In the summer of 2022 – shortly after I began calling sacred sister circles – a powerful vision came to me seemingly out of nowhere.
In the vision was of a two (maybe three) flat in or near Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. The backyard had a fire pit (a subsequent vision included a tepee), where women gathered in circle.
The main level had a fireplace and offered space for connecting with other sisters. There was also space for workshops, group meditations, and even drum circles. And there was a large community table where bread was broken and food was shared.
I recall the details vividly nearly two years later – an impressive feat, considering that memory retention is decidedly not one of my strengths.
The takeaway is that this vision felt like a directive, of sorts, to create what I’ve since come to call The Sister House Project.
I’ve shared this vision before, but much of that sharing has been in the form of now-archived email newsletters and unpublished website pages, blog posts, and podcast episodes.
The Sister House Project has, in many ways, been collecting dust.
Despite the vision (directive, if you will), I’ve been more focused on staying in my comfort zone by doing what I do well: facilitating powerful yet simple sacred sister circles from my home. And I’d relegated the idea of actually bringing The Sister House Project to life to the “I’ll do it someday” pile.
March’s Sacred Sister Full Moon Circle – a circle with exceptionally low turnout – was the nudge I needed to dust off my vision and re-evaluate where things are at, where they’re headed, and where potential opportunities exist to move forward.
Changes to how I’ve been gathering women in sacred circle
The first decision I made was to reduce the frequency of the free Sacred Sister Full Moon Circles that I’ve been offering monthly since Day 1. For the time being, we’ll be test-driving bi-monthly circles in the hopes that by reducing their frequency we’ll increase turnout.
The thing is, I freaking LOVE these circles! I love the community, friendships, and bonds that are a direct result of these circles and that are unmatched in the other areas of my life.
And so not wanting to circle less, I simultaneously created a 3-month membership circle. This is a pilot offering, and my intention with this circle is to inspire a deeper connection with a core group of sisters who are committed to showing up. And I chose the price point intentionally to inspire such a commitment.
Two days after I announced these changes to my email list and The Sisterhood Project (Chicago) Facebook group, four of the 10 membership circle spots were claimed.
DAMN!
With the success of this offering – an offering that won’t kick off until April 25th, 2024 – I’m feeling renewed inspiration to move forward and tackle the seemingly insurmountable barriers I’m facing in bringing The Sister House Project to life.
On bringing The Sister House Project to life
When I think back to what’s needed to bring The Sister House Project to life, the greatest challenge I’m facing is resources.
My intention right now is to figure out how TF to generate the funds needed to pay for the space. You know, the two (or three) flat, furniture, utilities, etc. In my vision, I saw myself funding it through my own client work, but I don’t currently have any high-ticket clients or coaching offers. So in this regard I feel stuck, and funding this project seems like a pipe dream.
On the other hand, I have a master’s degree in public administration and nonprofit management…and I work for a large nonprofit organization as an analyst in its financial planning and analysis division. As I type that, it seems almost comical to succumb to the belief that resources to fund The Sister House Project don’t exist.
As a Wayfinder coach – yes, I wear many hats! – I have the tools to work through any limiting beliefs I may hold about my ability to either fund or find funding for this project. Plus, a benefit of being a Wayfinder coach is that I have Wayfinder coach friends on speed dial to help me when self-coaching isn’t enough.
So, sister, I know what I gotta do now…
AND to my community…do you have any ideas for accessing the resources to bring The Sister House Project to life? I’d love to hear about your wisdom, leads, ideas, access to resources, whatever! Please feel free to leave a comment or email me at [email protected].
Thank you, from the depths of my being, for your support.
UPDATE:
Literally five minutes after I published this post, the mail came. And in the mail was a gift of encouragement from a sister. And in that gift was this little Thoughtfulls note. Like, how is this project not going to happen now?!
