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Sharing Sources: Healing Circles Global

by INELDA

In 2006 Diana Lindsay was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and told she had less than a year to live. When her doctor stated she had a 1% chance of living beyond the prognosis, she asked “OK, well, how do I get into the 1% club?” For Diana, and then later her husband, Kelly, who was diagnosed in 2014 with stage 1 kidney cancer, the answer was supportive community. 

Diana started researching anything and everything that could support her body and health at the time she was diagnosed. She decided to have a “big love-in,” gathering her people together at a big party to share her cancer news with her community all at once. Although she felt low-energy and disconnected on the way to her party, she left feeling better than she had before—supported, loved, and connected—and found that she was really fortunate to have social connections and a strong community. She and her husband leaned into community throughout their treatments and discussed ways they could bring the support they felt from their loved ones to others who may not have such a strong support system as they did. They decided to create a community-based model that would bring people in need together for healing. 

Diana and Kelly Lindsay then met Michael Lerner, the president and cofounder of Commonweal. A MacArthur fellow and former Yale professor, Michael founded Commonweal in 1976, working in three core fields—health and healing, art and education, and environment and justice. Commonweal was interested in expanding access to their cancer programming  beyond what was available in the retreat setting, and the idea of healing circles came to life when the Lindsays and Michael Lerner explored their common interests.

In 2015, Diana and Kelly Lindsay opened the first Healing Circles center in Langley on Whidbey Island in Washington state,  to “provide a nurturing, supportive place where anyone impacted by illness, a life-changing condition, or grief and loss could explore and engage in their own healing.” The program grew, and the center went from two circles a month to a robust program that offers Healing Circles, Discovery Circles (art-focused), Learning Circles, and Caring Circles. In 2016, David Spaw and Susan Rafte opened another center in Houston, which provided cancer circles, grief and loss circles, circles for veterans, and more. 

In 2020, Healing Circles expanded to provide online circle offerings during the pandemic through Healing Circles Global (Healing Circles Global). The need for connection and social support was higher than ever, and involvement in virtual circles exploded during this time. Healing Circles Global now offers approximately 45 different circles in multiple languages and time zones, with over 1,500 circle sessions held annually.  

Driven by volunteers who are trained by Healing Circles Global, the organization offers many circles that resonate both for end-of-life doulas and their clients. Some of these supportive spaces include Caregivers Together, Grieving Together, Living With Cancer Circles, Supporting Healthcare, and more. The circles are led by a host who convenes and pays attention to the flow of a circle, a guardian who monitors energy and time, and a scribe if one is selected. The circles are described as safe havens in which “participants work together to explore the best ways to remove obstacles to healing, alleviate suffering, and deepen their capacity to heal. They also access their own inner guidance to determine where the greatest healing—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—can occur.”

Healing Circles is free of charge, and donations are gratefully accepted to support program operations. 

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