How to host a healing circle
Videos

Part 1: Introducing Healing Circles

Introducing healing circles

In this video, we introduce you to Healing Circles Global. We talk about who we are, what our goals are, what we’re able to offer, and what that means in a fast-growing, global learning community. We acknowledge our lineage, looking back to our ancestors and the African and indigenous people who laid the foundations of circle, as well as our more recent lineage, including organizations with which we’ve been working collaboratively for many years.

Circle fundamentals

In this video, we look deeper into the structure of a healing circle as we start building its framework. We talk here about our friends at The Circle Way, whose influence was pivotal in keeping safety at the center of circle practice. We also introduce you to the campfire metaphor, which is a useful and beautiful way of re-remembering that gathering in circle is deeply familiar to us all. We know how to do this–like birds who somehow know how to build their nests, though they’ve never been taught.

Part 2: Welcome and heart-sharing

The welcome

Here, we talk about the power of a warm welcome and how it contributes to feelings of belonging. We delve deeper into four elements that help us open doors to those who arrive.

Heart-sharing

At the heart of a healing circle is the intention to create the conditions that support us in sharing from our hearts when we gather. In this video, we learn more about both the “mechanics” and the “magic” of heart-sharing. We’ll guide you through the heart-sharing process and introduce the key principles that underlie it. We also take a closer look at what sits behind heart work, including the process of attunement and the sense of accompaniment.

For this section, we encourage you to see what resonates and notice what questions arise for you. We‘ll have time in our online Zoom sessions to share questions and hear more from one another.

Part 3: Harvesting and close

Harvesting

In this video, we explore how impactful and evocative questions can be, whether they relate to ourselves or invite us to explore them together. We’ll introduce the idea of “harvesting,” including what it is and what types of harvest can help create a vessel for questions that arise. We also talk about some of common pitfalls to be mindful of.

The close

The end may be the briefest part of a healing circle, but it’s how we end our time together and determine what we’re taking away or leaving behind. In this video, we share ideas and suggestions for a good ending.

Part 4: What makes a circle healing and next steps

What makes a circle healing?

In this rich medley of conversations with some of our lineage holders, you’ll hear directly from wonderful people who have been practicing circle for many years. The shared wisdom that comes from this collective experience and the passion that arises from it is an essential part of learning about circle practice.

As part of your learning journey, you can learn more about the lineage holders here.