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Copyright 2002 Carrying Council in the Wilderness The Conventions of Council There are three council conventions that, together, mark the process as different from other forms of communication:
Setting Apart For council to work, it must be set apart, even minimally, from the ordinary affairs and interactions of the participants. The goal of council is to create a safe space where people can speak from their hearts, knowing that what they say will be listened to and held in confidence. One way of conceptualizing the special nature of council is to think of it as taking place in sacred space and time. Sacred space The council circle takes place in a special space which differs from our ordinary space. In the sacred space of council, it is possible to speak honestly without embarrassment; it is a place where confidences are kept; it is where decisions are made and peacemaking takes place. There are a number of ways for a facilitator to demarcate the separate and sacred nature of the council space. If the group is not on the move, the council may be held in a special place – a grove of trees, by the banks of a river, on top of a large rock, in a cave. A special place can be created by making an altar – if the word is troubling, it can simply be called, say, a council table – at the center of the circle. Making the altar can be a rotating responsibility among the participants, or the altar can be made by those who are moved to do so on any particular occasion. Again, there are numerous variations. The altar can contain flowers, stones, fallen leaves, feathers, or branches that have been gathered before the council. An altar of special significance can be made by each participant placing in the center an object which has personal meaning – a photograph, key chain, pocket knife, memento – or which symbolizes the issues to be discussed at council. Or, again, especially for evening councils, the center can be marked by a fire – not the cooking fire, but a special and separate fire. There is something primal about sharing the warmth and light of a fire in the darkness. The glowing fire, the sense of safety, the intimacy, and the privacy of the darkness seem to lead people to share more of their secret selves than they might do in the harsher daylight. The fire represents a deep and centered place, the heart of everything, the unity for which the circle strives. Sacred time Similarly, council takes place in a special and sacred time. This can be established by coordinating council with a special and sacred time of the day, such as sunrise or sunset, or – at certain seasons – when the Evening Star first becomes visible. One way of establishing the separate and sacred nature of the time of council is to separate it from profane time with a ceremony. The purpose is to show that the time of council is different from other time. The ceremony can be simple – simply lighting a candle, for example. Words can be spoken, either formalized or spontaneous, ranging from “We are now in council” to more elaborate invocations. The words can be spoken by the facilitator, or by one of the participants, or by everyone. If the council is held with the same participants on a regular basis – for example, each morning – the participants may take turns beginning the council. The facilitator may burn some sage, and pass the smoking sage around for each participant to say a few words. Sitting in Circle The circle has special meaning; indeed, councils are often called wisdom circles or even just circles. Circles are inherently egalitarian. The facilitator does not sit at the head of a table, but is just another participant. The gaze of all the participants is naturally oriented not only toward the speaker but also – and most importantly – toward the center of the circle, where the altar or fire is set. The Talking Stick Probably the single paradigmatic element of council is the talking stick. The idea is simple. Whoever holds the talking stick talks, and everybody else listens. No one can interrupt the one who holds the talking stick. Usually the stick is circulated clockwise around the circle; passing the stick may be done in silence, or with spontaneous words, or with a brief fixed message – “I pass the talking the stick to John” or “The council asks John to contribute.” Elizabeth Cogburn (quoted in Cahill & Halpern, 1992, p. 48) uses an even more elaborate format for passing the talking stick. The person holding the stick turns and faces the person on the left, looks into that person’s eyes, and says something like “Do you love yourself enough to speak and listen with your heart to your co-hearts in this circle? If so, can you tell us …” and asks the question which is the subject of the council. I have also been involved in councils where each participant is called on to recite a relatively elaborate formula when passing or receiving the talking stick, but I am hesitant to use the format myself. There is a delicate balance between creating a sense of formality, solemnity, and tradition, on the one hand, and spontaneity, creativity, and open-heartedness on the other. Different facilitators will find their own balance. Some participants may have difficulty memorizing such formulas, and may wind up spending a lot of time trying to get the formula straight in their minds, and worrying they will mess it up, rather than listening from the heart to the person speaking on their right. The talking stick itself may be simple or elaborate, prepared or found. It doesn’t even have to be a stick; it can be a stone, or a feather, some sage, or an object which is personal or sacred or symbolic to the facilitator or a participant. The purpose of council is to create a safe space in which people can simply talk honestly and sincerely with each other. The talking stick is a way of providing some of that safety; a participant can speak without being interrupted or argued with. Indeed, the talking stick can provide courage to the shy and steadiness to the flighty; it symbolizes the responsibility of speech, the bravery of the true speaker, the importance of truth. | ||
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