Dear all,
Nine of us gathered recently at Coole Eco Village in Ferbane in Offaly for our weekend of reflection together as the final part of the listening process initiated with all members in April of 2021. Our sincere thanks to Catherine Rountree for finding the venue and a caterer for delicious vegan food to be brought to the site throughout our time together.
The weekend was a rich tapestry. It involved camping together, spending considerable time around a central fire that held our circle, conversing, clarifying, embodied and embedded work listening to ourselves and the land, dreaming circles, food and chocolate, fire-making and fire-keeping. There was much laughter, robust debate, tears and a genuine wish to continue the conversations begun over these last few months of regular meetings.
The following is a brief summary of what has emerged from the weekend and our listening sessions. Further details will follow toward the end of September but for now the “what next” can be summarized as follows. There is a clear mandate for :-
- An annual gathering, such as we have just held, for people to come together who are interested in finding a healing path with the earth.
- Regional gatherings where people can gather to resource, support and connect with each other while listening to the voice of place from where they are.
- Monthly fire gatherings should people so wish.
- Forming a WhatsApp group, available to ALL members, where people can post regional fire gatherings they may host, resources and other links which may be useful to all participants.
- Giving equal value to all practitioners interested and engaged in finding a healing path with the earth.
- A focus on developing a community network that is organic and emerging rather than an organisation.
We sincerely hope as many as possible will join us in this gathering circle going forward. The governance group are now taking some time for annual leave and will be in touch again toward the end of September. Your comments and feedback are nonetheless welcome in response to the above; please send them to governance@eeai.ie.
All good wishes,
The governance group