural shifts that are happening in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, we envisioned small circles of change in which we can nurture the vision of the world we want to inhabit.

These circles are informed deeply by the practice of Continuum, in which sound, breath, movement, and creative imagery are engaged to awaken the biological intelligence of our bodies in connection with the ecosystems we inhabit.

The idea of the circles also draws inspiration from Anna Halprin’s Planetary Dance and Tamalpa Institute’s Life/Art Process, a body-based approach to Expressive Arts Therapy that employs creativity as a potent tool for personal and collective learning and growth. Anna Halprin designed the Planetary Dance as a participatory ritual for community renewal in the 1980s, and it has been performed in countries across the planet every year since its inception.

In a similar way, we hope that a network of facilitators may grow far and wide to offer the simple sound and imagery sequence offered in Seeds of Change Circles for community well-being.

“MYCELIAL ACTIVISM”

Seeds of Change sound circles are designed to elicit the wisdom of trees and mycelial networks that know how to share resources for the health of the community. Like forests of trees, we live in relationship with one another and our well-being is inextricably linked to our human and more-than-human relations in the web of life.

We can use our voices to affirm our belonging in the living systems that support us and gain strength from our interconnectedness.

An antidote to isolation and fear, these circles aim to empower each person with renewed energy to take whatever actions feel right as we build a better world together, step by step, breath by breath. Ideally, as we activate small circles of care (for ourselves, each other, and the Earth), we may grow networks of nourishment to counterbalance the stress of the multitude of challenges we face. Shamanic healer Shannon Willis calls this “mycelial activism.”

As mentioned, our vision is for these circles to occur online and in person at various locations across the globe. The simple sounds and images can be practiced in virtual spaces, public parks, creative arts studios, political protests, and anywhere else that inspires a circle facilitator. Please see the Collaborators page to connect with people who currently facilitate these circles.