Giving Spirit Form is based on the model of a Tiospaye, the Lakota word for extended family. Within that extended family, there are several circles that meet in Sebastopol. There are two circles that meet once a month, from 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM; one on Saturday and one on Sunday. A third circle meets every other week on Tuesday evening from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM. All circles start in January and end in December.
As a mirror of life, the circles are comprised of people from a broad range of ages and professional backgrounds. Some members have been doing this work for years and some are just beginning. The common denominator is the desire to heal and a commitment to a spiritual journey. A year's commitment is required of each member of the circle. [ return to top ]
Each meeting is a blend of checking in, giving and receiving feedback, teaching and experiential work.
The focus is on developing each person's capacity to make contact with their own spirit and Great Spirit. This involves assisting and empowering each person's ability to develop their capacity to soften and relax their habitual defenses, and to experience direct intimate contact with themselves in the loving presence of others. Each person learns how to deepen their presence without judgment. As one begins to recognize oneself as a Sacred being, the sense of separation dissolves and the essential truth that we are all related emerges. Because we are mirrors for one another, each person's work contributes to the healing of the entire circle.
Creativity is a doorway through which we have the opportunity to recognize ourselves more fully. It is an opening to the Spirit world. Throughout the year we focus on a sacred art project, such as making gratitude hoops, masks, collages and rattles. [ return to top ]
A Vision Quest provides the opportunity for each person to have time alone in nature for reflection and prayer. It is a time when we let go of the typical luxuries of life in order to contact our spirit more directly. This takes place during the Fall at Wind Dance, 125 acres of beautiful, wild land in Mendocino County. This is also an opportunity for members of different circles to come together and meet each other, alongwith the inipi ceremony (sweat lodge) offered thoughout the year. [ return to top ]
In support of community, we have one or two work weekends during the year. Members from the different circles come together on the land to cut wood for the lodges, care for the land and prepare Vision Quest sites. Other members contribute by preparing food. This is a time to deepen the connection between members of the Tiospaye, and an opportunity to develop a relationship to the land herself.
At various times during the year, weekend workshops are offered. Native American spiritual leaders are brought out to teach, do ceremony and share their Spiritual wisdom.
To enter Giving Spirit Form, you must arrange a personal interview with Ellen sometime between August and December prior to the beginning of the new year. If accepted, you would be placed in the circle that is most appropriate for your personal journey.
