"...the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

Guidelines

Please read the community guidelines in their entirety before joining a gathering/circle hosted by Crystal Marie, (aka Crystal Castellanos,dba Raven Bridging, Down To Earth). You are encouraged to decide from a conscious place of informed inner guidance to join this circle. Reading these guidelines will help you to discern if this community is right for you.

It is up to each of us to read, understand, and ask questions about these guidelines, if any come up.

Down To Earth (D2E) circles are about empowering us to move through our blocks and fears during a particular time in the lunar cycle. We do this through the regular practice of contemplating, uncovering our blocks in life, and intentionally healing ourselves through sharing our breakthroughs with others.

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The D2E Ohana circle is open to women who inhabit qualities of strength, maturity, integrity, commitment and willingness to grow. Within this container, we practice trust, honesty, and transparency.

We agree to show up with a full commitment to participate, to deeply listen to ourselves and the shares from the other attendees, and to co-create a community of support stabilized by integrity. Although circles may be held on public shorelines, we commit to tuning out the comings and goings of others around the circle, and focus in on the subject at hand as we all share. With this, we agree to put away our phones for at least 60-minutes and we agree to only speak to our own experiences.

We agree to give our full attention to the person holding the 'talking stick' and not to interrupt them while they share.  Our share time is limited, so we also agree that we will not hog the ‘talking stick’ when it comes to our time to share. With that, we agree to keep our share to a maximum of ten minutes (this will vary depending on how many women are at the circle) so everyone has a chance to share their reflections and breakthroughs at this gathering.

Although we are encouraged to share our transparent self, and to uncover our individual lessons and blessings amid life’s challenges, this is not a place to seek advice, feedback, therapy, or counseling. It is important to acknowledge that we are all moving through similar patterns, journeys, blocks, and breakthroughs in our unique way, and so sharing of our struggles may be a part of our authenticity. Sharing in this way may be therapeutic in nature, and so we are all responsible for creating a ‘safe’ space where people can work through their issues and share their individual stories if they choose. 

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We are not here to blame, badmouth, gossip, complain, or create drama within these circles. We each agree to take full personal responsibility for the sum of our experience within this container.

This is not a space for advertising or promoting our businesses, services, or products. However, it will be natural for us to touch upon what we do for a living, what fills up our time, what we structure our lives around, and sharing about our business ventures could be a part of our share.

We all agree to respect people’s social privacy and that you do not share details of the content shared by fellow attendees outside of the confines of the circle.

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We agree to be on time for each gathering as the opening/grounding-in is necessary to set the stage for sharing openly and authentically. If a woman anticipates being late or not being able to join a circle, we agree to notify Crystal via text at least 30 minutes prior to the gathering. If a woman arrives during a grounding in, she agrees to quietly join in and settle herself into the circle. 

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Invited guests must read and agree to the guidelines before attending a circle and must introduce themselves to Crystal prior to the gathering.

Due to the nature of human behavior, and real life issues or challenges you or other attendees may face, you may be exposed to moments where the use of adult language and stories may be expressed. There may be mature or potentially challenging topics addressed by Crystal Marie or fellow attendees. If you are sensitive to such language, or if you are easily offended by topics of sex, gender, political, or religious nature, then this circle may not be a fit for you.

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Last, but not least, we agree to be impeccable with our words, not take anything personally, not to make assumptions, and to always do our best - knowing that our best fluctuates as time moves through space.