I think a third condition for a circle
of trust is that it be Invitational
openly Invitational and and by that I
mean no one is compelled to go there
this is not something that an employer
can assign employees to do or a school
district can send people to as a kind of
remedial course this is something that
has to be chosen because that's the only
way the soul is willing that operated
operate if the soul is the freest part
of us and it operates under its own
steam power if it doesn't take orders
well and not only do people have to come
into a circle freely but once they get
there everything that we do with them
has to be offered up as invitation as
freedom of choice when we get into a
circle for example and we we want on
that first evening to give everyone a
chance to introduce herself or himself
we do not say I don't say as facilitator
let's start on our left with my left
with George and then walk go around the
circle with self introductions because
as soon as I do that I've introduced an
element of coercion that George has to
go first and who's ever levers next to
George has to go next and that's not
free that's not freedom that's not
Invitational so we say whoever wants to
introduce themselves first please feel
free to do so whoever wants to go next
feel free to do so and we'll just sit
here until everyone who wants the chance
to introduce themselves has done so so
we take this Invitational principle very
seriously and everything we do even self
introductions no forced marches around
the circle we say to people if if I as
facilitator invite a small group
opportunity you're free to to join that
or not
on what you feel you need maybe what you
need at that point is some silent times
some journaling a walk in the woods and
nap who knows your soul knows better
than we do what you need and we really
mean that you have an inner authority
that exceeds ours and what we find
happening under those Invitational
circumstances is I think a couple of
things one is that people really do have
a chance to hear what's arising inside
of them and to take it seriously in a
way that goes far beyond anything we
could put into their minds or heart and
secondly because they're free they
invest themselves at an extraordinary
level of intensity hardly ever does
someone take that freedom to leave the
room they take it to embrace this
opportunity with a new depth and vigor
we'll work for maybe an hour dialogue
style with a poem well then give people
a half hour of silent break to do some
journaling we'll then go into small
groups for people to triads where people
can talk more intimately with one
another and get more airtime than you
can in a large group and then back to
the large circle for a very simple
process of sharing insights which we
don't discuss we just receive into the
center of the circle so when you when
you think about that kind of rhythmic
pedagogy you start realizing well
everybody has some way of participating
in this and people who are not
comfortable in the large circle can be
comfortable in solitude or the small
group so I think when you put all this
together just these elements of graceful
ambiance this this slowing down this
doing more with less this is paying
attention to rhythm what you have is the
group process equivalent of walking into
the woods sitting quietly at the base of
a tree breathing with the earth and
waiting for the soul to put in an
appearance and it does
you