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Sacred Circle Testimonials
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| Julie Cramer, Rochester, NY |
I want to thank you all again for a truly profound, meaningful, fun and educational experience. It may take
me a little while to find a way to articulate exactly how and why Sacred Circle was such a meaningful experience, as so much
of what was impactful was so subtle. Every lecture was abundant with new and illuminating information, but even more profound
was the manner in which it was all shared. What pervaded the whole experience was a feeling of family, of connection, of earth,
of the simple joy of just being together and sharing time, which is perhaps the greatest teaching of the whole event and the
precious jewel of wisdom that has drawn me to learn from traditional Native culture to begin with. No pretension or grandiosity.
Simply people, place, story, wisdom... what a blessing.
There was a feeling of pure acceptance and recognition of every person's gifts and innate worth that
pervaded the whole experience and was so subtle and unspoken, and yet truly unique in our hectic modern world. I am deeply
thankful for the information I learned, the connection I made with wonderful people and the simple blessing of connecting
to the rich culture, past, present and future of the Mohawk and the Haudenosaunee people. I am certainly motivated to be part
of the effort to bring peace, education and balance back amongst all of our Peoples.
Thank you dearly for the blessing of Sacred Circle and I look forward to continued involvement, learning
and relations. Again, thank you for the experience and I hope to be involved in more Tree of Peace happenings and gatherings
as well as any continued friendly gatherings.
Many blessings and much gratitude,
Julie Cramer
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| Cindy Squillace, Syracuse, NY |
I wanted to let you know what a thought provoking, wonderful experience it was to attend 2 days
of the Sacred Circle Workshop last week. I spent the first day with Eddie Gray learning about medicinal plants; walking,
observing, talking about uses for the plants and how to respect and give thanks for them. Eddie is very knowledgeable,
approachable, and also has a great sense of humor!
The Tree of Peace Society land is quite beautiful and is abundant with herbal bounty. Twin mullen
plants on eitherside of my cabin door welcomed me for a good night's sleep each night.
As a bereavement counselor,
I was deeply moved by the day and evening spent learning about Generational Grief with Chief Jake Swamp. In this war-torn,
consumer-driven world, we have so much to learn from the traditional Haudenosaunee world view where the connections between
grieving and thanksgiving are honored and understood to have great power. Learning more about the Haudenosaunee Confederation
has had a powerful impact on me, both in my professional and personal life and I want to learn so much more about how to listen
well to the stories and to those who tell them.
Thanks to Leona and Judy and the rest of the Swamp family for feeding us well, laughing, and
caring for us. And thanks to all the Society staff for being so generous with your sharing of stories, dreams and thoughts
about the past, present and future. I hope to come again and to continue to learn and offer what I can in return to the Tree
of Peace.
In Peace,
Cindy Squillace
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| Catherine Skopic, New York, NY |
Thank you very much for such a positive, uplifting, learning experience at the Sacred Circle Gathering
2005. The level of respect and sharing amongst all the participants, led and guided by the able and capable Native Leaders
was deep and refreshing on many levels - beyond what I have previously experienced in professional educational and artistic
settings.
For once - something that IS what it purports to be - "Sacred" and "a Gathering."
With Thankfulness,
Catherine Skopic
Thank you to all others who attended. Your presence was deeply appreciated!
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| Adora Skopic, New York, NY |
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| Lynn Jones, Queensland, Australia |
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