First Hand Words from Story Gatherers, Story Tellers and Story Spirals

Testimonial from women who have told their story:

"What did it feel like to tell my story to another woman? It felt engulfing, exhilarating, natural and nourishing. It was like talking to the companions of solitude - floating cottonwood, trees, and the rising moon - bravely and unabashedly. Across from me sat a loving, open face lit with interest. I was not concerned with the way I was coming across, for I did not feel judged. In fact, I was as interested in the story as she was. Perhaps this is because I was telling it more from the vantage point of the witness than the ego. In telling my story, I realized that I have lived a rich, unique life defined by startling beauty - and that so have all those women who've crossed my path, and those who haven't "
HH, 29, USA

"As I told my story, my soul-ography, to another woman, I was able see myself as heroine, to see my courage in facing challenges, to see the magic and miracles and patterns in my life, to see clearly how my life has led to this moment now, how I have been prepared for the work I do in the world. It was a profound experience to have someone witness my story....and to know that parts of it may be re-told by women around the world."
CSG, 59, USA

"I've never told my story to anyone and I know people look up to me. As I told my story I began to see why so many people think of me as wise. I was able to see my life, my choices, who I am, from a different, more compassionate, perspective. Now, I truly feel wise."
IB, 94, USA

"Now I see. It's so simple. We don't have to do anything! We just need to tell our stories and the rest will take care of itself. The feminine wisdom in our stories has the power to heal!"
CGW, 33, Israel

"I love how the whole story can come forth; sadness and pain and joy and expansion. It feels very real. It feels like I can draw nourishment back into my being."
WA, 52, USA

"Wow, it is quite an experience seeing words that came from this soul on paper. Those words aren't limiting, they surely don't define 'me', but there is a profound acknowledgement and a deep remembrance that is being touched. It's beautiful."
BM, 29, USA

Testimonial from women who have gathered another woman's story:

"There is a common cultural myth that has been spread by and about women for a while. It goes something like, 'women share everything with each other. They can't keep anything private!' As a therapist of fifteen years I can say that this myth is very far from the truth. Women tend to live in relative isolation from one another. We may have a special friend with whom we share certain deeper thoughts and fears, but by and large, we don't speak our truth to even our closest sisters. Sitting with a woman and listening to her story is an honor and a source of personal empowerment like nothing I've ever experienced. Every time I sit with a woman and hear her story I am flooded with hope and love, with the realization that everything we need to know to find our way out of the crises we face as humans is contained within the humble words she is speaking."
CP, 41, USA

"To sit with a woman, holding an open heart space, while her life story is poured out, with all it's pain and joy, wisdom and questioning, has been such a privilege, an honor for me. I have found that there is no greater gift I can give to another woman than to really see who she is and to witness her story, her life.
CSG, 59, USA

Testimonials from women who have attended a Story Spiral:

"You think it's only a piece of paper with words some woman said. Then, you read those words out loud and something shifts your core. You feel those words as if they were your own or those of someone you love. It moves you and everyone around you to witness such honesty and grace."
D.E., U.S.A.

"I have been involved in circles and creating circles for about 15 years and this one was special. It blew me away, the power of speaking out loud another woman's story... the intimacy created in such a short time and the bond formed with all the women in the room and with all those dear ones whose bits of stories we read... wow! I also began to really feel in my bones the power that we have as women when we come together in sacred circle... the kind of power that comes from an open and willing heart to know and speak truth and to honor the absolute... that we are one. When we speak another women's story, give it breath, we are speaking a piece of our own story and of every women's story. We are witnessing and being heard at the same time. In the simple act of speaking a sister's story, we are reverently, sweetly, boldly, passionately, with great humor healing the deep wounding around the Divine Feminine, and changing the world one woman's voice at a time."
M.W., U.S.A.

"Creating a container of unquestionable safety within the circle allowed every women present to express themselves authentically. In this space of support and trust we were all able, in our own personal way, to respond. From laughter to tears and from anger to hope, expressing ourselves openly was cathartic and cleansing. The Global Culture of Women Project is a gift to all women around the world."
K.M., U.S.A.

"I am a great fan and advocate of you and the women who have boldly told the truth. What more can I say? The conveyance of our stories, word for word, was stirring and moved me to tears. It is what we all need for our sisterhood, not only to feel valued, but to address desperate problems at large in the world. There is no more denying that we are at a crossroads. Everyone must be heard. Not just women, but all the disenfranchised. We neglect these stories at our own peril. Fearlessness is the only road home."
B.G., U.S.A.

"A sheer delight that reveals the deep well of woman, one woman's heart in all...yes to this naked healing, this honoring of all, through her story. yes, to the tears, the laughter, the rage, the grief, the ecstasy."
B.M., U.S.A.

"I would never have believed it, walking in. I came to the Story Circle knowing only one of the organizers and the friend who'd come with me. Getting to know the others over dinner, I never would have imagined that by the end of that night they would know me better, perhaps, than I knew myself; that many of them had lived my story, or pieces of it; that I would leave with such an amazing sense of abundance - knowing that I was held, honored and loved by my sisters. My entire being was transformed over the course of this evening. I'm going through an emotional time of growth and change (a divorce), and I've prided myself on being strong, forthright and independent throughout. As another woman in the circle read a passage from a woman breaking free from an unhappy marriage, my heart burst open. All the grieving, wailing and sorrow that I'd bottled up for a decade burst forth. Safe in the hands of my sisters, who rushed to my side with all their healing magic, I let it all go. I wailed, and we women dispersed all that pain. It is no longer buried and festering within me; it has become an essential part of my own - and our collective - wisdom. My biggest wish is that every woman who is going through emotional trauma could have the opportunity to feel this kind of love."
R.G., U.S.A.

"Sitting with sisters
Witnessing joy and sorrow
Coming together in Truth
What a blessing
The earth is smiling
Feeling hope
Healing
One story at a time."
P.A., U.S. A.