It could be said of our times that we are being called to a new spaciousness of mind! What might this mean as so many entities around us are collapsing? How do we live an authentic hope that is more than just ‘whistling in the dark?’ Religious sister and spiritual teacher, Barbara Fiand SNDdeN, encouragingly writes,

“When paradigms collapse, the only creative thing to do is to let go, so that free space is created for the new to emerge.” ¹

Can this ‘free space,’ or spaciousness of mind be a creative, evolutionary act, an act of hope?

In his talk A Great Leap of Being², Brian Swimme speaks of the ‘planetary mind’ referring to the self-organizing dynamics of the planet to arrange itself in intelligent ways. Likewise, he speaks of the self-organizing principles of the galaxies as ‘galactic mind.’ We do not intellectually grasp the ‘galactic mind’ so much as wake up inside of it. This is why Swimme says that in this evolutionary moment we need a spaciousness of mind: because the primal power of the universe is huge and beyond our minds to fully grasp.

Yet we participate with this planetary/galactic mind with our intelligence and our will. And part of the participation is ‘letting go,’ so the new can emerge. The fullness of the planetary mind is latent within us. Four billion years ago, Swimme poetically proclaims, Earth was molten rock; and now, it gives birth to the orangutan! This capacity to birth the thoroughly new is latent in the molten rock.

One way of contributing to this spaciousness of mind is by participating in the various ‘sharing circles’ that make up our lives. From book clubs to community meetings, to knitting circles, to family dinners, to blog writers and readers, to circles of faith believers, to circles that gather around an issue or concern or a hope—whether ad hoc or ongoing—these learning circles have the potential to accelerate and deepen the process of freeing space for the new to emerge.

This can be a conscious participation in evolution, the ongoing generosity of Ultimate Reality (God) pouring Itself out as all of creation, including us. Swimme describes humans as a planetary force. And the planetary mind is latent in us, that is, we do not know what is coming forth. But we can learn to let go and witness what God is forever up to!

So, this writing is a celebration of all ‘sharing circles,’ a communal structure that has been around for eons with the potential for growth and transformation. They are an evolutionary act, an act of hope, creating space for the new to emerge.

Be hopeful, join a circle!