Circling is a kind of relational mediation practice. It’s a way to explore the relational field between self and others. It brings a greater sense of presence, awareness and connection. It’s about being seen, accepted and valued for who you really are. Circling as a unique practice has been around for about 30 years. It is rooted in mindfulness, integral theory and conflict resolution.
The practice of Circling has several different modalities. This can involve, working either with groups or working with one other person. The latter is most directly relevant to 121 work with clients.
This modality is also described as “Transformational Connection”, because it can be just that.
This type of transformational connection happens through naming what is alive in the present moment. Either in oneself or what is observed in the other person. This process of being open and real in the present moment can include the naming of difficult or unexpected things. This process often brings a deep sense of connection and acceptance of self and other.
Mindfulness could be summarised as noticing your breath or other anchor such as sounds. In contrast, in Circling practice it’s about noticing the moment-to-moment experience, especially in relationship to (an) other(s). This can be named aloud so that individual experiences can not only be shared, but it enables the possibility to also receive impact and feedback on what is experienced.
This practice can be used in coaching and enables the coach to share their experience of the client in a safe and welcoming manner. This process can help increase the client’s awareness of the issue that they are addressing. It also provides a protocol through which the coach can share their experience what is alive in them, in the present moment. This information often relates to the client, in some way, and is frequently useful additional information for them.
Coaches can learn the core skills from this practice, to support and deepen their work with their own clients through the Practice in Presence trainings (link).
The group modality is often referred to as “Surrendered Leadership”. In this modality a group of people each share their own present moment experience, in an organic and spontaneous way. There is also a modality where a small group ‘circle’ one individual. The group share what is alive in them as they share what it’s like to be in the presence pf that one person These processes often provide participants with valuable feedback. They also tend to bring greater self-awareness and acceptance of self and others.
The group modality can also be used to gather information from the ‘We space’ and discover intelligence from the collective.
See my Eventbrite page about group practices in person in Edinburgh or my services around training for other coaches.
