Co-Visioning Circle by Beth Terrence

by Healmyvoice on December 12, 2021

The mission of Heal My Voice is “to support women and girls to reclaim personal power and step into greater leadership in their lives”.

Many non-profit organizations I have engaged with over the years struggle to live and actualize their mission. Heal My Voice, through the vision and leadership of founder and director Andrea Hylen, has not been one of them. As I read the mission of Heal My Voice, I feel like a living testament to it. I know I’m not alone in this. I believe every woman who has stepped into a Heal My Voice program has had some experience of reclaiming their personal power and stepping into greater leadership. And many other women, and men, have been inspired by hearing the voices of women through the stories that Heal My Voice has helped to birth and release into the world through books, radio show and social media over the last 11 years.

When Andrea asked me to facilitate a program to help bring Heal My Voice to a completion at the end of this year, I felt a lot of emotions. There was a sadness in knowing this organization, which has been a foundational part of my personal and professional growth over the last 9 years, would be ending. And, yet as Seneca said so beautifully,

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

As Andrea and I came together to vision what would be a meaningful and intentional ending, I was already in the midst of a few big things in my life moving to completion. This started with a major period of caregiving, loss, and grief that began in mid-2018 as I supported my father in navigating the end of life and was immediately followed by walking with my dearest friend, Bud, on the last leg of his journey as he transitioned in January 2020. During this time of letting go, I had found an anchor in graduate school, finally at age 54, and I was moving toward graduation as we entered 2021. I was also completing a facilitator program in one of my core spiritual practices, Feeding Your Demons®. Although I felt very full energetically and emotionally, Andrea’s invitation stirred something deeply in my heart and soul. When I entered my first Heal My Voice program, Inspired Voices, in 2012, I did not consider myself a leader in any way, shape, or form, but as the mission states – I had learned to step into greater leadership through this journey. I was coming full circle!

Circles have always been at the heart of Heal My Voice programs. And, so it felt fitting to come together in circle as a foundational element for our closing ritual. In 2019, after participating and leading many circles over the years in holistic and spiritual programs, including Heal My Voice, I was introduced to the field of restorative practices; this became the focus of my graduate studies. “Restorative practices is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities…though new to the social sciences, restorative practices has deep roots within indigenous communities throughout the world (IIRP Website, 2021).”

Diving into a graduate program in restorative practices allowed me to reflect on and deepen into my own experiences and understanding of the power of community and the circle process itself. I was introduced to the term “Co-Visioning” by my advisor and professor, Frida Rundell. “Co-vision is a fluid and dynamic process that is dependent on reflective-practitioner context and the group’s intent; it supports how “I-would-be-in-the-world’ and is an invitation to be in relation to others in a genuine and equal way (Rundell, 2020).”  It was clear that Heal My Voice had an organic process of co-visioning that was a major part of the power of this program.  Heal My Voice circles have always offered an experience of safety, and a container of sacred space where vulnerability and authenticity emerge organically.  Having the language and context of co-visioning, allowed our “final chapter” to become even more potent!

Our closing co-vision journey followed the nine-month Heal My Voice process, which has been time frame in our programs for envisioning and birthing our stories together. The dynamic themes for each month offer a roadmap to self-exploration and awakening. Moving through 2021 and living in such uncertain times has been challenging in many ways. Having a container for the journey allowed for each woman who participated to reconnect with themselves, spirit, and community.  From my own experience, I know this was a powerful anchor. And from the richness of each woman’s sharing, I once again felt the incredible gift of coming together in community, exploring deepening connections, and allowing authenticity and vulnerability to emerge.

The theme of endings and beginnings was one that emerged strongly throughout the year. And here we are at the ending of Heal My Voice. It has been an honor and joy to walk this last leg of the Heal My Voice journey, supporting Andrea in bringing it to completion, and journeying one more time with the amazing visionary women who dance together in this heart-centered community. I know our paths will continue to intersect in many beautiful ways, through creative collaborations and future endeavors.

As we closed our last circle together, I found myself both crying and laughing. I felt a sweet sadness that often comes from endings and beginnings; it stirred up my tears. Laughter came as I reflected and remembered my very first Heal My Voice circle, when I wasn’t even sure I could show up and share my voice in a group of women. Even after many years healing, being with a group of women was still incredibly terrifying for me due to my trauma history related to my mother’s mental illness. Yet, the safety, sacredness and support of Andrea and this beautiful community of women allowed me to keep showing up and opening my heart. Now, here I was leading the final circle of Heal My Voice. Being supported in reclaiming my personal power and healing my own voice had allowed me to step into greater leadership. Mission accomplished!

I’ll leave you with a collaborative mystical poem created by the women who participated in our monthly co-vision circle this year called “Nurturing Self-Love”.

References

International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) (2015-2021). What is restorative practices? https://www.iirp.edu/restorative-practices/what-is-restorative-practices.

Rundell, F. (2020). Co-vision for caring professionals. [Unpublished article].

Beth Shekinah Terrence, MS, is a traditionally trained shaman, holistic practitioner, and restorative facilitator. She has worked in the field of transformation and healing since 1996. Beth’s vision is to create a healthier and more nurturing world by supporting those she serves in finding hope, healing, and a deeper sense of connection and belonging.  She offers integrative shamanic healing sessions and programs to individuals and groups in Annapolis, MD, and virtually. Beth is also strongly committed to supporting organizations and systems in building cultures of health, well-being, and inclusivity. She is known for her engaging and experiential programming, which includes holistic workshops, retreats and trainings.

Over the last 9 years, Beth has participated in many Heal My Voice programs and has had her stories published in Inspired Voices, Harmonic Voices, Tender Voices and Feminine Voices. She has co-facilitated several programs, including Harmonic Voices and 30 Days of Writing, with HMV founder Andrea Hylen, and has served on the board of directors.

Beth lives in Annapolis, Maryland with her loving partner Mario, and their two cats, Paolo and Xena.  She loves to spend her free time writing, hiking, meditating, and lying on her hammock looking up at the sky!

Contact information:

Website: bethterrence.com

Email: beth@bethterrence.com

Phone: 443-223-0848

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Ending

by Healmyvoice on November 30, 2021

Photo by Crawford Jolly on Unsplash

What is ending this year?

For me, it is Heal My Voice. After a three-year process of completing free study guides for the books and a year of Co-Visioning in a group of twelve women authors, the business structure of Heal My Voice is closing. I am in the process, and everything will be finalized by the end of March 2022.
It’s time to expand where I point my attention. I will share more of that in 2022.

The books will continue to be available. The website will stay up for another five years. We will continue to highlight women’s voices on the Facebook Page. Visibility for women’s vulnerable, powerful, inspiring, wise voices will always be important.

Since January 11, 2011, 200 stories were written by 125 women in a nine-month program of healing trauma, loss and grief through writing, speaking and stepping into greater leadership. Women from around the world joined in a Secret Facebook Group and on weekly community calls. Sharing their experiences and process in the small group and then on Blogtalk radio shows. Celebrating each other on social media and taking new awareness and strength into their homes, communities, businesses, and the world.

Endings deserve attention, reflection, and gratitude. Gratitude for the journey, the growth, lessons learned and the experience.

Beth Terrence, the President of Heal My Voice in 2021, led the Co-Visioning group beginning on January 11 2021 and ending in October. We celebrated the tenth anniversary of Heal My Voice and then followed the monthly Heal My Voice process:

Listen

Discover

Explore

Expand

Express

Connect

Reflect

Awaken

Celebrate.

Beth and I met monthly to discuss the focus of each call then gathered with women in a Co-Visioning circle of 12. Beth led us in the process for 90 minutes.

In the Co-Visioning process in 2021, each of the women reflected on what was shifting in their lives – on the inside and the outside. Conversations focused on what was ending and what was ready to be birthed. The vulnerability and heart felt sharing were a blessing to the end of this amazing 11 years with women in the Heal My Voice and Heal My Voice Sweden communities.

Over the next few months, there will be blog posts shared by some of the women authors.

I am grateful for the opportunity to heal and reclaim my voice and to witness the hearts and minds of the courageous, inspiring, visionary women I met along the way.

Andrea Hylen

The books are available at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Andrea%20Hylen

Also on Amazon and can be ordered from your local bookstore.

Andrea Hylen, Founder of Heal My Voice and The Incubator: A Co-working Space for Cultural Creatives. Life Scientist. Live house-free. Widow. Mom of Adult Daughters. Grief. Writing Sexuality. Evolutionary Woman

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