Facilitator

I admit it. The first time I was in a Speaking Circle, I performed. I was trying to engage with the ‘crowd’ but there was only silence. Holding me in neutral regard (just as we Speaking Circles newbies had been trained to do moments before). As a recovering people pleaser, I look back on that day, 20+ years ago, as the opening I had unknowingly sought for a lifetime: the chance to simply be me. Without judgment or fear. And to hold that safe space for others, as well. Although I lived on the opposite side of the country from Lee’s living room, I kept coming back to California for more. And more. Relational Presence is a tiny bit addictive!

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes at the beginning of a circle, it’s hard to sit still and pay attention to the person at the front of the room. Especially when you have an ADHD brain like mine. But that is the point, isn’t it? To slow down, to breathe, to let the calm energy of the room envelope you and your circle companions. And just be. Together.

I coach ADHD women 40-and-better (that’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: a title that is a disservice to us all - not a deficit, not a disorder, it’s neurology).  Relational Presence  has been with me as I have presented at ADHD conferences, on podcasts, webinars and at my own intensive ADHD women’s retreats. It debuts on Day One of the retreat and by the end the week, “heart circles,” as I call them, are the place we find authenticity and, dare I say, love. The richness it brings to my life and those who are touched by it is remarkable. So grateful. For all of it.