“In a circle, everyone matters, leadership is shared, and
consensus is sought... Love is at the center.”
Jean Shinoda Bolin,
Moving Toward the Millionth Circle
It is still under speculation whether Alexander the Great was able to untangle the
Gordian Knot by pulling the linch pin or by cleaving it with his sword. With this act he
fulfilled a prophecy and
established one of the largest empires of his time before his 32nd birthday in the
4th Century BC.
Here we are being asked to
untangle the knotty problems of our lives not with our fists or weapons but with our words.
By placing the issue within the sacred center of the circle we are engaging its energy with our
complete attention, our curiosity, compassion and commitment to
peaceful resolution.
The broken line within the
circle represents the 5-minute active segments within the Charrette Cycle and, by a happy coincidence,
it resembles the Iching hexagram K’un, the Receptive, the Earth.