The Great Expansive Work of the Inner

Over the years of my learning, of my leading, and of my facilitating, I have come to deeply appreciate the essential work of the expansive inner.

As a poet, I know some of what honing to essence of the deeply inner can open in the many layers of outer.

As a coach and guide, I have come to know much of what encouraging others into the their inner provides as gateway to their fruitful outer.

As a facilitator, I have experienced many times the hunger and depth that groups wish, so as to contribute to their respective mandates and causes with meaning and purpose and passion.

The inner — all of the noticings — is often map to the most poignant real stuff. The relevance of the inner provides access to platforms that can transform. Most humans wish for the integrated living. Most of us are learning to reclaim such liberation. Most are searching for experiences and containers that bring alive what is already in us, but lost or dormant.

So, reflecting a bit today on large bodies of water (like this recent view above, into the North Sea from Rorvig, Denmark), I find myself appreciating the many of us experimenting and practicing, large and small, with inner as path to outer. It’s not all of one and then the other. I experience it as continued dance along the way, the inner leads guiding the outer, and sometimes the outer leads, spinning back to an inner.

The poet Yung Pueblo writes some of this essential and expansive inner in his book, Clarity & Connection (thx Chris Smyth for gifting me a copy).

time does not heal all wounds: it just gives
them space to sink into the subconscious,
where they will continue to impact your emotions
and behavior. what heals is going inward,
loving yourself, accepting yourself, listening
to your needs, addressing your attachments
and emotional history, learning how to let go,
and following your intuition.

I am grateful to the many companions, past and present, who have known the importance of such expansive learning and kindness, through the inner. I am grateful to be in such learning surrender to love of the deeply inner that welcomes me and others into deep inner. I am grateful for the aliveness all of it brings, and for being with friends, loved ones, and colleagues that know we must hold each other into the expansive views in work and in life.

A bow.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature
is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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