Red Thread Circles

Tonight's my monthly Red Thread Circle, and we're doing Medicine Baskets.

This is a

Medicine Baskets

short, two hour group, where we'll share a RT circle, brief journey, and creative time. I've invited participants to being bring Art Journal and any favorite supplies. 
It's by donation, and a good introduction to IC. I pay $25 for the room, so always hope several come (some months, I just pay half of what I received!) I've been holding a monthly circle for over 2 1/2 years, and attendance varies, but it's always appreciated!

I held my first Red Thread Circle early in my CoW journey, as part of a Reiki I class. One of my 2 students was Lora Pirtle, a recent CoW graduate, so it was a gentle beginning! That was in the spring of 2015, and this evening, it's time to circle up again. 

I chose those Story Cards and Medicine Basket as my RT Event during my quest, and learned a lot! I had "artists" in each class, who wanted to do their own thing, and needed to learn how to field that! Shiloh gave me the helpful tip of inviting them to, "try it this way this time," ... And saying, "If you do it another way, or choose different materials I may not be able to help you, it would really help the other students if you try it this way this time." And they may need to go their own way, as long as it's not disruptive, we may need to just let it go!

What could go wrong with those simple projects? 
With story cards, the "artist" wanted to bring her own materials, and not pay for instruction, as she already knew how to do it (! ... It was the one event she attended) She did chip in for the room, and mostly went her merry way ... she didn't really address old stories, but enjoyed the cards she made. I needed to reign her in when she challenged an "old story" another beloved was processing, as not being a bad trait ... I explained again that our process was supporting the other student in discovering an antidote!

Reiki 2 Journal Cover

For my second Event, I offered Red Thread Reiki 2, and we created Reiki journals, with Medicine Baskets on the cover! 
In Reiki 2, we learn three symbols, and I've had my students grind the ink and paint the symbols using Sumi-e. 

For the journal covers, we tore the rice paper practice sheets into strips, and glued them to our background papers, then painted medicine baskets on the covers, and did more collage with our medicine gifts. 

Challenge: 

• If you've made a Medicine Basket, what gifts do you claim? Are there still appropriate? Share a photo and a little about your gifts in our Facebook group.
• Haven't done it yet? The instructions are in the CoW kajabi site, you're invited to tap the group energy and pull out your paints! 
• Have you written about your Medicine Basket (or House of the Heart, if you choose that) for your initiate book? This is a good time to document it.
• Did you offer Medicine Basket as one of your Red Thread Events? It's a great one to do, and well received! I love the variety it affords, grad Lorraine Tilburg works with horses, and offers it as "saddle bags!" With kids, you can do backpacks. 
• It can also be done on canvas, in a short "Paint Party style event. I did that art a friend's home around Easter.
• Is it time to look into getting a class on the schedule? 

So, what happened at that second Event? 
One of the "artist" students (not our CoW SiStar!) wanted to use the oil pastels on her cover, rather than paint (I brought the pastels for our grounding page!) ... 
Then, she was disappointed I didn't have a hair dryer along to set them! ... In both classes, the other students kept on with their own projects, and didn't seem distracted, which helped. After that student got home, she was able to use her familiar materials,  deconstructed the cover, and was  ultimately happy with the journal. 

I began holding regular 2 hour Red Thread Circles in the back door studio later that year, and have offed Medicine Basket in that format several times. I often use a pad of watercolor paper, and watercolor paints (rather than acrylics) for these circles. When my friend Sepha was going through the training, I did a larger one on half a sheet of watercolor paper. I enjoy it each time I lead it, with new insights about my gifts.

What have been some of your circle experiences? 
I'd love to hear about them, here or in the FB group.