Resources
Midwives for Midwives Additional Resources
Wisdom Circles (www.wisdomcircle.org)
Wisdom Circles is an organization that encourages and supports the practice of wisdom circles for self-discovery and community building in small groups. They offer a free Wisdom Circle Format, with “Ten Constants” that serve as guidelines for the wisdom circle process. They have also published a book called Wisdom Circles, A Guide to Self-Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups (Hyperion, 1998). Wisdom Circles is based in Oakland, California.
Millionth Circle Initiative (www.millionthcircle.org)
The Millionth Circle Initiative is a grassroots, international volunteer organization of women who believe that circles are the means through which world consciousness will change. The Initiative was inspired by Jean Shinoda Bolen’s book The Millionth Circle: How to Change Ourselves and the World (see below for details). The initiative is affiliated with the Women’s World Summit Foundation, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, an international NGO accredited to the United Nations, and is informally linked to numerous organizations, networks, and individuals throughout the world.
PeerSpirit (www.peerspirit.com)
PeerSpirit is an education and service company that promotes and teaches an original group process methodology called PeerSpirit Council. The co-founders of PeerSpirit are Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea, both authors in the field of personal and social change. Their circle process draws substantially from Christina Baldwin’s book Calling the Circle: The First and Future Culture (Bantam, 1998). They offer seminars in a retreat setting several times a year to teach their circle process.
From the Four Directions (www.fromthefourdirections.org)
From the Four Directions is a global leadership initiative that uses the PeerSpirit Circle process to support local community leaders all around the world. From the Four Directions is a project of the Berkana Institute, an organization founded by Dr. Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science (Berrett-Koehler, 1999). Amongst other things, From the Four Directions:
- works around the globe to organize local conversation circles among citizen leaders so that they might name their hopes and challenges, learn from colleagues, and act courageously to move their hopes into reality;
- provides technical expertise, coaching, networking and resources for people to start circles and ensure their success; and
- connects local circles to one another to weave a global network that can emerge as a global force for change.
Spirit in Action: Circles of Change (www.spiritinaction.net)
Spirit in Action is a non-profit organization dedicated to building a successful movement for spirit-centered social change in the US. Central to their work is their “Circles of Change” program which brings together small groups of diverse activists for the purpose of building community; developing new ways to bring spirit into social justice work; articulating a collective vision; and taking action for individual, cultural and systemic change. The Circles of Change grow out of an initial round of thirteen sessions with eight to twelve participants from a local community. Their circles model supports participants to: embrace a broad understanding of spirit; invite spirit into groups that are culturally diverse and committed to social and political change; create a positive, long-term vision for local communities and national society; build community across differences and work through conflict; and include self-care, relationship-building and dialogue in their action for change.
