About the Practice of Developmental Circling

The primary tool that will be used for exploration and connection in these groups for those in the MetAware tier will be the practice of Integral Circling®, and we will be explicitly bringing MetAware perspectives and orientations to this practice and the community we will become.

Circling could be considered to be “Relational Meditation”. It has much in common with some other forms of meditation but also some differences from most other forms of meditation.

In most forms of meditation, we put our attention onto something, which could be the breath, thoughts, sensations, an object that we can see, or more abstract objects such as forgiveness or compassion. We bring our attention back to that object over and over and over in meditation.

In Circling, a person and that person’s unfolding experience is the focal point of the meditation; in these Circling groups, we will take that one step further so that the focal point of our meditation will be the entire system of the person we are holding in compassionate awareness, the unfolding awareness within ourselves in relation to the group member we are holding in awareness, and awareness of the unfolding of the entire group as we all hold one of our members in awareness and compassion.

A major difference of Circling compared to most other forms of meditation is that it is a verbal practice as well as an awareness practice. This means that we will interact verbally with the person we are holding in compassionate awareness by asking the person questions about their present-moment experience and sharing what is arising in our own awareness in relation to this person.

Like most forms of meditation, Circling has a strong bias towards the present moment. We mainly notice and talk about what is happening right now rather than about stories about things that happened in the past.

This practice is done in circles of people (in this case, in a Zoom circle), and the experience is guided by a facilitator. While aspects of this practice can be edgy and challenging at times, the space is held and the conversation is facilitated in such a way that the experience generally feels safe and gentle. It is a practice of relating to one another with genuine compassion.

The facilitator of these groups, Brad, has been trained and certified as a Stages Scorer, Debriefer, and Coach. He is also trained and certified as a facilitator of Integral Circling® and was formerly a teacher of Circling facilitators at the Integral Center in Boulder, CO. This offering of Circling for those in the MetAware tier is the integration of two of Brad’s major passions of the past eight years: Stages and Circling.

In order for all participants to have the opportunity to participate significantly and receive the opportunity to be witnessed in their presence and unfolding, these Circling groups are limited to six people and will meet for a series of ten weekly sessions.

If you want to join a Circling group or just want to find out more, you are invited to schedule a 15 minute conversation with Brad to discuss these Circling groups and to determine together if you and these groups would be a good fit.

To inquire about the Circling groups or to receive occasional updates about Developmental Circling and other offerings, send an email to Brad at brad@mirroring.one.