Circles

Humans have probably been sitting in circles to discuss both trivial and important matters since spoken language was first developed. Native Americans developed a technique for insuring that everyone in the circle had a voice – using a stick that was passed around the circle or left in the center for one person to pick up.  Only the person with the stick spoke.

At Easton Mountain, we call our circles Soulful Circles – and they include a reading and a time of silence.  The following are our guidelines:

The community at Easton Mountain, as part of our commitment to living a spiritual life, holds regularly a soulful circle.

• We sit in a circle as a symbol of our unity ¨and commitment to welcoming each person as a co-creator of the circle.
• We listen to one another with a spirit of compassion and we make every effort to suspend our judgment of one another.
• We tolerate silence and seek to be guided by its wisdom.
• We tell the truth of our experience and seek to cultivate the capacity to hold other people’s truth, especially when it differs from our own.
• We commit to holding one another’s intensity.
• We remember to breathe as we listen and sit with each other.
• We remember to be light-hearted and joyful in this process.
• We offer our presence to one another in a spirit of generosity.
• We allow these guidelines to grow and change as the soul of our group informs us.