A Women’s Learning Circle

A Women’s Learning Circle

On March 6, 2012, I had the privilege of facilitating one of the NGO (non-governmental organization) side events, at the 56th session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).  The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University sponsored the event.  The CSW was established under the ECOSOC in 1946 and is “dedicated exclusively to the promotion of gender equality and the advancement of women.”  The conference runs for two weeks every year.  For more information on the CSW and the history of its evolution visit the UN Women’s website at: http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/csw/. The theme of the conference this year was the empowerment and role of rural women in eradicating poverty and hunger.   Honoring the Brahma Kumaris long tradition of service, our intention was to create a space for people to explore poverty from an internal perspective by creating a  There are invisible forms of poverty and hunger that eat at our spirits, cause our energy to wane, our light to dim, and our gifts to remain unknown to us and, therefore, unshared.  Many if not all of us have experienced times of self-doubt, feeling not up to the task at hand, like there isn’t enough and we aren’t enough.  I’d been learning about and witnessing the difference speaking from the heart can make when it comes to matters such as these.  Most if not all of the conference would have an external focus and rightly so.  Our invitation was to come and speak from the heart to: 1. Explore what it means to be in-learning and listen deeply, 2. Experience how we energetically greet the world and walk in relationship to others, 3. Share our gifts and ask, “What is the next step I can take in replenishing my spirit?” 4. Allow our deeper wisdom to come through.  On a personal note, I left feeling connected to the circle and nourished by what we had learned together.  I was deeply grateful for having had the chance to give and to receive.  Both had happened in equal measure.   Perhaps that is always the case when we Speak From The Heart .docx