Integration Circles
People have been gathering in circles as long as 300,000 years ago. Circles commence through ritual, ceremony, crisis resolution, community organizing, politics, family gatherings, cooking, and so much more. People join over dance, music, rites of passage, milestones, and significant times in community. These circles tend to anchor meaning, direction, and insight in life. Circles foster and deepen connection to self, others, community, family, and with your clan or tribe.
When we join in circle, we form a container that holds everyone in sacred space and purpose. The yearning to be in circle is a reflection of our craving for a tribe to call home. We seek comfort, depth, acceptance, safety, to be held, and to belong. In a world where many environments do not always offer acceptance, or allow for diversity, circle tends to offer an alternative that doesn’t discriminate in faith, religion, experience, choice, background, and so on.
Relational theory is the concept that relationships with others are an essential aspect of emotional well-being. Individuals who find it difficult to maintain supportive and healthy relationships may experience a sense of disconnection in addition to feelings of diminished self-worth and general distress, in fact, their sense of emotional well-being may be negatively affected.
Circle is a form of applied relational theory in multiple formats. The theory is grounded in the fact that relationships play a central role in shaping our daily experiences, how we perceive the world, ourselves, and our integration with it. Relationships help people understand the patterns appearing through thoughts and feelings they have toward ourselves and others. Circle is the perfect environment for us to unpack those relationships, to see them witnessed in front of us, to see ourselves through the eyes of others, and in them, begin to see ourselves
There is a powerful thing that happens in group. We witness others. We hear others. We see through the eyes of others. We feel others. We further do this for ourselves. Then, we process together. We reflect for and on ourselves, but we do so in context of others, and our inherent connection to others. We see that we are not alone. That what we feel, think, see, believe, do or don’t do, isn’t that unique, different, or crazy. We see that we are not alone. We feel connected, and grounded.
We live in a world of relationships, and processing our lives, our thoughts and feelings, our spiritual nature, our sense of things, our experiences, beliefs, perspectives, thoughts, and so much more in a circle of others is a magical experience. The safer and more sacred the group feels, the more magical the circle feels. The more magical we, and our tribe, feel.
This creates a cyclical effect, a momentum. We raise our awareness. We connect more deeply to ourselves, our feelings, our spirit nature. We connect more deeply with others in general, and then to people we’ve grown to like, respect, and care for. This ripples out to our lives, and all those in our lives.
Circles embody the science, and magic, of relational theory. It’s why circles embody powerful knowledge, that invoke powerful action and results in one’s life.
After holding free forum integration circles throughout 2023, I was inspired to create something beyond a support and healing group. Each month we offer an immersive & experiential circle that allows for deeper integration of what emerges from plant medicine work. Each circle has a curated theme that guides the community through a rapid, deep, and lasting transformational process over the span of two hours. Circles promote a safe, supportive, and scared space for raw, open, vulnerability that fosters deeper connection, dialogue, and community. Those who walk into circle, do so with intent to root and weave the teachings of their medicine journeys. Those who walk out of circle, do so with a deeper connection, a tribe, a belonging.
All Are Welcome Here.
Monthly Themes for 2024 Circle
January: From Chaos to Grounded
February: From Disconnection to Connection
March: From Formless to Form
April: From Misaligned to Aligned
May: From Lone Wolf to Tribe
June: From Wounded to Empowered
July: From Invisible to Seen
August: From Silent to Heard
September: From Closed to Open Heart
October: From Distorted to Right Relationship
November: From Challenge to Triumph
December: From Medicine to Teacher