Wisdom Tending: A Midlife Women's Circle
There comes a time when we're called to pause...
To meet ourselves at the door and say “Welcome”
To step back from so much going, doing, and striving
To capture the sweet spots and meaningful moments
To discover (and rediscover) our personal wisdom stories
To begin the journey of tending our own wisdom
"Perhaps your list of pressing tasks is still long. Leave it there fluttering in the breeze, uncrossed, undone, unfinished…to do the only thing you can do."
– Christine Valters Paintner
Is it time to tend your wisdom in a welcoming women's circle?
Life goes fast, doesn't it? Whether you’re on the approach to midlife, somewhere in the midst of it or beyond, it’s common to wonder if there’s something more for you or something missing. But connecting with it feels mysterious and elusive.
Or maybe your midlife journey hasn't turned out the way you thought it would.
And you feel a tug. A deeper voice calling—perhaps the soulful, creative, free-spirited you—that didn’t get enough time in the world while you were prioritizing other people’s needs.
The Wisdom Tending women’s circle is a haven, a place to hold all of you.
Imagine...a nurturing space where you’re invited to bring all the paradoxical parts of you.
- messy parts + joyful parts
- daily certainties + late night wonderings
- self-compassion + self-doubt
- needing to have space + needing to be supported
Show up exactly as you are.
Nothing to fix. No one to become, except more of your real self. Truly known for who you are. And free to be you. All of you.
Wherever you are on the midlife path, Wisdom Tending will meet you there.
It's all of of this, and more...
- women's circle
- creative community
- experiential coaching
- personal retreat
Inside you'll find experiences and activities to help you reflect, pause, savor, imagine, and explore the universal themes and settings that echo across midlife.
Wisdom Tending isn't just another course.
No assignments or boxes to be checked. No pressure to reach a final destination. Because midlife isn't a problem--it's a beautiful work-in-progress.
Wisdom tending is about experience more than information. It's about moving toward the deep aliveness that midlife offers.
During our gatherings I'll encourage you to listen lightly and let your imagination roam. When you let your mind wander into that daydreamy place, you connect with personal magic. Your intuition, body wisdom, and quiet knowing awaken, ready to guide you where you need to go.
In the circle you'll cultivate wise, experiential knowing, and also connect to the deep well of shared wisdom that comes alive in a group of women.
"You are born to one mother, but if you are lucky, you will have more than one. And among them all you will find most of what you need."
– clarissa pinkola estes
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Testimonial
The group restored my faith in people and helped me realize that deep connections with women are possible. I learned so much from what the other women were thinking and going through.
- AA
There is a place for you here.
Wholehearted support: Women's circle and experiential coaching, facilitated by a licensed therapist and board certified coach.
Guided exploration: A beautiful PDF Journey Guide with creative and contemplative activities for self-expression, inspiration, aha’s, and fresh approaches.
Meaningful progress: Moving towards feelings and experiences that matter most to you; moving away from internalized beliefs and the distractions of daily life.
Do you see yourself here?
- you sense something’s missing, in your life or in you
- you’re tired of rushing, feeling distracted and disconnected
- you're drawn to replenishing your creative soul and renewing your connection to earth's rhythms
- you want to retreat and regroup in a supportive community
- you’re inspired by the collective wisdom of women’s stories
- you suspect there’s more for you and its time to discover it
About Wisdom Tending: A 10-month journey
Program Details
- 10 live monthly gatherings: Saturdays 10am-12pm PST on Zoom
- 10 live monthly journaling/coaching sessions: Fridays 11am-12pm PST on Zoom
- Wisdom Tending runs from January to December with summers off
- Easy and reasonable investment of $45/month
- Receive the Journey Guide and all materials as soon as you join.
The Wisdom Tending pilot program is in progress and the next round of the circle begins on January 23, 2027. Add your name to the waitlist to be the first to know when registration opens.
Featured
Testimonial
I realized that I needed to recognize other aspects of my life. I had totally neglected my passions for so long that I had forgotten exactly what does make me happy. The result is that I’ve done things I never expected to do.
- JJ
The Wisdom Tending Journey Guide: Your companion through the landscapes of midlife and beyond.
A labor of love, filled with meaning-making activities, stories, resources. Also, inspiring poetry, prose, images, and guided meditations. The heart of this guide beats with the rhythms of women's lives and the rhythms of earth's landscapes.
Print it out if you're craving a tactile experience. Consider it an ally and resource to help explore the deep wisdom of your mind, heart, body, and spirit.
Journey Guide/Women's Circle Themes
what’s in the Journey Guide
gathering + savoring: arriving together
The words wisdom and savor share a root word: Sapere. It means to taste, and not just in the culinary sense. The journey begins with an invitation to embrace savoring as a path to wisdom tending and self-care.
taking stock + emptying out: the desert
We carry a lot of beliefs into midlife, about who we must be, what we must accomplish, how we must spend our days. As we unravel these beliefs and narratives with kindness, we'll acknowledge their often difficult roots as well as the gifts that may be residing within them.
knowing + not knowing: the prairie
There’s an essential paradox at the core of midlife: it’s often a time of uncertainty and confusion, yet there may also be a deeper yearning to strike out and seek the unknown. We'll pull the thread and get curious about this.
being with all of you: the forest
Our distant parts emerge and call to us in midlife. We'll experiment with welcoming and inviting these parts closer, and also caring for them with self-compassion and self-love.
moving away + moving toward: the mountains
Sometimes midlife feels like a continual cycle of moving away and moving toward, a rebellious urgency to clear out and make room. We'll experiment with honoring the rebellion and easing the burnout and overwhelm.
receiving + opening to let things come to you: the sea
Midlife asks us to imagine reaching less, loosening the reins, stepping back to allow things to come to us. We'll experiment with moving into receiving mode for the gifts we can’t yet see.
surveying the territory: considering sovereignty
We arrive at a place where the ground feels more solid, but can we trust it? We'll practice holding the balance between growing optimism along with knowing/holding boundaries.
naming + claiming: I am me
There’s magic in naming and claiming yourself, an act of true transformation. We'll step into saying “this is me,” with full awareness of the depth and breadth of the inner process we're engaging in.
embodying the inner wise woman: embracing the opposites
We clearly see that we are Soulful Sages, embracing both light and shadow. We'll experiment with releasing the quest to know things for certain and grasping more fully that both wisdom and truth are complex and many-layered.
celebrating the journey: joy cake!
There's sweetness here, whatever our age or circumstances. We'll savor the freedom to experiment and explore, see multiple perspectives, be unselfconsciously who we are. We'll remember, as Mary Oliver noted, “joy is not made to be a crumb.”
I wanted to let you know how much I'm getting out of this. You certainly have an excellent way of helping others “see for themselves.” I feel like I have known the other women for a LONG while, even if it is just a few months.
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Testimonial
- NM
During live gatherings we'll…
- dive into themes from the Journey Guide
- actively journal and create together (no expertise required)
- take time for rest and renewal
- share stories and tend wisdom
- support each other in optional small groups
There's no wrong way to take this journey.
Attend the live gatherings, screen on or off. Or go solo at your own pace. Or create your own hybrid version. Take the journaling invitations and creative explorations and make them your own.
The last thing you need in midlife is another to-do list. You've already cultivated years of experience and wisdom. You know what suits you best, and I'm here to walk with you when you need support.
Whatever you choose to do, you'll always have the Journey Guide, the recordings of the Zoom sessions, and the community to hold you.
Hi, I'm Patty. And I'm thrilled that you're here.
licensed psychotherapist and board certified coach
Professionally, I’ve studied at the Center for Journal Therapy and I'm certified as a SoulCollage® Facilitator. Also, I wrote my master's thesis on creative approaches in counseling.
But none of that had much to do with why I started my first women's circle more than a decade ago.
I was nearing midlife and dearly missed my mom, whom I’d lost at age 20. My longing for a deeper connection with other women was profound. So I turned to books, reading about the kinds of relationships women can create.
Two words captured me: Women’s Circle.
In an instant I knew this would be part of my own journey as well as my work in the world: bringing together the deep knowing of women’s wisdom with the life force of creativity.
I started that first circle because I knew there were women out there who needed it just as much as I did. And years later, after guiding more women's circles than I can count, I know that's still true.
At heart, I’m a meaning seeker and lover of deep connection, creative process, and the certain knowledge that we can join with all parts of ourselves and bring curiosity and compassion to them.
"People may call what happens at midlife "a crisis," but it's not. It's an unraveling...a time when you are challenged by the universe to let go of who you think you are supposed to be and to embrace who you are."
– Brene Brown
Featured
Testimonial
This journey is fabulous and spurring movement for me in my personal world, work-land and marriage–a truly rich experience. I wish I could bottle you up and share you with my friends!
- CL
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Testimonial
I found the activities helpful in better understanding hidden parts and long-lost pieces of myself. Also, I am so amazed by the wisdom, insights, fragility, strength, humor, love, and hope these women have shown and shared.
- JM
Are you longing for something deeper?
These days, instead of sitting in a circle with your wise sisters, you might be sitting in front of a screen viewing an online course or hanging out on social media.
Instead of sinking into meaningful conversations in the moment, you might be communicating via text and direct messages.
Of course, this is the way of the 21st century. We all get that.
Yet the hunger to connect and belong intensifies in midlife. You probably know this: the feelings of belonging you get from scrolling and clicking probably won’t make up for the real thing.
Wisdom Tending is the real thing.
FAQ
Let's gather together and find ourselves again in midlife.
- nurture your inner life and outer life, soul and self
- regularly visit, nourish, and replenish your well
- make space for more of what matters most to you
- move toward a life in harmony with your needs and values
- explore your personal sweet spot between being and doing
- deepen your relationships with yourself and others
- light up your wisdom, imagination, and sense of possibility
Take the next step and join Wisdom Tending
the next round of wisdom tending begins on 1/23/27.
The pilot program is in progress and going well! Add your name to the interest list below to be the first to know when registration opens.