It’s not easy being Queer right now. That’s why I’ve co-created a virtual space for Queer people to come together to be raw and real. To Rage and despair and shed those tightly held tears. (https://sacraltransformations.com/qdrc/)
The first time I took a turn sharing my despair and fear and grief and anger in a Circle of Humans that welcomed it all, I knew I’d found my emotional home.
I deeply felt how transformative it is to access and express my emotions while being tenderly held by a circle of witnesses. And how validating it is to witness other people’s emotions in turn- for the first time I knew I was not alone in my despair.
I didn’t know I was Queer then. But I had been feeling despair for what humans are doing to the Earth and each other for 30 years.
That was in April of 2016, when I went to my first Work That Reconnects workshop. By October of 2016 I’d become a Work That Reconnects facilitator, offering in-person workshops in Ithaca, NY.
By January of 2019 I’d co-created the Despair and Discovery Circle, a monthly 2.5-hour opportunity for people to share their emotions- all the hard and heavy ones we are taught to suppress.
My Queerness journey began in June of 2023, and in forging ahead into all the places my queer heart is taking me, I’ve now let go of the Despair and Discovery Circle in order to create the Queer Despair and Resilience Circle.
Following Joanna Macy’s Spiral of the Work That Reconnects, we begin by very briefly “Rooting in Gratitude,” followed by spending the bulk of our time in “Honoring our Pain for the World.”
Because all pain, from the planetary to the personal, is interconnected, it is all welcome here. And we take timed turns, so that each person, even the shyest, has an equal opportunity to be seen and heard. (Most of my life I’ve been the shyest person in any given space, so this is important to me.)
The third part of the Spiral is “Seeing with New and Ancient Eyes.” Early on in the Despair and Discovery Circle we tried out collectively creating a poem for this part, popcorn style, and we were amazed at what we’d created. It became our regular way to “see with new and ancient eyes,” to transform our pain into astonishing beauty. Here is one of our first and shortest poems (they grew longer over time.)
“Rage and Hope”
(Collectively created by six Beautiful Humans on June 22, 2019)
Beautiful Humans
Integrity of heart
Curiosity and so much space to grow
Sharing our lives
Rooted in the truth
We ache to be real
To speak the truth
Stones and birds have something to say.
As do the trees and the wind and the clouds and the sun
We carry the voices
The patterns of energy
Rage and hope
We are despair and we are bigger than despair
together
together
To be heard is a gift
The Earth is crying to be heard
The final part of the Spiral is “Going Forth,” and this is an acknowledgement that we return to our lives changed because of the emotions and vulnerability we’ve shared.
The next Queer Despair and Resilience Circle is Monday, July 14, from 3:30-6 p.m. PDT. To create an intimate and sacred space, attendance is limited to 10.
Sign up here for email notifications: https://sacraltransformations.com/qdrc/
(Registration access will arrive in the first email you receive.)
Blessings and Courage,
Betti
Betti Rooted Lionheart (she/her) is passionate about working with Queer People, Teens, Healers, Activists, Change Makers, and anyone who feels despair for the Earth and Humanity. She is a Shamanic Healer, a Spiritual Empowerment Activist, a Fire Priestess, a Writer, a Facilitator of the Work That Reconnects, a Minister of the Church of Earth Healing, the Mother of two Sons, Queer, and the founder of Braided Root Waters Healing Sanctuary in Trumansburg, NY. Betti offers powerfully transformative one-to-one Shamanic Healing Sessions. https://sacraltransformations.com
Published in “The Community Voice” Rohnert Park, CA