Messy Hearts Circle

A small, secular, emotionally-safe space for Middle Eastern / SWANA diaspora & kindred folks in NYC to talk about the stuff that usually stays inside.

Messy Hearts Circle is a facilitated sharing space for people who live between cultures and carry a lot on the inside: love, loneliness, family expectations, identity, desire, guilt, grief, “being behind,” and all the in-between feelings.

We meet in small groups to slow down, speak honestly, and listen to each other with care. There is structure, guidance, and clear agreements, so you don’t have to “perform” or overshare to belong.

This is not therapy and not coaching. It’s a peer-based, culturally-aware circle for reflection and connection.

You might resonate with this group if:
• You’re part of the Middle Eastern / SWANA diaspora (or adjacent / partnered / culturally connected)
• You feel emotionally alone, even if you have friends or family
• You’re navigating love, dating, sex, or relationships between different cultural expectations
• You’re carrying family guilt, duty, or pressure to live a certain kind of life
• You’re secular, spiritually fluid, questioning, or don’t fit neatly into religious spaces
• You care about anti-racism, feminism, and queer-affirming spaces
• You want deeper conversations, but regular social events feel too surface or too performative

All genders, sexualities, and relationship styles are welcome.

Curiosity and respect are more important than having it all “figured out.”

Each circle has:
• A clear theme (for example: Love & Loneliness, Family & Guilt, Desire & Shame, Belonging & Not-Fitting)
• A short, gentle opening to arrive and ground
• Guided prompts to help you reflect on your own experience
• Structured sharing rounds so everyone gets a chance to speak (if they want to)
• Simple connection exercises to help you listen and be listened to, without pressure to perform or fit in
• A brief closing so you don’t leave raw or rushed

You can always choose how much or how little to share. Silence, awkwardness, tears, and laughter are all welcome.

What this space values
• Confidentiality
• Consent (you choose what you share)
• Non-judgment and cultural nuance
• No fixing, diagnosing, or coaching
• Respect for different identities, politics, and life paths (within a broadly left-leaning, anti-racist, queer-affirming frame)

This is a place to be a real, complicated human, not a “self-improvement project.”

If this sounds like you…

Join Messy Hearts Circle to sit with others who get the layers: diaspora, desire, duty, doubt, and all the tender chaos of being human. 🌙🧡

Check our website for more info!