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