The first Gathering Genie Circle

Gathering Genies across spaces met on 27th July at the first Gathering Genie Circle to pause, notice & learn together!

We began with a reflection exercise with Genuine Contact™ transfer in cards - relating the card to what we are noticing in gatherings - reflections included sun, sky, joy, collective, authenticity, allowing, wonder, health, humour, vision....aspects that sometimes we miss to experience in work related gatherings....

We then went into a story circle of our recent experiences in hosting gatherings. It was amazing to listen to a variety of gatherings including a quarterly team review, meetings with government, meetings with the community, workshop on education.... stories instead of ppts, starting playfully, vision alignment, sharing life journies, user experience, appreciation all helped to build connection, empathy & deeper learning.

We then in smaller groups reflected on our hopes & fears of hosting gatherings... it was again very interesting to see aspects that related to the visible (behaviours, expressions, words, actions) and also the invisible (self belief, assumptions, needs).. in silence the participants reflected more on their hope and fear and what was above the water and what was below. People could discover links between their actions and core values like inclusion and need for connection for example.

One person talked about the need for connection & inclusion stemming from their unmet need for connection... in a way all our needs are universal and relatable in some way - love, appreciation, recognition, connection, safety, belonging, pride......

When gatherings intentionally balance task (rational aim) with connection (experiential aim), magic happens!

We then reflected on what this experience meant for us...

"carrying the authenticity of the group with me"
"I feel the sense of self worth that I get from being able to get into a thinking space makes me really loved. Thank you for letting my baby be a part of it in spontanously"
"thank you for creating a beautiful space today 🙂"
"never realised 2 hours could pass sooo quick 🙂 Great experiences and stories...and the understanding that we are not alone"
"learning and sharing from others without filters"
"collective joy"
"came into the meeting with a lot of nervousness but all is well & excellent. Look forward to next gathering session and felt happy to be part of this team 🙂"
"Feeling so light and positive after the session."
"Refreshing… Aladdin got lots of genie here ...."

Amazing to design and hold this space with you Tulika Mehra! Thank you for your presence, engagement and authenticity.

A unique birthday gathering

My birthday is around the time of bad air making us run to the hills so I have not celebrated with my friends for the longest I can remember ... last year we were about to leave just a day after, so I thought why not invite all my girlfriends together for a CIRCLE Night - not just about me but about friendship! I have great friends across parts of my life - school, college, my son's school, work, peer facilitators but they do not all know each other.. just the thought of all these amazing women together gave me goose bumps... I anxiously sent the invite message and to my surprise, all of them said they would love to join... just like that...

The night came, we all gathered, enjoyed nice home made pani puries and chaat, as in any party people kept strolling in... it was around 9 pm... my dear friend Tulika Mehra asked "aren't you doing the circle?" ... I hesitated ... the evening was going well anyways.... should I.... I took the plunge and said let's do it... I invited my girlfriends towards the more open back space, we sat in a circle in cushions and everyone curiously stared at the basket in the centre which had a range of play things... 

I opened the circle with bells inviting all to choose one object and reflect on it silently.. I then invited them to reflect on what that object tells them about friendship...People hesitated a bit but then slowly everyone picked up something... after some silence, we paired up with someone and share our reflections... and when I rang the bells they had to introduce their partner and share their reflection in the circle... people giggled some shifted in their seats... then the partners got formed... and the conversations started... oh how the energy just shifted... it did not feel like a room of strangers could connect so deeply so quickly.... we came back in the circle and everyone shared one by one their partner's reflection.... we could not have had a more rich and healing conversation about one the most basic nurturing aspects of our lives - friendship.... people heard each other and felt not a sense of envy but a sense of inspiration.. a sense of "this is possible".... we then got into a conversation of their stories about me.... my school friends could not believe my son's school parents that I am such a stickler for time since I was also late going to school/ college....one of my friends said "oh, this is what you do and you get paid for it!!!!"... it was one of those moments of deep humility and gratitude that this room full of women loved me and held me in their care....

We closed by inviting everyone to write one thing that energised/ nourishes us... and then we swapped the cards... I got "detailed gossip with my besties"....

This is a story of how a personal gathering can build connection & meaning!