What is the BeComing Documentary, and why was it created?

Issues addressed in BeComing:

A central practice of the women's circle filmed is to engage in dialogue around the deeper questions of their lives.  In BeComing, the women raise questions and reflect together on the themes of:

• identity,
• commitment,
• death,
• sensuality and sexuality.

Why we created BeComing:

This not-for-profit endeavor was inspired by Sarita's wondering, "How would the lives of women around the world be different if they had the experience of being a part of a women's circle?" We challenged ourselves to speak authentically on film about our inner most questions in the hopes that it would be a gift of inspiration for other women to convene, join or re-enliven the women's circles in their communities.  We believe that as women honor the feminine voice within, more men and other women will learn to listen to the wisdom of this voice for lending coherence, healing and balance back into our lives.  BeComing was created as a gift, an offering from our hearts, to other women, we hoped would make a difference in individuals lives as well as in the collective field of our culture.

We believe the relational field that circle creates and tends to is invisibly vital.  If you walk the streets of South Africa, you might hear local people greeting each other with "Sawu bono".  Equivalent to "Hi" or "Namaste", it literally means "I see you".  If you were from the same tribe you would respond with "Shikona", which means "I am here".  The essence of the exchange means: It is only when you see me that I exist.  This documentary is a visual version of "Sawu bono" for women.

We embarked on BeComing: Women's Circles Women's Lives because we wanted demonstrate the power of a different kind of conversation to give voice to the emerging new collective story, a culture that sustains us and the earth.  Theologian Thomas Berry wrote, in The Dream of the Earth, "We are between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective.  Yet we have not learned the new story."   We are in a state of becoming. Crafting a new story, whether it is at the individual or collective level, has everything to do with creating contexts for people to talk deeply with each other about what gives meaning to their lives.  Circles are place women and men alike are turning to discover and tell the truth of their own experiences; they listen to the deep source of instinctual wisdom within themselves and support one another in living meaningful lives.

We want to thank both the Fetzer Institute and Institute of Noetic Sciences for the exemplary work they are doing in collective consciousness and for believing in the value of BeComing enough to help fund its creation.