Build Your Community with Circles Rising

At its heart, Circles Rising is about building community. The in person experiences foster venerability, authenticity, and connection. Each module is intended to build on the last. This is why it is important to commit to attending each class. 

This handout explores the history of women's circles and how circles have served as spaces for connection, storytelling, healing, collective wisdom, and social resilience throughout human history. We invite participants to see themselves as part of a much larger lineage of gathering and belonging.

Ancient Origins and Earth-Based Rituals

Suppression and "Witch" Persecution

Resilience Through "Invisible" Circles

Modern Resurgence and Global Movement

Further Exploration

This opening module welcomes participants into the Circles Rising experience and establishes the foundation for the journey ahead. Through intentional introductions, shared activities, and storytelling, participants begin building trust, connection, and a sense of belonging within the group. Together, the circle starts creating a supportive container where each woman is seen, heard, and valued. By the end of the module, participants will have a clearer understanding of the program, the facilitators, and the community they are co-creating.

Key Learnings

Belonging

Women thrive in spaces where they feel seen, welcomed, and valued. This module begins establishing the circle as a place of belonging and authentic connection.

The Circle as Community

A circle is more than a gathering; it is a living community built through presence, participation, and shared experience. Each member contributes to the strength of the whole.

The Power of Ritual

Simple rituals help mark transitions, create intention, and deepen connection. Rituals remind us that gathering together is meaningful and worthy of attention.

Shared Presence

Connection begins when we slow down and arrive fully. Presence allows us to listen, witness, and engage with one another more deeply.

Story as Connection

When women share their stories, they discover common humanity beneath their differences. Personal storytelling helps build trust, empathy, and understanding.

Co-Creating the Container

The circle is created by everyone present. From the first meeting onward, participants begin taking responsibility for the energy, safety, and culture of the group.

Interconnectedness

Just as a thread is woven into a larger tapestry, each participant is connected to and impacts the collective experience. The Thread of Connection Ceremony symbolizes the relationships that will develop throughout the program.

Intention and Commitment

Beginning the journey together invites participants to reflect on why they are here, what they hope to receive, and what they are willing to contribute to the circle experience.This opening module welcomes participants into the Circles Rising experience and establishes the foundation for the journey ahead. Through intentional introductions, shared activities, and storytelling, participants begin building trust, connection, and a sense of belonging within the group. Together, the circle starts creating a supportive container where each woman is seen, heard, and valued. By the end of the module, participants will have a clearer understanding of the program, the facilitators, and the community they are co-creating.

This module introduces the foundational agreements that help create safety, trust, and connection within the circle container. Participants will explore the purpose of shared agreements, including communication, confidentiality, participation, and attendance expectations, while reflecting on how collective standards support individual and group wellbeing. Through discussion and integration practices, the group will begin building a shared understanding of accountability, consistency, and mutual care. This module lays the groundwork for creating a circle culture rooted in respect, presence, and belonging.

Key Learnings

The Circle Container

A circle is strengthened by the agreements that hold it. The container provides a shared framework that supports trust, emotional safety, consistency, and meaningful connection.

Shared Agreements

Agreements are intentional commitments that members make to one another. Unlike rules, agreements are co-held practices that support healthy communication, confidentiality, respect, and participation. Agreements help create a respectful and supportive community.

Confidentiality

Trust grows when participants know their stories, experiences, and vulnerabilities will be treated with care. Confidentiality helps create a space where women can share authentically and feel emotionally safe. 

Personal Responsibility

Each participant is responsible for her own participation, communication, and impact within the group. Healthy circles thrive when members take ownership of their actions and choices.

Attendance and Presence

Consistent participation helps build trust, continuity, and deeper relationships. Showing up regularly demonstrates commitment to both individual growth and the collective experience.

Accountability

Accountability is the practice of honoring agreements and addressing challenges openly and respectfully. It supports trust and strengthens the integrity of the circle.

Mutual Respect

A thriving circle honors diverse perspectives, experiences, and ways of being. Respect creates an environment where differences can be welcomed as sources of learning and strength.

Belonging Through Commitment

Belonging is not created by simply being present; it grows through participation, reliability, and shared investment in the wellbeing of the group.

Community as a Practice

Healthy community does not happen automatically. It is built intentionally through shared agreements, consistent actions, and a willingness to care for both oneself and others.

This module explores how cultural conditioning and patriarchal systems can create separation, comparison, and mistrust among women. Through reflection, storytelling, and circle practice, participants will examine the ways they have experienced being “othered” and the ways they may have unknowingly participated in othering others. Together, the group will discover how authentic connection, deep listening, and shared vulnerability can transform separation into belonging. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of why women’s circles matter and how our differences can become a source of collective strength and wisdom.

Key Learnings

Othering

Othering occurs when we view another person as fundamentally different, separate, or less relatable than ourselves. It can show up through assumptions, judgments, stereotypes, comparison, or exclusion. Often, these patterns are learned rather than consciously chose.

Patriarchal Conditioning

Patriarchal systems often encourage competition, scarcity, and comparison among women. These messages can create division and make it more difficult for women to trust, support, and collaborate with one another.

The Cost of Separation

When women are disconnected from one another, the result can be isolation, loneliness, mistrust, and diminished collective power. Separation impacts both personal well-being and the strength of communities.

Shared Humanity

Beneath our different experiences, identities, and perspectives are common human needs and emotions. Recognizing our shared humanity creates opportunities for empathy, understanding, and connection.

The Power of Being Witnessed

Being listened to without interruption, judgment, or advice can be a transformative experience. Witnessing allows people to feel seen, heard, and valued exactly as they are.

Circle as a Practice of Connection

Circle creates a space where every voice has value and where authentic sharing can replace performance, comparison, and hierarchy. Through circle, participants practice presence, listening, and mutual respect.

Differences as Strength

Diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences expand the wisdom of the group. Differences are not obstacles to connection; they are opportunities for learning, growth, and collective resilience.

Connection and Collective Power

When women move beyond comparison and competition, they create stronger relationships, deeper support systems, and greater capacity to create positive change in their lives and communities.

Communication in Circle is not just about speaking — it’s about creating a shared field of presence, trust, and understanding. A complete communication happens when one person speaks and one person listens. In Circle, this expands: one person speaks, and the entire circle listens.

This module invites participants to practice both authentic expression and intentional listening, recognizing that both are equally powerful acts.

Key Learnings

Complete Communication 

Being heard is just as important as being able to speak.

Listening as an Act of Service

Listening is not waiting for your turn to talk. Listening is making space for another person to exist fully.

Take Space, Give Space

Community thrives when everyone has the opportunity to contribute and everyone shares responsibility for making room for others.

Speaking What Is Real

Vulnerability creates belonging. We connect most deeply through what is genuine, not what is perfect.

Speaking to Clear and Speaking to Complete

Clarity is an act of generosity. When we speak clearly, we help others understand us and create space for everyone to participate.

Trusting the Circle

Trust grows when we experience being heard without interruption, judgment, or fixing.

Embodied Awareness

The body is always communicating. Listening to ourselves is part of listening to others.

Presence Over Performance

What creates connection is not eloquence—it is presence. The greatest gift we can offer one another is our full attention.

In Circles Rising we view rupture not as failure. Rather, we believe it is evidence of aliveness, truth, and difference. When women show up authentically, conflict may happen. This module reframes conflict from something to avoid into something to move through with intention, care, and courage. Repair is where trust is built,

voices are honored, and relationships becomes resilient.
 

Participants explore:

Their default conflict patterns (avoid, accommodate, compete, compromise, collaborate)

The cost of self-abandonment and silence

The power of staying present for repair

Key Learnings

Rupture Is Not Failure

Differences, misunderstandings, and conflict are natural when people show up authentically. Rupture often signals that real voices, needs, and perspectives are present.

Authenticity Requires Courage

Speaking honestly about our needs, feelings, boundaries, and desires can feel risky. Authentic participation may lead to disagreement, disappointment, or discomfort, but it is essential for meaningful connection.

Self-Abandonment Creates Distance

When we consistently suppress our needs to maintain harmony, we may avoid immediate conflict but often create resentment, disconnection, and isolation over time.

Repair Builds Trust

Trust is not created by never experiencing conflict. Trust grows when people are willing to acknowledge impact, listen with openness, and work toward reconnection after a rupture.

Conflict Styles Shape Our Relationships

Each person has learned ways of responding to conflict. Awareness of our default patterns helps us make conscious choices that better serve both ourselves and our relationships.

Discomfort Is Part of Growth

Repair often requires moving through awkwardness, vulnerability, uncertainty, and emotional discomfort. These experiences are often signs of growth rather than signs that something is wrong.

Connection and Individuality Both Matter

Healthy relationships honor both the individual and the collective. Repair invites us to hold our own truth while remaining connected to others.

Repair Is a Practice

Repair is an ongoing practice of listening, speaking honestly, taking responsibility, and returning to relationship with care and intention.

The Circle Is Strong Enough for Difference

A resilient circle does not require agreement. It requires a shared commitment to respect, curiosity, accountability, and returning to connection when challenges arise.

This module introduces participants to the practice of sharing “withholds” in a way that is grounded, consensual, and relationally safe. Using principles from Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication (NVC), participants learn how to express unspoken truths without harm, overwhelm, or reactivity.

The focus is not just what is said—but how, when, and whether it is shared.

Key Learnings

Withholds as Unspoken Truths

A withhold is something true for us that we have not expressed. Withholds may include feelings, needs, boundaries, appreciations, concerns, or assumptions. Left unexamined, they can create distance, misunderstanding, and disconnection.

Truth and Responsibility

Speaking honestly does not mean speaking without consideration. In Circle, participants are encouraged to take responsibility for their own experiences by speaking from personal observation, feeling, and need rather than blame or accusation.

Consent Creates Safety

Not everyone is available to receive feedback at every moment. Seeking consent before sharing a sensitive truth honors both the speaker and the listener and helps create conditions for meaningful connection.

Capacity Matters

Emotional honesty is most effective when participants are sufficiently regulated and grounded. Before sharing, it is important to assess one’s own emotional state and ability to communicate with care and clarity.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

NVC provides a framework for expressing truth in a way that fosters understanding rather than defensiveness.

The Difference Between Reaction and Response

Reaction often comes from activation, assumptions, or unmet needs. Response emerges from awareness, reflection, and intentional choice. Circle encourages participants to respond rather than react.

Receiving is a Practice

Communication is complete only when there is both expression and listening. Receiving feedback with openness, curiosity, and self-awareness is as important as sharing honestly.

Choice is Sacred

Participants are never required to disclose more than feels appropriate. Choosing not to share can be an act of wisdom, self-care, and boundary awareness. Authentic participation includes honoring one’s own limits.

Repair Begins with Truth

Healthy relationships are not built by avoiding discomfort but by developing the skills to navigate honesty with care. Thoughtful truth-telling can deepen trust, strengthen connection, and support repair when challenges arise.

Connection Over Catharsis

The purpose of sharing a withhold is not to discharge emotions or prove a point. The intention is to increase understanding, strengthen relationship, and cultivate greater authenticity within the circle.

A group vision statement exercise in a women’s circling program should feel reflective, collaborative, and empowering. The goal is to help participants co-create a shared intention for the circle: how they want the space to feel, how they want to show up, and what they want to grow together.

A strong circle begins with a shared sense of purpose. In this module, participants come together to explore their hopes, values, and intentions for the journey ahead and collaboratively create a vision for the circle. Through reflection, dialogue, and collective meaning-making, women begin to establish a foundation of trust, ownership, and belonging. The resulting vision statement serves as a guiding compass for the circle, helping members stay connected to what they are creating together and why it matters.

Key Learnings

Vision Creates Direction

A vision provides a shared sense of purpose and helps guide the group’s choices, interactions, and growth throughout the circling experience.

Co-Creation Builds Ownership

When participants help create the vision, they are more likely to feel invested in the circle and committed to its success.

Every Voice Matters

A collective vision is strongest when it reflects the wisdom, experiences, and aspirations of all members. Inclusive participation strengthens belonging and trust.

Shared Values Strengthen Community

Identifying common values helps establish a foundation for connection and creates a sense of unity despite individual differences.

Vision Is a Living Practice

A vision statement is not a static document. It can serve as an ongoing touchstone that the group revisits, reflects upon, and grows into over time.

Intention Shapes Experience

The quality of a circle is influenced by the intentions participants bring. Clarifying intentions helps create a more conscious and meaningful group experience.

Belonging Through Contribution

People feel a deeper sense of belonging when they have an active role in shaping the community they are joining.

Collective Wisdom Emerges Through Dialogue

When women gather to share their perspectives and dreams, insights often emerge that are greater than any one individual’s vision alone. This collective wisdom becomes part of the circle’s foundation.

Standards Are How We Hold the Circle Together. This module focuses on the practical and relational aspects of maintaining a healthy circle culture. We will distinguish Guidelines or “Standards” as living practices and conscious commitments, rather than rigid rules. Participants deepen their understanding of how circle agreements function as intentional practices that support accountability, communication, leadership, and belonging within the group. Participants are invited to reflect on the relationship between personal responsibility and collective care, while practicing the skills needed to sustain healthy community spaces over time.

Key Learnings

Standards as Collective Care

Standards are intentional agreements that protect the emotional, relational, and logistical wellbeing of the circle. Participants will recognize how agreements create safety, trust, consistency, and clarity.

Consensus & Shared Decision-Making

Consensus balances individual voice with collective movement and encourages participation, responsibility, and transparency. Paticipants will understand majority rule, total consensus, and “stepping aside” as tools for collective decision-making.

Accountability

Trust grows when members follow through on commitments and communicate honestly when challenges arise. We will explore how commitments impact trust and relational integrity within the group.

Shared Leadership

Rotating leadership distributes responsibility, builds confidence, and prevents hierarchy from becoming fixed as we understand rotating roles as a practice of empowerment, participation, and distributed responsibility.

Respect for Space

We reflect on how care for the environment supports the emotional container and safety fo the circle. Caring for the environment reflects care for the community.

Boundaries & Presence

Clear agreements around time, food, participation, and communication help maintain focus and relational integrity.

Sabbaticals & Cycles

Healthy circles honor changing life circumstances and allow members to step away and return without shame or exclusion as we begin to understand the purpose of sabbaticals, re-entry practices, and flexible participation within long-term communities.

Living Agreements

We recognize that healthy communities revisit and refine standards over time. Standards are not static rules; they are evolving practices that should be revisited as the circle grows. 

This module explores leadership in circling as the practice of holding space with presence, compassion, and care rather than directing or controlling others. Participants will reflect on their own relationship to leadership, practice responding to common circle challenges, and deepen their understanding of listening, facilitation, and group dynamics. Through discussion, reflection, and collaborative exercises, participants will begin identifying the unique strengths and gifts they bring to circle spaces. The module concludes with a practical Circle Design Lab where participants begin envisioning and creating their own intentional community circles.

Key Learnings

Leadership as Holding Space

Circle leadership is not about authority, expertise, or control. A facilitator’s role is to create and protect a container where participants can safely share, listen, reflect, and connect. Effective facilitators guide the process while trusting the wisdom of the group.

Presence Over Performance

Facilitation is less about having the “right” answers and more about being present, grounded, and responsive. Participants often remember how a facilitator made them feel more than what they said. Authenticity and presence are more valuable than perfection.

The Facilitator as Guardian of the Container

Facilitators help uphold the agreements, values, and purpose of the circle. They monitor the overall health of the group, support equitable participation, and gently intervene when behaviors impact the safety or effectiveness of the space.

Balancing Structure and Flow

A well-held circle has both form and flexibility. Facilitators provide enough structure to create safety while remaining adaptable to the needs, energy, and emerging wisdom of the group.

Listening for the Whole Circle

Facilitators listen on multiple levels: to the individual speaking, to what is happening between participants, and to the energy of the group as a whole. This broader awareness helps them respond skillfully to the needs of the circle.

Challenges Are Part of the Practice

Moments of silence, conflict, emotional intensity, interruptions, and uneven participation are normal aspects of group process. Effective facilitation is not about preventing challenges but responding to them with curiosity, compassion, and confidence.

Intervention Can Be Gentle

Facilitators can redirect behavior without shaming participants. Respectful interventions help maintain the integrity of the container while preserving connection and dignity for everyone involved.

Trust the Wisdom of the Circle

Facilitators do not need to solve every problem or fill every silence. Often, growth emerges when participants are given space to reflect, respond, and contribute their own insights. The role of the facilitator is to support the process, not carry it.

Every Person Has a Leadership Style

There is no single “correct” way to facilitate. Some leaders bring warmth and nurturing, others bring clarity and structure, and others bring curiosity and deep listening. Effective facilitation comes from understanding and working with one’s authentic strengths.

Circles Grow Through Intention

Creating a circle begins with a clear purpose, shared values, and thoughtful design. Decisions about membership, meeting structure, agreements, rituals, and logistics help establish a strong foundation for meaningful community.

Leadership Is an Invitation to Service

Facilitation is an act of service to the community. Rather than seeking influence or recognition, circle leaders support connection, belonging, growth, and collective wisdom. Their leadership helps create the conditions in which others can thrive.

The Circle Continues Beyond the Program

The ultimate goal of facilitation is not simply to lead a successful gathering but to cultivate sustainable community. Every participant has the capacity to contribute to, host, or initiate circles that strengthen connection and belonging in the wider world.

As the Circles Rising journey comes to a close, this module invites participants to pause, reflect, and honor the transformation that has occurred throughout the program. Through personal reflection, group dialogue, and visioning exercises, participants integrate their learning, recognize their growth, and explore how the principles of circle can continue to shape their lives and communities.

This module emphasizes that the end of the course is not the end of the practice. Participants are encouraged to identify the strengths, values, and insights they will carry forward as community builders, leaders, and participants in meaningful relationships. Together, the group reflects on what it means to belong, create connection, and contribute to the kind of communities the world most needs.

Participants leave with a deeper understanding of their own leadership, a clearer vision for their future circles, and a renewed commitment to living the values of connection, presence, and belonging beyond the circle.

Key Concepts

Integration as a Practice

Learning becomes meaningful when it is reflected upon and applied. Integration allows participants to connect experiences from the program with their everyday lives, relationships, and future actions.

The Circle Continues Beyond the Program

Circle is not simply an event or course—it is a way of being. The principles practiced throughout the program can be carried into families, friendships, workplaces, communities, and future circles.

Personal Transformation Creates Collective Change

As individuals grow in self-awareness, communication, and connection, they contribute to creating healthier communities. Small shifts in how we relate to one another can have a profound ripple effect.

Belonging Is Co-Created

Belonging is not something we wait to receive from others; it is something we actively help create through presence, authenticity, curiosity, and care. Every participant contributes to the culture of a community.

Leadership Emerges Through Practice

Participants have been practicing leadership throughout the program—through listening, sharing, supporting others, facilitating discussions, and helping hold the container. Leadership in circle is rooted in service rather than authority.

Community Is Built Intentionally

Strong communities do not happen by accident. They are created through shared values, trust, consistent participation, mutual support, and a willingness to stay connected through both ease and challenge.

Vision Shapes Action

Having a clear vision for the kind of community we want to create helps guide our choices and actions. Identifying personal values and desired impact creates a foundation for future leadership and community-building efforts.

Everyone Has Gifts to Offer

Each participant brings unique strengths, experiences, perspectives, and wisdom to community. Recognizing and valuing these gifts increases confidence and expands possibilities for contribution and leadership.

The Ripple Effect of Circle

The practices learned in circle extend far beyond the participants themselves. When people experience authentic connection and belonging, they often carry those experiences into other relationships and communities, creating wider circles of impact.

Ending as a Sacred Transition

Closings matter. Taking time to acknowledge accomplishments, celebrate growth, and honor relationships helps participants transition intentionally and creates a sense of completion while opening the door to future possibilities.