Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living Becca Piastrelli

In today’s episode, I am joined by my friend Gemma Brady of ‘Sister Stories’ to explore our mutual passion of sharing circle work. One of Gemma’s mission is to make going to circle as common as going to yoga class and in this conversation, she shares how she approaches circle as a living, breathing art form. She shares vulnerably about how she experienced her second pregnancy and how circle, both as a participant and a facilitator, sustained her most through that time. Above all, this conversation is an invitation to everyone who feels the call to do circle work to explore their own unique expression and what it means to them to devote themselves to the heart of the practice.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
How to find your own unique style of circle workChallenging assumptions about the aesthetic, scale and framework of circleHow circle can foster meaningful connections and compassionHow circle is medicine, and an opportunity for personal growth, for the facilitator tooPreserving integrity in circle work while allowing it to evolveReleasing the idea of hierarchy and competition within this workResources + Links
Lead unforgettable circles that satisfy your soul — so you can unleash your magic in the world: join my free workshop ‘High Lady’ on May 22nd.Find Gemma Brady’s work on her website sisterstories.co & Instagram @sisterstoriesuk. Her Women’s Circle Facilitation Training starts again in May.My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction and The High Lady Workshop on Facilitating the Circle of your Dreams 
[5:39] Introducing Gemma Brady and our Personal Connection 
[11:40] Gemma’s Background in Spaceholding and the Creation of ‘Sister Stories’ 
[17:23] The Power of Deep Speaking and Listening 
[19:03] The Essence of Circle Beyond the Aesthetic + Unbranding Circle 
[23:04] Circle as a Philosophy 
[24:49] Spreading the Word of Circle 
[27:44] Marketing Circle Work and Claiming your Unique Expression 
[33:41] Shifted Assumptions around Circle 
[37:57] Preserving Integrity and Allowing Evolution and Creativity in our Offerings 
[40:49] Humanity and Imperfection in Circle 
[42:39] Circle as Medicine for the Facilitator too 
[51:33] Offering Circle Facilitation

In today’s episode, I am joined by Johannah Reimer to talk about holding circle for our girls and the female-bodied youth that are in our lives. Johannah is a soulcentric educator, ceremonialist, teen mentor, and an artist of many trades. Trained as a Waldorf teacher, Johannah has been working with children of all ages for over 20 years and holds a particular passion for tweens/teens striving to meet their developmental needs for mentorship and initiation in a culture that has forgotten how to do so. Johannah founded Wakeful Nature & Girls Group as a means to fill the initiatory void for girls crossing the threshold of childhood into adolescence with guidance, ceremony, and community.
Johannah and I share our passion for the healing that can happen through circling and ceremony and in this conversation I get the change to get nosey about her incredible work facilitating girls groups, the impact this work has on her as a space holder and so much more. Above all, Johannah calls for the ‘village aunties’ to step up, cultivating more awareness around what today’s generation of girls is moving through and weaving together multi-generational embodied wisdom.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
Remembering how to be village aunties and engage in re-villaging workCreating a safe space for younger girlsThe challenges faced by girls in today’s societyWorking with the elements and ancestral remembranceRitualizing the first bleed and normalizing menstrual cycle awareness through storytelling and archetypesModeling imperfection and the human experience as a facilitatorAllowing the girls to grow capacity within circleExperiencing grief as a facilitator whilst also carving the new path for ritual and ceremonyStepping into our role as matriarchal leaders and how we can move into a post-patriarchal societyResources + Links
Find Johannah’s work on wakefulnature.com and Instagram @wakeful.natureFind out more about Johannah’s Girls Group Facilitator trainingLearn how to craft a meaningful rite of passage for your daughter’s menstrual cycle with JohannahBook: ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan HaidtMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction 
[09:43] Remembering How to be Village Aunties 
[12:17] Challenges Faced by Girls in Today's Society 
[18:00] Creating Safe Spaces for Girls through Long-Term and Ongoing Support 
[26:48] Social Media Use by Teens and Navigating Belonging and Connection 
[34:32] Ritualising & Normalising the First Bleed through Ceremony + Ritual 
[40:22] Being a Girls Group Facilitator 
[43:47] Moving into a Post-Patriarchal Society

In today’s episode, I am answering listener questions. Topics range from sharing my personal viewpoint on religion and spirituality, navigating different roles and jobs during my day and in my life and dive deep into circle-related questions too.
Tune in to hear more from me on:
The role religion and spirituality played during my upbringing and todayThe journey from my old-school DIY blogging days to my online work now, and how working with my hands was the pathway to exploring community and belongingNavigating different jobs and roles as a human being and practicing flexibilityKnowing when it’s time to let go and honoring the power of an ending when it comes to friendships - and also knowing when you’re witholding and taking responsibilityClaiming the term ‘circle’ and holding space for all peoplesHow circle needs to offer the opportunity for equality and the space for consent, also in the context of sharingResources + Links
Episode #125: Turning Circle Conflict into Deeper Intimacy With Ginny MuirEpisode #123: The Meaning of Time With Becca RichMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[01:00] Do you practice any religions or spirituality?
[06:23] Your work used to be more focused on hands on elements and literal making. How do you still integrate that into your day to day life?
[11:24] How do you juggle/hold all of your different jobs and roles? Both big picture and like a “day in the life” type thing.
[14:55] How to know when to let a friendship go or how do you do it?
[18:23] Is it possible to start a successful circle with non-circley friends?
[22:05] Does it always have to be everyone shares? Other prompts for shyer or younger?

In today’s episode, I am joined by my friend Amelia Hruby. Amelia is a feminist author, educator, podcaster and founder of Softer Sounds podcast studio (who used to edit this podcast too!). I brought her onto the podcast today specifically because of her amazing podcast ‘Off the Grid’, which is a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients.
Even if you don’t identify as a small business owner - there’s something about what Amelia shares about leaving social media in this episode that transcends it all and will leave you feeling inspired to explore your virtual presence.
Amelia opens up about the impact that leaving social media has had on her life and makes the beautiful connection between her patterns of anxious attachment and how that showed up in her virtual presence too.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
The loneliness that can arrive when leaving social mediaThe struggle of finding community outside of the virtual landscape and finding a sense of belonging without itThe need of being seen in this day and ageHow personal and emotional well-being can be so attached and influenced by our online presenceHow our seasonal and hormonal cycles can impact our relationship with social mediaHow the platforms are designed to lead us down a path of misinformation, toxic algorithms and capitalismResources + Links
Amelia Hruby’s podcast ‘Off the Grid’, her website AmeliaHruby.com and her podcasting studio Softer SoundsAmelia’s membership ‘The Interweb’, dedicated to support small business owners move their business off of social mediaThe Off the Grid episode with Nicole Antoinette: ‘How much is Enough: Money & Social Media’ membership ‘interweb’My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction [11:01] The Decision to Leave Social Media [13:16] Anxious Attachment to the Online Sphere [16:37] Life after Leaving Social Media [19:56] Creativity in Business w/o Social Media [20:56] Loneliness and Virtual Community [24:34] Running a Business outside of Social Media [27:27] Finding Community outside of Social Media [29:00] The Need to Feel Seen [36:44] Curation Online [40:40] Aggravation of Wounds of Belonging by Social Media [48:36] The Harmful Ways the Algorithm Preys Upon Vulnerabilities [52:46] The Impact of Culture and the Joy of the Internet [53:41] Bringing Intention, Awareness and Agency to the Virtual Landscape [54:16] Choosing a Different Path and Finding Liberation [54:55] Main Takeaways [56:36] Amelia’s Work and Offerings

It takes a deep initiation of need for care to get you to shed the layers of hyper individualism and show up as the village. In today’s episode, I get fired up about why the ones who are showing up and arriving on the doorstep with the soup are often the caregivers with a limited capacity themselves. I talk about my own journey with asking for and receiving support, experiencing the power of circle and council and navigating anger and cynicism along the way.
Tune in to hear more from me on:
– Caregivers with less capacity being the ones who show up
How it takes a deep initiation of need, usually having a child or experiencing a major loss or illness, to get you to this placeReleasing the fog of hyper individualismHow we need to replenish as keepers of the wellResisting the urge to become cynicalWeaving yourself into the missionResources + Links
Find out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holdersMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[0:00] Introduction
[5:41] Initiation into Caregiving and Kinkeeping
[7:35] The Myth of Hyper Individualism
[8:36] Those Who Show Up for the Village are the Ones with the Least Capacity
[9:56] The Bottomless Pit of Need
[12:12] Creating Community and Circle
[16:48] Replenishing Yourself as Keeper of the Well
[18:26] Navigating Cynicism and Anger when Feeling Unsupported
[20:52] Weaving Yourself into the Mission
[21:20] Beheld Council Invitation
[23:05] Next Episode Preview

In today’s episode, I am joined by my dear friend Ginny Muir to talk about the longing for deep intimacy, the importance of healing in relationships, navigating rupture and repair in community and circle specifically. Ginny is an incredible spaceholder, medicine woman, witch, tantrika and so much more. Specifically, she has an incredible way of supporting relational conflict.
Rupture and repair is an innate way of being in community, and yet to so many of us this is absolutely terrifying. In this conversation, Ginny shows her amazing skills at supporting others through navigating conflict and we give real-life examples as to how we navigated conflict in circle before - and the tools that helped us work though it.
Tune in to hear more from us on:
How deep intimacy requires healing in relationships and a willingness to navigate conflictHow rupture and repair are essential for fostering deeper intimacy and growthHow conflict in friendship should be approached with the same openness and willingness to repair as conflict in romantic relationshipExamples of circle technologies, how they can help navigate moments of rupture and create a safe space for healingResources + Links
Find Ginny Muir on Instagram @ginnymuirFind out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holdersMy book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the SelfConnect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelliTimestamps
[00:00]  Introducing Ginny Muir
[07:25] Longing for Deep Intimacy
[09:45] Healing in Relationships
[11:33] Wounds and Attachment
[14:29] The Process of Rupture and Repair
[15:55] Conflict in Friendship vs Romantic Relationships
[19:55] Embracing Polarity and Diversity in All Relationships
[24:37] Triggers as an Opportunity for Self Love
[25:51] Turning Conflict into Deeper Intimacy
[27:07] Navigating conflict through the Lens of the Nervous System
[28:11] Rupture and Repair in a Retreat
[38:29] Finding Safety in Circle
[41:35] Consciously created circles and communities
[43:05] The experience of Holding Space and Trusting the Unfolding of Ceremony
[46:40] Using Circle Technologies
[52:49] Learning from Experienced Teachers
[54:32] Receiving Support through Microdosing 🍄
[56:17] Journey to Scotland & Reconnecting with the Earth Ways on the Ancestral Land