We see a shift occurring around the world today. Women are recognizing the need to come together and support each other. Suddenly we are blessed to have a women’s circle to suit almost every woman’s needs. What a wonderful thing!
To assist women to find the group that is right fit for them, here are a few ideas of how Women’s Temple may be different to other women’s circles.
Women’s Temple is not a support group, nor therapy. It is a space for women who are looking to understand and embody the feminine expression of spirituality. Women’s Temple incorporate embodied spiritual practices that find inspiration from a variety of spiritual paths while avoiding dusty dogmas. We see all that is happening in the world right now as sacred. We emphasize that spirituality is not something to achieve when your part of world is more ‘together’. It is in the messiness, the imperfect and the demands of life that we find the gold.
We create sacred space through shared silence and deliberate speech. This allows us to drop more fully into a space of vulnerability and compassionate presence.
We value sacred touch. We know that when women experience non sexual touch we release oxytocin and feel connected and less stressed. It also breaks down social barriers to encourage relaxed vulnerability. It is in vulnerability that we begin to truly feel and see the areas in life we have become stuck in ways that no longer serve us. We allow our sisters to become a mirror and a safe space for us to express fully who we are and in doing so give others the permission to do the same.
We welcome all emotions without the story that labels them good or bad. We practice what it is like to simply be with emotions in Temple. Just as one goes to the gym to train for an event, we go to Temple to strengthen our muscles of compassion, inner strength, self-awareness and awakening. We know that our expressions may be clumsy as we learn, and we practice compassion for ourselves and each other.
Temple fulfills our inner need for ritual and devotion in our lives.
~ Tanya Morris