Peacemaker Circles UK

from Zang: I was invited to give an informal training evening for the "council circle" practice we do in the Zen Peacemakers, based on the Native American tradition of meeting in circles for making communal decisions and storytelling. Eight people took part in the evening, arranged and hosted kindly by Rowan and Willow, organisers of the Leicester Unitarian gathering (one of the two Unitarian communities in Leicester). In the first half of the evening I gave an overview of the practice and the 'ground rules' for keeping it alive. I played a piece of Irish 'sean-nos' singing by Roisin Elsafty as an example of coming from the heart, and we read a short story by Erica Wagner together to enter into a storytelling spirit and listening to one another. Rowan read out a passage (I think by Thich Nhat Hanh) on the value of deep listening. Then after a short break, Rowan and I co-facilitated a full council circle, which began with a poem by Carol Anne Duffy about be...

On Thursday evening we held the third monthly "Great Heart Circle" in Leicester- an evening of warm-hearted meditation and relaxation, study and Zen training. We read together another chapter from Bernie Glassman's book 'Bearing Witness', this time on the Auschwitz retreats, to coincide with this year's retreat beginning in the former prison camp. Every year for over 10 years the Zen Peacemakers have arranged multi-faith and multi-national retreats in the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau, to remember and bear witness to the events that happened there and to learn to listen to each other's stories and diversity. We also did a little informal walking meditation in silence in the beautiful bluebell garden at the back of the Unitarian chapel where we hold the Circle, and ended once again with a celebratory meal together. The next Leicester Great Heart Circle will be on Thurs July 8th at 7.30pm