I rise up from the floor, from the seated powwow; as if our private group could heal the world’s problems. It is not my first one, nor will it be my last. To sit each time is to return to the roots. We do like to get to the root of the matter. One person’s thoughts extend with only so much bandwidth. So this collection of us, in concentration, generate a lot more power. Positive influence, regenerative. Negative groupthink, degenerative. What kind of circles do you sit in? How do you circulate? What do you say that others agree with? I’m simply asking what you focus on. 

~~~

Early day thoughts have an effervescence, fresh start 
Midday thoughts have an urgency –motivation for the tasks 
-an inspiration or an answer 
Late night thoughts come with finality or anxiousness -rushing to complete 
-rushing to relax 
Middle of the night comes half dreamy and half delusional -maybe a resolution 
Every part has a template and is part of the whole  

I like to stew on a topic and organize my thoughts around it 
not knowing where it’ll take me or how it’ll end up  
pulling the thread till I’m bound  
I’m bound to catch myself 
What was I chasing after, though? 
It wore me out first 
By the end of the rope, the idea has gone cold 
long after I should’ve dropped it 
too exhausted to move on from it 
Paradox of overthought  

We sit on benches and brood under hazy skies seen as setting the mood 
the mood that suppresses the motivation to address it 
gotten up and gone; soon forgotten 
The mature desire to overcome an impasse 
we joke about holistic wellness 
any lurch towards bravery to hide the heavy weight of doubt 
The lightbulb comes on when internal dialogue is spoken out loud 

She says, ‘if you are going to ruminate, pick a good thought to do it with, and turn it into a looping mantra.’ Boy, did that change everything immediately. Upshift. The concentration. Where is your focus?

~~~

Healing circles are often called hocokah in the Lakota language, which means a sacred circle and is also the word for altar. The hocokah consists of people who sit together in a talking circle, in prayer, in ceremony, and are committed to helping one another and to each other’s healing.