The Encounter
On a summer evening, eight people gathered beneath an old magnolia tree at Clos du Verger, with a ninth place held for the more-than-human world.
A poem opened the Circle, followed by silence and a breathing practice that invited us to notice the exchange of breath with the trees and the life around us. We remembered our ancestral, spiritual and place-based lineages, bringing different traditions, landscapes and ways of knowing into the gathering.
Six months into The Field’s emergence, we reflected on what we had been hearing through encounters, pilgrimages and conversations — and what might be asking to emerge.
Stories moved between personal experiences of belonging, the importance of care and trust in collective life, and Geneva’s particular history as a meeting place. We explored listening beyond words, through the body, and mapping a city not only through locations but through relationships, walking and encounters.
The conversation turned toward what we might cultivate together: new connections across communities, a continuing rhythm of gatherings, and deeper relationships with Geneva’s living landscapes.
As darkness settled, we shared gratitude. A cricket began calling from somewhere in the garden, a quiet reminder that our conversation was taking place within a much wider community of life.
Condition & Practices
Summer garden · Magnolia tree · A place for the more-than-human · Poetry and silence · Shared breathing · Remembering lineages · Storytelling · Open inquiry
Learnings
The intimate garden setting, shared silence and breathing practice invited attention to one another and the living world. Personal stories brought questions of belonging and interdependence into everyday life. Listening emerged not only as a practice of hearing, but as a way of relating. Mapping began to take shape as an embodied practice of discovering Geneva through people, places and relationships.
Reltionships Extending Forward
Participants expressed a wish to continue gathering, welcome new perspectives and languages, and explore Geneva through walking, listening and embodied practices. The Circle also helped shape the emerging Field Mapping inquiry and the first Field Conversation.
Questions Carried Forward
How do we cultivate the relationships that help us navigate uncertainty and change together?
