I am SO excited to be offering my first MotherCircle to my Greensboro community! I just completed my certification as a MotherCircle Facilitator (MCF) in August and can’t wait to begin in October with you all. The reason I chose to pursue to become a MCF is because participating in MotherCircle impacted me in ways took me by (pleasant) surprise.
Kimberly Ann Johnson has distilled everything we wished we had known about motherhood—all of the unseen aspects that really rarely, if ever, get brought up when we get together with our friends. I don’t know about you, but as a single-mom of an only child that I birthed at the ripe old age of 38 (haha)—I waiver between complaining about how hard I have it and acting like I have all of my s*it together, hiding my struggles so no one feels sorry for me because (eye-roll) I am a strong independent woman! And The truth is neither of these tactics provides depth or connection with anyone—and I am left feeling even lonlier.
I need community and support. It isn’t exactly easy to find these days and frankly when I went looking I didn’t even know what I was looking for or where to find it. Enter MotherCircle. I participated in my first MotherCircle online with about 150 other women from all around the world. Despite being separated by time and space—MotherCircle provided the sacred structure—through the presentation of ideas, values and practices—that allowed for us to feel connected through our motherhood journeys.
One particular moment from that experience stands out for me. When I was in a break-out room during one of the calls, I shared a vulnerable story of feeling unheard and unseen in an aspect of mothering in response to a question we were given to discuss—and the way my partner responded with “Oh I am seeing you and hearing you now” had me burst into tears right as the break-out room cut out. It makes me tear up just writing about it. That moment bonded me with this woman, who lives across the ocean, because I believed her and knew in my heart she was speaking the truth, from her heart. And we are taught to practice speaking from our hearts, from our felt sense in MotherCircle—and Dierdre did just that in that moment and it healed me. I now call her and several other women all around the world my friend and continue to connect with them regularly as friends and now colleagues as many have gone on to become facilitators as well. And that is just a small example of the power we have as women and mothers and why I feel so passionate about offering this sacred container in-person—to heal, connect and empower.
MotherCircle is a uniquely immersive experience where we dive into the deeper aspects of the motherhood experience that we rarely talk about! This is such a great opportunity to connect, to witness/be witnessed, to tap into the immense wisdom and power we hold as women and as mothers—and to go forward sharing this with the world so that we can effect real positive transformation in our families and communities.
Each week is centered on a different topic:
Week 1 Oct 3: MotherDive- Entering Motherhood is an underworld journey often not seen and recognized by the outside world. Learn the arc of this journey, the tools to be present to it and be witnessed as you locate yourself within it.
Week 2 Oct 10: MotherCycle—Awareness of our cyclical nature can help us align with our innate wisdoms as mothers. Explore how being in rhythm with the cycles in and around us gives us more access to our wholeness and our power.
Week 3 Oct 17: MotherBody—Everything a baby needs, a new mother also needs. Learn a powerful framework for assessing your physical and emotional wellness and how to tend what’s needed in your body no matter where you are at in your motherhood journey.
Week 4 Oct 24: MotherBirth—Birth is an initiatory experience that fundamentally changes us. We’ll explore ways to access and share this experience that locates the wisdom that it has to offer for our motherhood journeys.
Week 5 Nov 7: MotherLover—There is often a split between being a mother and being a sexual. Learn how to connect with your ever-changing sexuality as a mother and become more at home in your body and your sexuality.
Week 6 Nov 14: MotherJaguar—The predator-prey dynamic is present in our experience of birth and motherhood. Explore how this awareness and its presence in our nervous system can impact your everyday life and mothering.
Week 7 Nov 28: MotherWorth- Motherhood changes how we relate to our work in the world. Explore the relationship between your worth and your value and anchor the things that nurture your worth as part of your mothering practice.
Week8 Dec 5: MotherCode-We have a powerful opportunity to imagine the legacy we would like to leave. We are shaped by our motherline and the mothers around us, and we can choose what we would like to carry forward. Together we will identify the values that we want to guide our mothering and shape our lineage.