Mindful Living Circle

Mindful Living Circle - Breathe. Be. Belong.
An Evening of Presence, Connection, and Renewal

In the rush of life’s demands, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters. Our Mindful Living Circle offers a dedicated space to pause, connect, and renew. Each month, we gather in a supportive community circle for a 90-minutes, designed to calm the mind, nurture the heart, and inspire meaningful connection.

Each session centers on a timely theme, offering insights and practices that feel both grounding and relevant in today's world.

Through guided mindfulness practice, a practical wellbeing skill, and open-hearted group reflection, participants are invited to slow down, deepen awareness, and leave with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. Join us to Breathe, Be, Belong. 

Objectives:

• Provide a calming space for beginner-level mindfulness practice in a supportive group setting.
• Introduce an accessible wellbeing skill that can be applied immediately.
• Encourage meaningful reflection and conversation on themes that deepen connection to self, others, and the world.
• Foster a sense of shared humanity, reminding participants that they are not alone in their challenges or hopes.
• Leave participants feeling more grounded, centered, and inspired to engage with life intentionally.

This class is offered on a donation basis. ($15, $25, $35)

Please give what you can— and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Learn more about our instructor Shelly Sowell here.

Second Tuesdays 6-7:30 PM

Mindful Living Circle - Breathe. Be. Belong.

The Mindful Living Circle is a monthly gathering for reflection, connection, and presence—where we explore themes that nourish our inner life and deepen our sense of belonging in the world.

SESSION 1

Belonging: Reclaiming Our Interconnectedness in a Divisive Culture

SEPTEMBER 9, 2025

6-7:30 pm (doors open 5:45)

From the moment we are born, we rest in belonging—feeling connected and attuned to others is a core expression of our humanity. True belonging is our most natural state: to feel seen, safe, and connected to one another and to the larger web of life. And yet, we live in a culture where our collective fears generate separation, polarization, and systems that fracture our sense of wholeness. 

In this Mindful Living Circle, we’ll explore belonging as both a birthright and a practice—a way to remember what’s already true beneath the noise. Through reflection, conversation, and presence, we’ll look at how divisiveness impacts our mental and emotional well-being, and how mindful awareness can help us reclaim connection, compassion, and shared humanity.  Please join us!

SESSION 2 

You Do Not Have to Be Good: Returning to Ourselves with Compassion
October 14, 2025

6-7:30 pm (doors open 5:45)

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

-Mary Oliver

The flow of compassion begins with how we relate to our own experience. Do we meet ourselves with gentleness, or fall into self-criticism and quiet beliefs that we’re never enough? In a culture that rewards performance and perfection, it’s easy to internalize pressure and push through pain. But when we learn to greet our thoughts, feelings, and struggles with compassion, something shifts. We create space for healing.  And we begin to trust that our worthiness doesn’t need to be earned.

This month, we’ll explore self-compassion as a practical and powerful foundation for well-being. Together, we’ll reflect on what it means to offer ourselves the same care we so often extend to others—through mindfulness, awareness, and small acts of kindness. When compassion becomes a habit that starts within, it softens our inner world and helps us move through life with more steadiness and grace. 

SESSION 3

Forget Your Perfect Offering: Bringing Our Wholeness to the Holidays
November 11, 2025

6-7:30 pm (doors open 5:45)

A Mindful Living Circle at the Earth & Spirit Center
Co-hosted by writer and storyteller Samantha Perkins

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
—Leonard Cohen

As the holidays approach, we’re often invited to show up in ways that can feel both deeply familiar and quietly complex. Family stories, expectations, and old patterns may resurface—alongside joy, warmth, and celebration. In these moments, it’s easy to slip into old family roles or earlier versions of ourselves. But when we recognize this tendency and set an intention to stay grounded in our present-moment wholeness, we create more space to respond with awareness rather than react from habit.

This month’s Mindful Living Circle, co-hosted by writer and storyteller Samantha Perkins, offers a gentle space to reflect on the stories we carry and how to bring our whole, imperfect selves into the season. Through mindful writing and shared presence, we’ll explore how staying grounded in our truth allows us to respond with compassion—even in the face of old patterns. Join us to reconnect with your story and leave with a sense of clarity, warmth, and purpose for the days ahead.

Shelly works out of Louisville, Kentucky, with individuals, businesses and schools to create meaningful, effective and integrative Mindful Wellbeing . Her theoretical framework includes developmental psychology, interpersonal neurobiology, somatic psychology, educational theory and contemplative arts & sciences.

She has worked as a counselor, educator, consultant, coach and mindfulness-based life skills instructor throughout her career, which began in 2004, and has created wellness businesses in Miami, Los Angeles, Nashville and Louisville.  

Shelly has consulted with and worked for community agencies, public and private schools, non-profits, small businesses, corporations, colleges, universities and an eating disorder residential treatment center.  She is a Founding Partner for Nashville's Center for Integrative Learning & Teaching and is a member of Vanderbilt University Human Development Counseling Advisory Board. Shelly attended graduate school and trained at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  

Shelly holds a license in Professional Clinical Counseling in the state of Kentucky. She offers psychotherapy for individuals in Kentucky. She offers Mindful Wellbeing Coaching and Mindfulness-Based Life Skills programs nationally.