Vision
and Purpose
Circles of Air and Stone was
founded by a vision to bring the ancient teachings
into the contemporary world; to integrate the
lessons of earth and sky, soul and spirit, stone
and air. This is a sacred trust, but it is also
a challenge and a creative act.
The landscape of the modern
world is far different from ancient times, and
we suffer from its loss of roots and the absence
of the sacred. Apprenticing is designed to contribute
not only to your personal and professional growth,
but to the greater healing of the earth and her
children, and to allow you to leave better able
to help individuals and a culture suffering from
aimlessness, abuse, poverty of vision, and lack
of a sustaining mythology. To effectively help
those of this diverse population requires skills,
exercises, and elements from many branches on
the tree of knowledge.
We are called to serve our people.
Knowledge of your people -- who they are and the
issues they face -- will somewhat determine skills
and areas of study important to you. If you are
working primarily with adolescents, with people
in recovery, with women, trauma survivors, or
people confronting death, some areas listed below
may be crucial while others seem almost irrelevant.
But the core elements of the quest for soul and
spirit are the same today as always:
• Humility
before our Creator, Mother Earth and the Spirit-in-all-Things.
• Willingness
to shrink our arrogance and self-importance and
open our eyes, ears, and heart to be taught.
• Gratitude
for the gift of life on this earth.
• Recognition
and respect for all our relations here with us.
