The Power of The Circle at Occupy London

Today the Movement was in court to hear if The Bank would have a stay of eviction and if the protestors would be removed from St Paul's. And with the Solstice round the corner- energies and emotions were charged today for lots of reasons. We were feeling the shifts, the ends and the beginnings to come.

An art class was just finishing up as we arrived. I walked past some of the camp and saw people walking through this tent city. One man, turned up his nose and said Oh its stinks as he walked past the tents. Yes the bins did smell and lets face it the Portaloos were pretty well used. I have to say, no worse than some clubs in London on a Friday night, or any outdoor event. What did this man expect? These are people camping in the middle of a city. This is not camping in the middle of some green and pleasant land, with nature to purify and cleanse. A city smells at the best of times. For some reason I found his remarks to be hurtful. And indicative of the "Christmas Spirit" I was seeing on the streets. People focused on buying, buying, pushing, grabbing. Facebook updates about buying, eating, buying. None of this seemed to ring very close to my heart. A small group of people sitting in a tent drawing in an art class, at least seemed authentic. Let's face it- no one chooses to sleep on the streets. It is easy to judge. To dismiss. To react.

The Uny Tent has a library and a seated area with sofas and carpet. People were milling about in there as we set up. I started to smudge the space. A man in the corner on a sofa asked me if I knew what I was doing. Im smudging the space I said. Are you saying - go away you are unworthy. No I said. Do you feel that? He just shrugged and looked down. He seemed angry and defiant- he was not going to join he said. It was also obvious he would not leave. He would be sat right above me- watching the whole circle. I admit I found that a bit intimidating. In the distance we could hear sirens and cars and church bells.

People started to drift in- they had smelt the sage and they wanted to know what was happening. My friend sat in the South- in the element of Earth and started to drum. My other friend sat in the North- in the element of Air and did the same. I sat in the East ( for the first time) in the element of Fire and started to drum also. Suddenly next to me sat 2 men- one took out a penny whistle and started playing that. Another wanted to give me his Franckincense resin to burn- he whispered in my ear do you have any charcoal to burn this. I did not- so we added some to the smoker and the smell filled the tent. It was beautiful. And we carried on drumming, There was so much coming and going. I had underestimated how noisy this place was. Of course it was we were in the middle of the city at 4pm. All I could hear was chatter and above that cars and above that sirens and some road works and then the occasional church bells. Some more people drifted in and we now had a circle of about 10. Opposite me a man was sat working on his laptop, I wasnt even sure he was part of the circle or had found it happen around him.

So we opened the space and introduced ourselves. I asked each person to say something about themselves. It was hard to hear anyone above the traffic noise and people were reticent to share. And for some reason I was being pushed to speed things up. Was this because I was sat in the East? I felt this urgency to get started. We then called in the elements. Next to me was sat a man who told me he had missed doing this work. And as we turned to the East- he argued with us and told us we were wrong- that was not the East. And yet all are welcome. That is the nature of the circle. I told him we were facing the right way and he then agreed. As I called in the Spirits of the element of Fire he started commenting on what I was saying. This was hard. So the drum came in and the intention became stronger. Now more than ever the element of Fire was needed here to give us warmth, to cleanse the space, to release our inner restrictions, to purify. And so we continued and the man next to me stood in silence and soaked it all in. He continued to come and go during the rest of the circle, leaving to smoke, coming back to make some comments, leaving, coming back. Yet as he said- he missed this work- he had done it before- and he wanted more of this. We need this here he said. We need the drums.He could hear the drums and our singing in the distance whenever he left the space and it called to him he said.

We then started with what we wanted to release in our lives- and this was voiced in circle one by one and then we clapped and drummed it out of us- into the fire ( our candles) in the centre of the circle. We were joined by a member of the clergy now too. And I was amazed by the beauty with which people honestly spoke about what they no longer want to have in their lives. Grasping, defensiveness, fear- common themes for everyone, for me. The circle was mirroring to us all our fears, our inner obstacles to being in our Truth and Power. Afterwards we shared and someone said it was hard to stay focused. People were coming in and out, watching us and then leaving. It was hard- very. If we can find that strength, that connection to our Truth in the middle of the Chaos we can find it anywhere. Of course we can find enlightenment on a mountain top, in a forest deep in nature. To find your Truth here, to find your connection here in the middle of a city with non stop noise and disturbance- required a strong focus and a strong circle. And we were finding it- snatches of it- fleeting but there.

We then moved to the 2nd round and this time we were voicing our prayers, our intentions for 2012, using a stick of sage to burn and release later. And again with such beauty people talked of wanting to be in their Truth, to change their lives, to create a better world. The man opposite me- had now put aside his laptop- he said he wanted sleep. I asked him for the whole of 2012- yes he said- that sounded good. So we sang to our intentions- we visualized them and sang to them- called them to us with our voices - some people clapped too- some drummed gently- I opened my eyes and saw the man who had asked for sleep was in tune with the energy of the circle- he was using a metal stool to drum on. And we sang and the beauty of the voices that at first were faltering and shy and then soared- backed by the church bells in the distance and the sirens and cars was divine.

Afterwards we shared. And this time those that had said they found this hard, to connect with all the distractions, said it can be done, they had just felt it and they had felt that beauty. Our circle of complete strangers was holding each other up. Was supporting the wishes and visions of those in it.

We opened the third round with some words from Rumi, on Love, on Connection. This round was a celebration- we would now let rip and celebrate all that had brought us here and all we would have in the year to come. We would come together and celebrate connection and this circle and our Truth and what we came to this world to do. I still felt pushed- like time was slipping away. I asked my friend and he said we had half an hour- so why did I feel pushed? We had been joined by some more people and now were a tent of about 20 people- some had not introduced themselves to us. My friend had said that if that happens thats how its meant to be and to allow people that anonymity- I surrendered to that. As we were about to start this round- I saw people move to different parts of the tent so they could be in the circle, so they could find a drum. Someone took a rattle out of his bag. I felt the energy of people wanting to just be here, now and no questions, just come together and drum. And so we drummed and we sang and I took time to listen and heard such powerful voices swell up around me- such a raw, open energy. And started to feel that crest of a wave of unity- of connection of Truth. And then I felt it shift and suddenly a man was saying something. I opened my eyes to see a small man with a beard saying- this was great- this was just what the tent was for- but we had to stop because the high court judge was coming and he could not see us in this space with candles and sage and drums and we had to be quiet for when he arrived. Which utterly amazed me. Surely the whole point of this movement is to not bow down to the powers that are- but to do something new. And we had a member of the clergy here and he was not objecting to drumming and singing- he was joining us. As my friend said afterwards- how did they not know the judge may have liked this circle of community. It was a shame we were being prevented from holding ground here. And yet that had not been the intention of the Circle. It had been to come together, bring people together and to empower.

I could see no one in this space who agreed with stopping. They looked at me. Yes the Rebel in me would have wanted to carry on drumming, to fight my corner. Yet that was not why we were here. And this morning I had received guidance to detach from the drama. And this was just a drama being played out. A playing out of fears. The man next to me got angry. People were upset they had been stopped in mid flow of connecting and opening their hearts- I could feel that, see it and I felt it too.I spoke above this man and said please leave this circle- we need to close the circle and ground the energies and you have intruded on this sacred space. I didnt expect it- but he said yes- he understood and he agreed and he left. I was a bit stunned- now what? My friend suggested we hum and sing gently and so thats what we did. We held hands and we sang and hummed - and we re grouped. We gathered our energies and re connected and sang, quietly to each other, to this bit of land and to the energies we had been a part of in this space. And we all sang and then after a while we all came to a close. And holding hands we led each other in prayers for the future and felt that raw, exposed, honest connection. Hugging and thanking each other afterwards- in something that even now as I write this seems like a very surreal experience such was its rawness and truth in that exposed space. We grounded each other, we supported each other and as things shifted around us- the circle re grouped. It was this that amazed me. In an hour- we  had come together with more honesty and passion than Ive seen happen in months between people.

As we were packing up, clearing the space for the Judge's arrival! People asked when would there be another circle, this place needed it, the people here need it, this space needs clearing. I kept hearing that. People are tired. They are running a new community in the middle of a city that is not supporting this community. And fear can creep up on the best of us. Whether the judge says yes or not- is not important- for another camp will spring up. What is clear is this bit of land is attracting many who need to feel community, who need to share, who need to find and access their inner fire, who need to feel safe, who just need to feel some support. And they cant afford to go to a workshop. They cant buy the books that will tell them what crystals to buy, what events to attend. So to them, the time that people are devoting for art classes, workshops here is nectar.

As we were leaving, I saw one of the young men from the circle on Sat. We hugged hello and he said he had been drawn to the sound of the drum. And he had smelt the sage. I love that smell he said. That something so simple- like the smell of Sage could mean so much- breaks my heart. For it is the simplest things. In the most painful times it has been a stranger smiling at me, that has sometimes reduced me to tears. The kindness of strangers can be a powerful healer. It is.Today's circle showed that. We were pressed for time. In fact the Judge's arrival was to happen anytime after 5pm and we had been booked in till 5.30pm. So in all we had an hour in that space. And what we all felt happen there in that one small hour was utterly humbling.

I still dont know why I feel so drawn to be there, to sit in circle. Yet I do. And I shall continue to go. My friends have been drawn too. One is a Sufi and Cambridge Grad, the other is the Chairman of his own company. I have sat with those who are musicians, writers, healers, tourists, students, homeless, you and me. The Circle was made up as ever of Everyman.

For we can all talk the talk. Yet here are people living the blogs, the facebook posts, the coffee shop banter. I came home to a warm flat, good food and safety. My heart shall be forever filled with those I have sat in circle with in the last 3 weeks who do not have that luxury. For we are all a breath away from being that person. We are a person away. In the circle we drum, sing and open our hearts with all- all are equal and after that there can be no separation. After that we can no longer sit in cafes and talk about the changes we wish to make in the world, the changes to come. For the circle calls to us, to be that change, not just in thought and intention- in heart led action.

Yes this was a ragged circle. We all kept our coats and shoes on. I would have loved more time to share, to sing and drum. Many things were not so perfect. Yet in that was our perfection. For despite all the distractions and the restrictions, the Spirit of the Circle of that Community that came together through a following of the heart was strong, was Truth led and spoke from the Heart. What more can one ask for?

Till the next time.

"The time has come to turn your heart
into a temple of fire.
Your essence is gold hidden in dust.
To reveal its splendour
you need to burn in the fire of love" Rumi

"What pure perfection Love is,
pure perfection!
What an illusion our ego is,
What an illusion!
This love is a glory,
What Glory!
Today is the day of union,
the day of our union" Rumi

Intention at Occupy London

Today's circle at The Bank of Ideas was the hardest of the last 2 weeks. The space had a very different energy today, perhaps as the eviction looms.

When I walked in, I noticed the initial open doors policy had been replaced with a make shift security system. I thought Id arrived at the wrong place at first and as I stood on the doorstep with my 2 hand drums and  wrapped in layers to keep out the cold, the door was opened and I was greeted by a really friendly security guy. As I walked through the building the buzz had been replaced today with a mutedness. Not of spirit or intention, just it seemed of weariness. Of fighting the good fight, being in the 99% and yet where is the shift in the 1%? The state of limbo from the world we know and want to change to the world that is yet to be birthed. Some people may feel that pre Christmas fatigue from too much shopping, drinking, partying, eating, cooking. Here it was being felt at a deeper level. And there was still the uncertainty of the future.

As the temperatures have dropped, so the Bank was bitterly cold in some rooms. The night before there had been a cabaret and so people were also tired from that. So all in all a very different vibe to the buzz of last week and I felt that and it left me feeling unsure. Should I even be here? If people are tired and nursing hangovers do they really want a couple of people banging drums and sitting in circle burning sage and talking about Unconditional Love?

My friend and I started to set up the space. As he went to chat to people and invite them to join us I drummed and cleared the space. The whole time thinking why am I here? Today even my intention was not clear or as strong.

He came back to tell me lunch was just being served and people were busy with that but there was a lot of interest. And I was starting to notice this trend. Of desires and intention coming from the heart, from the fire of deep seated passions and then somehow these losing a focus. Or a follow through. We were joined by a man from Canada who started to share with us his journey and how he was at a point in his life where he was unsure of the next step. He was looking to re connect with himself. A man came in with  a bowl of food. My friend asked him to join. He sat with us with his plate of food and started to tell us his name, how to spell it ( with a number at the end) why he was here, what he thought of the government and much more. It was hard to know where his focus was. His mind seemed to dart from one thought to the next. He liked the smell of the sage, he said he would be sleeping here tonight in this large, cold room. He had his suitcase and a pillow with him.

We were joined by 2 others. Their stories shared started to reveal that today's circle had a common theme: homelessness and a real need to feel safe. One told me he had been on the streets for a month and it was just too much for him. He was young, probably still in his teens. He had come to the Bank for shelter. He said  it was warm, the people were nice and he felt safe. There was also food and he liked being here. His needs were simple, to feel safe, to be warm, to be part of a community. He wanted to feel like he was part of something. His friend said much the same too. Of wanting to feel part of something, to be part of a community and the only community they had found to do that had been the Occupy Movement, that had asked nothing in return. Instead offered free food, shelter and that sense of one-ness. Just holding that space on a daily basis is a big thing for people to do day in day out with no returns and I was starting to see how that was also impacting on the people holding this space, this movement.

After sharing in circle, we started to open our voices. The concept of singing makes people think they may have to hold a tune, instead of just letting sound out. The intention behind this- to access our sense of Inner Freedom, of allowing our Truth out. How can we fight for Freedom when we have yet to taste it. But we had still not called in the Elements and we needed to do that. Except the circle kept shifting. Now the man who spelt his name with a number had left, someone else had joined and suddenly we had a new energy to this collective. And now we were exchanging names again and our stories and dreams. And still there remained the common thread. Homelessness. Pasts that people wanted to leave behind, and a yearning for a new way of being. A yearning to be in the heart to be in the Truth.

So we sang in a round, opening to sounds. I had been a bit sceptical, would people actually go for this, would they be too shy?  Still people walked in and out of the room. At the end of the room a man with a dog was just sat watching us with a mug of tea. I was finding focus so hard this time in this space. I could hear noises from all the other rooms. Yet the sounds people started to release were beautiful. Primal, connected, heart felt and the circle did that person by person. We found a faltering, shy harmony, based on our own individual truths. The man with the dog had joined us by now and the dog lay between us at our feet.

We stopped and shared. The man from Canada said he was so happy to be in a space where people were so free and honest. We then took this onto our feet and brought some gentle drum beats in. The intention had been to get people used to the drum and the voice. Still we had not called in the elements. Every time I went to do that, something distracted us. So we stood and sang and my friend provided a gentle drum beat. And we found a stronger circle connection. Then as we drew to a close, 2 of the members left. Had they had enough? Were they called somewhere else? I dont know. I opened my eyes and they were gone. So we closed the circle. And I felt the loss. We had just built a bond and they then left. And yet somewhere in that I felt the resonance of their stories they had shared, of the displacement and the homelessness. It was if that lack of stability, that lack of focus was now a part of their inner dialogue. That at any given moment they could get up and leave.

I know people in my life who have slept on the streets. I have never thankfully been in that position. The closest I came was last year, when after having moved places 3 times in one year, I was faced with a 4th move 10 days before Christmas and nowhere to go. I walked the streets in the snow every day in that time period looking for a place to live and that sense of fear and panic at where would I sleep/live was one of the most painful times in my life. I did have a safety net. I had and have dear friends and also family who were able to help. Had I not, I truly do not know where I would be now. But as I moved around and slept on floors, I started to get that sense of scatteredness in my being. My mind was constantly racing, I was distracted by things easily and could not stay focused on anything for very long. My heart was constantly racing. It is very hard to describe. Home is security and safety. Which allows us to be in our Truth and in our Power. When that is gone then the things we take for granted like warmth, clean clothes, feeling good in our bodies because we had a good nights sleep, or just knowing we will be able to sleep become priorities. And then things like intentions of life purpose, joy, love become things more and more alien. So in our circle which was now being made up of this common thread I was seeing that. A real yearning for love, yet ask someone what their intention was for this circle, for the year to come and it was hard to get an answer. To get those thoughts ordered. I asked one man and he said he didnt know, then that he had said it already. When I asked him again, and I was pushy with it, what do you want in your life in 2012?- he stopped. Then said, I want a new start, I want the pain of the past to leave my life, I want my life to start. He wanted to feel connected to his essence and to live it and he expressed that so beautifully.

We finally called in the elements and this time I also asked one of the circle who had been there last time to join in this. He called in the elements of Water and Earth. Calling them in for us all to connect with the might, the energy, the wisdom. To bring us closer to our environment and to ourselves. He had never done this before, but we needed at least a third person or my friend and I would be calling in 7 times between us! And he did this with such grace and poetry. Words flowed from him, in meter and rhyme. It was so very powerful and heartfelt and incredible. Last week he did not understand what any of this meant and had asked why we did this. This week it was like he had done this his whole life. It was so very beautiful. Awe inspiring.

And so we drummed and sang. And it was hard going. Very hard. People kept walking in and out. I could hear people coming in and taking photos on their phones. Sometimes I opened my eyes to see people just watching us. The circle was mixed, some were sitting, some new people had joined and they were lying down, some were standing. And so we drummed and we sang. And then we sang without the drum and still it felt hard. The room was freezing cold. And then just like that something happened and it was as if the drums took on a life of their own. Even with my eyes shut, the light in the room seened to change and suddenly the voices took on a different resonance and it felt like there was singing coming from all around us. I saw our ragged circle, some on the floor, some sitting some standing singing and moving their feet. We had been guided down a real wayward path this afternoon and then right here right in this moment was a sense of unity and power and connection with such vulnerability that my heart felt the beauty and pain of that.

Afterwards we shared, we held hands and we closed circle. Speaking our heart felt Truths. We were a circle of 7 men and one woman ( me)! and this had been a very unique experience. A myriad of experiences and stories in one space. We had set our intentions with our sticks of sage again to release later. And just as we closed one of the men who had left to go to a meeting had returned. He was the one who had struggled to initially voice his intention. He said he still had his stick of sage, were we still going to be doing a ceremony and drumming, he wanted to focus his intention. His child like open-ness and desire is still in my heart now. He came back! I liked the fact we were still there in circle. That he did not come back to am empty room. Somehow that felt healing in itself. At least I hope so.

There has been such a beauty and open-ness to all who I have met in these circles at Occupy. People you look at immediately and shamefully make a judgement on- they will never get this, this isnt their thing- open their mouths and such a yearning for Love and Change flows. Such a desire for Community and not for companionship in a selfish sense but for equality and a new way of being. And such an open-ness to Spirit, to the elements, a respect for the world we live in, the environment and a real desire to help those who need it. I have met gentle, inquisitive, hurt, articulate, bright, creative souls. And the intelligence of debate and the open heartedness has truly humbled me. I have received warm, open, heart -exposed hugs. And the same words are repeated: Love, Community, Unity, Unconditional Love, Change.  As we left the space one of the women who had sat in circle with us 2 weeks ago, who had said she had just felt drawn to the space, and she didnt know why, was now holding a workshop. She was surrounded by a group of people all listening as she spoke on something. She was now holding her own space, in this reclaimed building in the centre of London.

Far from being a flash in the pan or a nuisance, the Occupy Movement is a heart centred consciousness that has taken to the streets. Because it is Heart and Peace led, it gets bruised, and the people in it feel things deeply. Because it is heart led it is attracting many elements of society who have been yearning or searching. Because it is Heart led, I believe it is the first, loud cry for change and the New we shall step into. The wayward circle showed me today, that the will of the collective is hard to be a part of, to put aside the ego and the mind. That as this many limbed creation struggles to crawl and walk, there will be times when it feels like pushing a mountain up a hill, times when the focus will be lost and times when things will need to be taken at a slower pace. As long as the collective is able to find a way to manage this new creation, this multi limbed, big hearted, creative, at times confused, at times utterly in flow creation, then it will be this energy that shall ride the shifts to come and create the ripples amongst us all to break free in our personal and global lives. Occupy is the beginning of the call to truly come home to ourselves and our Global Community. To Occupy the One-ness in all things, in us all. It is hard, yet there are a tasters of the Beauty that can be.

The next circle shall be at The Tent City University, outside St Paul's on Monday 19th 4pm.

Till the next meeting.

The Drum at Occupy London

The second circle at the occupied UBS building, now The Bank of Ideas took place on Human Rights Day and the day of the Full Moon Eclipse.

This time we were in a much larger room and further back, presumably so we could make some noise. My friend was already waiting for me when I arrived in the space and I laughed. On one wall there was a giant mural Banksy Style, on a small pillar was a painting of David Cameron giving the V sign and not for Victory! And on the back wall was a giant painted rainbow with the words" Change" across it. There were bits of rubble on the floor.

A Shamanic Healer had said to me in the week:" Drum and they will come". But I doubted this. It was not how I did things, waiting for something to happen. So while my friend drummed in the space, I went around the building putting up signs and telling people about the circle. Most people knew about it already from the noticeboard of course. In one room people were busy sewing and making banners. There were people playing guitar and drums and a table with someone dressed in a Santa outfit giving out hot drinks. Another room was being used as a place to sleep. Downstairs in the chill out area, people were busy working on computers. The whole building was buzzing with activity; workshops, events, gatherings, a charge. It was the first time my friend had visited and it was that charge he had noticed.

I had heard that people were also tired, with the constant pushing forward of momentum. That there were feelings of loneliness for some who were drawn to this place of community and then went back to their own lives of lack. None of this detracts from the simple Truth. People who feel strongly about change, have not sat in a coffee shop or down the pub and talked about it, they have got up and done something about it. The people who are part of this movement are a cross section. They are educated, articulate, spiritual, atheist, driven, lost, passionate, in pain, professionals, homeless......they are all of us. Except they are stepping out of the confines of the Known into the New.

The impetus for the circle came from sitting on the steps of St Pauls. Community was springing up and it needed something that can hold it strong. Circle work is powerful and multi layered. It can involve many rituals, it can involve teachings passed down. It can be about cleansings or visions on an intense level. What I am learning is that it is just what is needed at that time. At this time the Circle is showing me, guiding me, that what is needed is a strong centre, in all of us and in the collective. A true connection to that inner Truth and Power. An ability to connect with all and accept all. For what we cannot embrace in the circle we cannot embrace in the world. The person who sits next to us, who sits opposite is our mirror, our guide. We learn from each other. We heal each other. We share, we drum, we sing and in so doing we bring healing to ourselves, to the land we sit on and to those around us. It really can be that simple.In fact it needs to be that simple at Occupy. The drum, the voice, the intention, the circle. The connection and the heart led sharing. That is what is needed here right now.

Three people drifted in. I went off to get some more. I had forgotten the beauty of those words: Drum and they shall come. I was pushing. Not allowing. I came back and three people were still there. Well then the circle would involve the 5 of us and it would be just fine. We smudged the space. Drummed to clear the space. Sat in circle. Started to introduce ourselves. Ever in the background one could hear singing from the room next door and there was a steady stream of people walking through the room to get to another bit of the building. It was hard to stay focused. As we started to share a few more drifted in and joined. We smudged each person in the circle and as I sat back down, a dog came into the room, had a sniff around some of our things and then left. He was wearing a bright red jacket.

People shared why they were here. Some wanted to know more about drumming and connecting with Spirit. I explained my role was not one of the teacher, we all find our own teachers, no one can impose that on us. We were there just to hold the space and allow what need be. Others wanted to drum. Others wanted to connect with themselves deeper, to find clarity for the movement, to find energy for the work they were here in this space to do. To find healing. To find.

We focused on our purpose. Taking a piece of sage to later burn and release to the elements with the power of our intentions, we all spoke aloud our intentions for the New Year. The drumming and singing would be the energy, the fuel for our group intention of community and healing and our specific individual intentions. Which beautifully were about unconditional love, hope for those in pain, healing for those with mental and physical pain.

Just as we were about to start a film crew walked in and asked to record us. We had just had 2 photographers milling around us before this. A lesson in staying focused on the common purpose. This was a free building, people here owned nothing and it was not my place to speak for the circle and disallow anything if others did not object. This was another teaching. Group consensus. And still in the background people walked through the room, slamming doors. Yes, this was urban connecting at its' most basic. And hard. To not have the elements around you, to be connecting in the middle of a city, surrounded by steel and the energies of finance and gain. And yet if we could connect, if we could find healing and ground that in this space, how potent would that be. What a lesson for us all.

And so we drummed and sang, those without a drum clapped. Afterwards we shared our experiences of vulnerability, of connecting with Mother Earth and her birthing pains of the New, with ourselves, with each other. Of the beginnings of throwing off the shackles of Society in a large room in Moorgate, in an occupied building. Of feeling the beginnings of freedom in us. For how can we create it in the world if we have not tasted it yet in us. And we shared ideas on this Shift. The change from the mind to the heart, from ego to unconditional Love. Some of the men sharing this was harder for them, to be in the Heart Centre. They felt women had always done it. Perhaps. For we are being asked to Love to be the Change in the World. We held hands, we felt that raw, vulnerable, truthful heart led energy of our circle. 13 strong in this unlikeliest of places. Connecting and then releasing to now carry that in our hearts and into our worlds.Next time some said they would like to really dance to the music, to feel that freedom. Next time.

Change happens in many ways. Through the gentle drip drip of moments. Through a gradual awakening, while life is busy happening, And it can happen overnight. We all know our lives can change in a moment. How we respond to that wave is what empowers us. The Occupy Movement has harnessed that wave of yearning for the New that in our coffee houses, pubs and houses has been talked about. That in spiritual and guided circles has been dreamt for who knows how long. It feels forever. And as that dream starts to become what people can see to be the ever changing true reality, as the reality reveals itself to be an illusion, empowerment comes in feeding the dream of the collective and the inner with the purest essence of our soul's voice.

As the circle closed, bouyed with the beauty of what had just happenened in just under 2 hours, we were joined by someone in pain. He was high on something and he asked if he could join the circle. I had just been talking about Unconditional Love and here it was- were all welcome? Truly? He joined our circle and we held hands again and sent our prayers out again and included and held his energy too. For he had asked to be included and just like that we had done so. We had included him in the Community. I was humbled by the lesson and by the beauty of all sat in this circle. Those who believed in Spirit, those who did not, those who kept their eyes open when drumming and singing in case they missed anything and those who allowed themselves to just go where they needed to.

As I was leaving one of the older women who had sat with us hugged me goodbye. She said the space needed to be cleared here and people needed healing. To hear the drum beat. To feel that energy of  connection. And she gave me such sweet words of wisdom and guidance and strength that I was yet again overwhelmed by the beauty of what can happen when we set an intention with our hearts. Every person in that room had said they had followed a feeling/calling to be there. They had followed their hearts. And when we open ourselves to Change, to being in the moment, to being in the Truth, our Truth, to connection and vulnerability, what can we not achieve.

Occupy is a Movement born from the yearnings of the Heart, for a time when we are moving into the Heart Consiousness.It is providing free food, free shelter, free workshops, and refuge for so many. The drum for me could be the underlying heart beat of this change. Inclusive. Healing. Empowering. Political change can come about through many pathways. Focused, heart led, truth led, connected desire can be the change.

The next Circle shall be on Monday the 19th from 4-5.30pm outside St Pauls.

Till the next time.

The Circle at Occupy London

A while back I was asked to go  down to the St Paul's Occupy site and donate some of my time to their Welfare Tent as a Reiki Healer. The area I was told was attracting many in need and the welfare tent had sprung out of that desire for some healing in this space.

When I finally went down to the site I was amazed by the level of dedication and desire for community and change. Something ommitted from mainstream media reports. On my last visit as I sat on the steps of St Paul's and witnessed the tangle of the times of shift we are in I felt called to come back to the space and this time bring Shamanic Circle to the land and those on it. I watched as news crews followed Jon Snow around, masked men gave out "free hugs" ( I got one!), a speakers platform was buzzing with addresses to the crowds and tourists and Londoners alike felt the desire to record this significant event on their phones and cameras.

What makes this Occupy Movement significant? For me the real heart felt desire for community and a coming together. In the gathered tents and placards one can feel a yearning for a society of One-ness, of equality and of Truth. The Mayans recorded much of the shifts to come in 2012. Some have talked of this time being an end of the World. For me this end is a ceasing of the World Order as we know it ( however that may happen) and a move from the world of mind, greed, and what is called The Divine Masculine into the heart centre, Truth, The Divine Feminine and The Unconditional Love Consciousness. What does this mean for us as individuals? It means we love despite the pain, despite the restrictions, despite the differences between us. We love because we see Society as a reflection of ourselves and an extension of Family. We choose Peace as the force for change.

Shamanic Circle work embodies just that. In the circle all are equal, all are One and our hopes and desires, yearnings and fears are voiced, shared, acted out in ritual and through this we come to know that we are not alone. That the barriers we feel separate us are illusory and that though we may not always agree, there is place for all. For if we can make peace within the circle we can make peace within the world. This shift cannot come about through force. That was how we birthedt it for years. This time if we are to combat the might of those we seek to educate, we seek to change, then this must be done through the power of the group as One. Through Love. And this does not mean being passive, this does not mean sitting in a room and sending Love only. This requires us to be Warriors of the Open Heart. To seek change not through conflict but through another way. A heart felt, Spirit led way. By connecting with the elements, our environment, each other and the Truth in us.

We were booked into the Bank of Ideas for the first Shamanic Circle at The Occupy Site. The room was empty, cold, and rough and ready. It was reclaimed property after all. Whilst I set up the space, my friend went around the building and announced the circle. And soon enough people started drifting in. They did not know what to expect, only one had done Shamanic work before. They had heard there would be some drumming and  they felt drawn.

The circle was a mix of those who were visiting London, to those with no spiritual beliefs, to those who were sleeping on the streets and had done for many years to those who just wanted to soak up the drumming. As we sang to the Land and gave thanks to the bloodline that had brought us to this potent time, the energy of the circle grew and the connection was heart felt.

Towards the end of this ceremony I was called away by someone who said the sounds of our drumming was disturbing their movie screening downstairs. As I followed him round the building, trying to explain we were in the middle of ceremony, that people in this space were healing and could we not make some noise for 20 mins longer I left my friend with the circle. Standing, eyes closed, facing outwards, connecting to their ancestors. I must have been gone over 10 mins. And I will  be honest all my talk of unconditonal love was going out the window as I was trying to find a room, facing a lack of organisation as people find their feet in this new space, and worrying about those left standing literally in ceremony upstairs. About 10-15 mins later I went back into the room, not sure how we would close the circle, ashamed that I had let this group of people down. They would have got bored and left by now. When I walked into the room, all were standing still, eyes closed, backs to the circle, connecting still with their hearts. Our lesson was right there. In these times of Chaos and shift, the way to survive is to stay connected to each other, to community and to the Truth we feel in our hearts. As we shared afterwards, each  person had had a profound experience. And all this in a room with old grey carpet, no heating and fading lights from the street. I was humbled by the dedication to healing, to connection these strangers had shown each other and the circle. What can we not achieve if that profound respect for something greater, that desire for healing is channelled into pro active expression. The human spirit is mighty.

To please the group on the floor below I decided we would not drum. So instead we sang and we clapped in unsion, allowing the rythmns of our souls to rise free. And it was that simple. A group of people who had never met before, sat in circle, moving as One. We closed the space, holding hands and giving thanks for all we had shared and the Love, Truth and Inner Power we had tasted.

Afterwards someone told me a simple tale. In a Shamanic community in Devon- every morning they meet to sit in circle. Each person volunteers for that day's role- whether this be kitchen duty or something else. One person is the "dreamer". In Shamanic circles, in many traditions, we are told all we see is an illusion- a construct of the mind. The Truth happens in the Dream scape. For we can dream the world we wish to live in. John Lennon told us to Imagine. And the Dreamer in the circle will go out in nature and connect in with the elements and see what dreams come to them. They then return and share. What if, said this woman, every office meeting on a monday morning started like this? And the dreamer went out to bring back innate knowledge from the heart of nature. What if? I asked myself just that as I left the Bank, my heart filled with the beauty of Connection and such profound vulnerability. One member said he felt the world was just an extension of the Family we have. He spoke with such eloquence and passion for being as One. I could see he had slept for some time on the streets. If nothing else, the reclaimed Bank is providing shelter, community, healing and hope to so many who have remained our Forgettens for too long.

May the re-membering begin.

Aho.