Learning how to hold safe, supportive circles for healing is the work of a lifetime. It’s work we can practice in every interaction—with ourselves, close family and friends, colleagues, and strangers. Being present with others, listening with compassion and curiosity, and respecting each other’s path to healing increases the quality of our own lives.

The more we practice, the better we get at hosting circles. We become less nervous and less judgmental of ourselves. We understand that what happens in each circle is both unique and universal. We lean into the grace—or as some would say, the magic—of being in circle.

The following blog posts reflect what writers learned about and within circles:

Welcoming People Into Circle

Listening Within

, ,
The quality of listening to others relates directly to the quality of listening within. But it’s not easy.

Opening and Closing a Healing Circle

Imagine yourself entering and leaving circle to these beautiful words by circle host Rob Feraru.

Ideas for Harvesting

Searching for Soul Through Poetry

Poems touch in us a core, our inner teacher, our innate wisdom we sometimes forget to access.

Asking Open and Honest Questions

,
Learning to respond to others with honest, open questions instead of counsel, corrections, and advice can be a life-altering practice.

A Theme a Month for Hospitals

Being able to anticipate a theme over the course of a month guides us into deeper meaning and clarity.

Healing Art Circle

, , , ,
At St. Paul's Church in Houston, we explore self-discovery topics, such as emotions, stress, loss, strength, self-awareness, and transformation, by pairing them with specific art activities wrapped in healing circles.

Creating Trust for Heart-Sharing

A single tree in winter against a blue sky

Finding meaning in circle

by Chris Camarata I've been facilitating a healing circle on death and dying for more than a year with Nicolas and Robin. Nicolas had been studying these often-avoided topics and wanted a forum where people could talk openly about their feelings…

A Conversation with a Widow’s Nervous System

, ,
The pain of loss is such an isolating experience, where the outside and inside of us are not aligned. We are out of sync with humanity, and yet we are inside an experience that each and every one of us will have.

‘I Am Rushing:’ a Mantra of Love and Memory

, ,
I have just returned from spending time with a dear friend and her husband. They are living in what I have come to call “Illness Time” ­ not a period of time spent ill, but time itself defined by illness.

Managing the Time Warp of Loss: Why Do They Want to Marry the Widow off?

When our parents die, no one tries to comfort us by saying, "You can love like this again with a new mother, new father, or a different grandparent.” Yet, with the loss of a spouse, people quickly start talking about a new companion, a new sexual partner, a new friend.

What Makes a Circle Healing?

, , , ,
The only person who can accurately perceive a circle to be healing is the individual circle participant. Healing, as with pain, is what the person says it is.

Dropping in for a Cup of Tea and a Circle of Two

,
As humans, we are happier and healthier if we have someone to talk to when we need it. For people who are newly diagnosed, grieving, at a turning point, or simply needing to connect, we offer circles of two at Healing Circles Langley.

The Circle is Big Enough

, , ,
A circle is big enough for all of us. For all parts of us. And for all stages of our life journeys.

Depth without Digging

,
After one circle struggled and ended, Commonweal Cancer Help Program alumni found a way to build a circle that lasts.

Challenges in Circle

Healing Circles Houston

Why Newly-Established Healing Circles Sometimes Fail

Healing Circles Houston hasn’t always been successful in establishing and maintaining relationships with collaborating organizations. This post lists some of the mistakes they made and lessons they learned as they continue to grow.

Holding Space for Challenges Within Circles

, ,
The very nature of healing circles invites what is unhealed to present itself in hopes of healing. People can arrive raw without being quite sure themselves what their emotions are, how to hold themselves together, or how to let themselves fall…

Circle Magic

, ,
It’s easy to become attached to the expectation that whenever a group of us gather in healing circles, magic will appear. What do we do when it doesn’t?

Header photo courtesy of Healing Circles Houston