When Women Tell the Truth About Their Lives (Dre Bendewald)
\u201cSo circling can be very personal, meaning you have your own awareness. It's not like, you know, you come to a circle and everybody sees you and they know everything about you and now you're outed. No, it's, you can have an experience where you see yourself in everybody in the circle. You have an inner awakening that leads you down a spiritual path of getting to know yourself in a way that you had no idea. I see it happen all the time where a woman will say, I've never shared this before. I don't know why I'm sharing, but it was something that so and so said, and I feel like I need to share it. And that share will be part of the whole circle that will then be a ripple effect that will then inspire somebody else to share. And then you have this whole circle of women having these epiphanies about themselves for themselves. Nobody's forcing them to do anything, but it's simply just from women sharing their stories.\u201d\nSo says Dre Bendewald, the founder of the Art of Circling. Dre is a dear friend\u2014and powerful to behold, particularly when she\u2019s in action, holding space for other women. She holds circles, where women\u2014strangers and friends alike\u2014gather to tell the truth about their lives. To be witnessed. To be heard. Admittedly, I was nervous before I joined my first circle, but Dre builds a safe and grounded container in which to alchemize your emotions, and bring your stories out of the shadows in a type of communal confessional. What\u2019s most profound is when you hear your story\u2014something you thought had only ever happened to you\u2014come out of another\u2019s woman\u2019s mouth. Ultimately, Dre is also a teacher intent on spreading this sacred and ages-old activity across the globe: Women have always gathered to share wisdom and story\u2014it\u2019s only recently that we\u2019ve been torn apart. In our conversation today, she explains how to do it, whether you choose to circle with your own friends, or join her. Meanwhile, I\u2019m thrilled to announce that she\u2019s holding circles for On Our Best Behavior, which anyone can join: You can go to her website, theartofcircling.com to learn more.\xa0\n \nTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy\n \n Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices