Stories are powerful.

HEARD is a monthly space to be heard and share the power of connection through storytelling.

Each month in The Breathing Space substack community, we investigate a theme as it relates to ourselves and give it space to unfold. The culmination of our month of reflection is a live listening circle. Past themes have been: meeting yourself as you are, resiliency, embracing the unknown, and many more to come.

What to expect:

This is the general outline of a circle:

1. Land in the space + setting intention

2. Opening the circle + sharing the prompt

3. Sharing stories + active listening

4. Closing the circle

*The circle is a place of confidentiality*

Guidelines for expression:

Taken from the We Are Open Circle manual:

• “Use “I” statements instead of “you,” to avoid characterizing others’ thoughts or feelings

• Tell our personal story instead of philosophizing

• Favour story over facts & opinions

• Reveal our process, “how I got where I am,” and our conclusions

• Move toward vulnerability, instead of away from it (and take care of yourself and the group by respecting the context, your own current boundaries, and the limits of the group container).

• Tell the fullest possible truth, instead of edited truths

• Speak leanly; cut to the chase. Avoid fill or thinking out loud.

• Express spontaneously instead of rehearsing or editing”