Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Council Ways

 Source: https://howlingcastle.wordpress.com/council-ways/

Inviting all who want to explore this simple and powerful way of communication. More than a way of sharing, it is a practice that moves us to a deeper, more compassionate level of communicating and being.

Mostly based on The Way of Council and on ancient traditions that keep on crossing my paths, these spaces are just a circle—or a spiral?—where each part, each node can witness and be witnessed in the moment, with whatever is alive. Sometimes we come together with a prior intention to explore particular issues, sometimes the doors are open to whatever comes. Most often we sense a wisdom beyond each part, and although unexpected, the flow, the themes, the sharings simply make sense.

Circles holding circles within circles

A Council Way into our Full Humanity

These one and a half hour sessions are a place to come and taste the space of council, and are suited for any level of experience.  Sometimes once is what you need, sometimes they become a place of refuge, or connection. They’re offered at different times and days of the week in the hope of bringing together an ever-changing flow of peoples, ages, stories…

Here you can check the current offerings


Council Journeys

Over several weeks (usually four), we explore the practice of council, in a small-group setting. You get to know more about different shapes and variations, some of the history and evolution of this way of inquiry. We get to deepen connections with our selves and each other.

Here you can check the current offerings


Council of Beings

What happens when we let go of our circumstantial identity as a human being, when we touch the connections with other beings and let them speak through us? A space to witness what moves us deeply from the world we live in. Especially powerful in the context of the ongoing crises of our biosphere.

Offerings coming soon!


My own Council Journey… I’m Dita. I fell in love with the Way of Council some six years ago, when I attended my first one at High Heathercombe, up in the dramatic moors of Dartmoor. My dear friend Mel Lamb held it with her characteristic and amazing energy—I learned much from Mel in the coming years, and got to hold circles with her until her passing in 2020. Since that first one, I have attended many councils, in different contexts, and have experienced a wide diversity of flavours and intentions. I’ve had the honour and privilege to learn from the expert and caring hands of many, especially Klaudia van GoolJeremy Thres, and Sophy Banks. But most of my learning comes from a beloved teacher and my council guide, Pip Bondy. It is from her that my council tradition comes from. She was taught by Gigi Coyle in the tradition of the Ojai Foundation, where the Way of Council as we practice it today was co-creatively brought into life.