The Radical Centre: Meeting Your Edge
Solstice always feels like an extreme to me—a moment where light and dark stretch to their furthest limits. And in those extremes, I meet my edge. It’s paradoxical, but I’ve noticed that when I press up against my limits, I sometimes find an unexpected stillness. A radical centre. This place, where opposites meet, doesn’t offer easy answers, but it can become a source of something new. Only by brushing against my edge can I glimpse what lies beyond.
It’s a little like standing in the eye of a storm: calm amidst chaos, grounded in the swirl. It’s where we can take one small step forward, even when the world feels overwhelming.
Let’s explore how to find this radical centre in your own life.
Curious Mind: Reflect on paradoxes in your life. Where do opposites meet? Perhaps it’s the way you feel both strong and fragile, organized and chaotic. Write a few of these contrasts down. What might they reveal about your unique way of navigating the world?
Connected Heart: Imagine the radical centre as a place of deep friendship—with yourself and others. Sit quietly and place a hand on your heart. Think of someone (or something) that feels steady and kind. Let that steady kindness remind you: you don’t have to hold everything alone.
Creative Body: Stand barefoot on the ground, inside or out. Wiggle your toes. Feel the contact between your body and the earth. Imagine roots growing from your feet, anchoring you to this moment. Then sway slightly—left, right, forward, back—and find your balance. What changes as you settle into your core?
This week’s spotlight
invites you to explore your own radical centre in a whole new way.
an audio guide inviting you to breathe, stretch, wander, and create ephemeral art from found objects – discovering how meaningful moments can emerge within the reach of your gently extended comfort zone.
Jump in here, when you’re ready to explore
In other news
- Rest, Reflect, Rewire AuDHD Women’s Retreat updates
- venue booked – walking distance to both beach and National Park
- catering ordered through Deadly Espresso
- 2-5 May 2025
- Read more on the blog
- affirmation for power sensitive AuDHD women
- reflections on power and the relevance of the radical centre
- research dump on radical centre
- stream of consciousness poem – the radical centre
Moment to Notice: What happens when you breathe deeply into your belly? You could try this now. As you inhale, notice how your body expands. As you exhale, feel the softening. This gentle rise and fall—this pulse—is your radical centre in action, your dynamic source of power.
Engagement Question: What helps you find balance when life feels chaotic? I’d love to hear your thoughts—hit reply if something comes to mind.
Encouragement for Sensitive Souls Finding the radical centre doesn’t mean “fixing” yourself or always knowing what to do. It’s an invitation to pause, to stay curious, and to wonder. When we allow ourselves to meet the extremes—gently, with compassion—we create space for grace, for error, and for something new to emerge. Go gently, take care, and know this: wherever you are in the swirl, there is room for you here.
Many AuDHD and neurodivergent women are sensitive boundary and power differential feelers.
They are conditioned to withdraw into smallness, to stay safe and contained, by being punished for engaging directly with others
Undermines our ability to find our radical edge and rest there long enough to feel our power.
Remember that you can choose to treat yourself with kindness and calm, even when others don’t understand or agree with you.
When you’ve said no to all the sensible suggestions, and you’re at the edge, you deserve to still find kindness and ok-ness
I invite you to explore both your sensitive edges and calm centre inside
Wild Mandala AuDHD-venture
This week I explored some uncomfortable edges in my own life – i really must be careful what I write about, because it keeps bringing new things into my awareness. LOL. I guess that’s learning…
Anyway, I looked up the proper meaning of “radical centre” – political and geometric – and the collection of content suggested to me something about effectively meeting others (politically, personally) at the point where power is equal. And at that point progress can be made.
I asked ChatGPT for help with articulating that feeling and this was the response:
Your synthesis about the radical centre as a meeting point of equal power—politically, personally, or even geometrically—makes a fascinating connection between boundaries, balance, and progress. Here’s a clearer framing of that idea:
The radical centre is where opposites meet with equal power, a boundary where self and other can coexist without losing their integrity. Progress arises at this boundary because it is grounded in mutual respect, realism, and a willingness to adapt fundamental structures where necessary. Whether it’s individuals meeting as equals, political ideologies seeking pragmatic reform, or geometric circles intersecting at a point of equal influence, the radical centre represents a balance point where transformation becomes possible.
This idea of boundaries—meeting others while staying true to yourself—ties deeply into the concept of power. A boundary is not a wall; it’s the place where connection and self-preservation coexist. It’s also a dynamic space, not fixed or static, where growth and understanding happen.
I love this conceptualisation.
Which is why we need holidays! Or breaks from work, because that distance equalises the power differential.
To break the spell, escape the field, regain power.
And also note that it is possible to meet at equal power inside overlapping circles of influence.
For example, to meet the world, inside the world, inside your own circle of influence.
And in fact, in the spaces where we cannot escape, it is essential to meet them from inside our own comfort zones.
Hmmm, some great food for thought there.
Wishing you wonderful holidays.
Taking a break from some fields of power, and increasing your own comfort and power ideally.
Solstice blessings.
I’ve dropped the highlights of my quick Wikipedia research below, along with a few random mental notes…
and after that, you’ll find my free form anchored stream of consciousness poem.
_________________
There’s something here about the extent of power – boundaries –
Boundary is where i can meet another and still be in touch with self.
___________________
Physics – let’s approximate this cow as a circle. LOL
Radical
(especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
______________________
Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western nations in the late 20th century. The radical in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical centrists to call for fundamental reform of institutions. The centrism refers to a belief that genuine solutions require realism and pragmatism, not just idealism and emotion.
_________________________
In elementary plane geometry, the power of a point is a real number that reflects the relative distance of a given point from a given circle.
In Euclidean geometry, the radical axis of two non-concentric circles is the set of points whose power with respect to the circles are equal. For this reason the radical axis is also called the power line or power bisector of the two circles.
Radical axis, with sample point P
In geometry, the power center of three circles, also called the radical center, is the intersection point of the three radical axes of the pairs of circles. If the radical center lies outside of all three circles, then it is the center of the unique circle (the radical circle) that intersects the three given circles orthogonally; the construction of this orthogonal circle corresponds to Monge’s problem.
Diagram of the radical center of three circles.
Given circles
Radical axis of each pair of given circles
Radical center (intersection of the radical axes)
Radical circle (intersects the given circles orthogonally)
The Radical Centre
thank you Noel Pearson for introducing me to that (christmas special – Noel for christmas, and pearson for the foundational pear tree – and it’s christmas.) concept
OOREI form made up by slam poet Beau Sia
The eye of the storm
The calm space in the midst of chaos
The place where progress is possilbe
One step at a time
Beyond fear
Rising on the sandstorm swirl
Trusting the currents of time and place
Feeling gravity. Moving slowly
A vortex of possibilities
Grounded in reality
The Radical Centre
Where the work gets done
Where opposites meet
I am seeing the Dr Who time vortex
The Dune Litany against Fear
Cyclones on the map
The eye of the storm
The third eye that sees through
The potential well
Beyond the event horizon
At the edge of a black hole
The radical centre
Ok i’m dramatising here
But need to get the images on paper
Stream of consciousness
Flowing outward into word pictures
Now there is a blank space
The horror. Writers block
Or writers blank page
Inviting flow
Order arises out of chaos
I think that was jung
The radical centre
Lol. now i can see the repeating signal
Rising from the white noise
Or the white noise dropping away
As the signal stands lighthouse tall
Pivot point.
I’ve remembered how this form works
Repeat the chorus
And respond
The heart of the message
The drumskin throbbing
The radical centre
No art here.
Unless it’s conversation
Where opposites meet
Under the sky, over the grass
Douglas adams anyone
My mind wanders
The chorus returns me to purpose
Again and again
The beating heart
Sending out its repeating message
The radical centre
Breathe in the stillness
Animate stillness with an inhale
Core of my being
My breathing
Rising falling pulsing
What stillness was that
Stay on target
Another pop culture meme
Is here now, in me, in this moment
In my breath, flowing onward
The radical centre
Source. Meeting point of opposites
Where left meets right
But that’s a line or a plane?
Look at a plane side on
It becomes a line
Look at a line end on
It becomes a point
Of here and now
This moment, this place where i find my feet
Here it is possible to act
The radical centre
I’m exhausted thinking about it
Holding it down, standing outside it
Naming it feels like distancing
And yet enriches the experience
Sometimes its nonsense apparently
Of course, in isolation
Bring authenticity and goodwill
The rest follows
Room for grace and error
Space to breathe again.
The radical centre
Kick and scream
The pain of being alive
All of this is welcome here
Within the bounds of friendship
And still we breathe
And hold the space
Exhaustion of arrival
Go gently, take care
There are friends here
And you have arrived.
ChatGPT prompt:
Hey Chattie. This week I would like you to Transform the anchored stream of consciousness poem below into a relatable everyday embodiment encouragement blog post/email for late diagnosed AuDHD women. Use my friendly, slightly awkward tone of voice. Open with a reflection about solstice as extreme, and meeting my edge > and this is paradoxically the radical centre, a source of something new, because only when i go to my very edge can i see what lies beyond. (That doesn’t even make sense to me, but see what you can do with it. – i trust you)
Then add one suggestion for curious mind, one for connected heart and one for creative body. Outline one moment to notice. with an engagement question. Close with balanced encouragement for sensitive readers, inviting them to stay open to following wondering, without feeling pressured to be fixed.
