The Five Principles of Circling
The Five Principles of Circling, developed by Circling Europe, are lights on the path to presence in connection. They are guidelines, not rules: living principles that we invite you to hold lightly, experiment with, and continuously re-discover.
Staying with the level of sensation
Staying with the level of sensation invites us into the immediacy of our experience in the present moment. Immediate sensation can often be a doorway to more truth, power, presence, mystery, and aliveness. It also often surprises us, allowing us to discover elements of our experience that are beyond rational understanding. That said, this principle is not an invitation to reject thought or story - skilful Circling recognises that mental activity and cognition are integral parts of our human experience.
A core element of this principle is including subtle body sensations in our awareness and expression. However, 'sensation' does not only refer to physical sensation. Indeed, this principle can connect us to the way in which all experience arises at the level of sensation.
To start experimenting with the nuances of this principle, you might like to notice:
- Can you feel the difference between sharing ‘dry’ body sensation, as opposed to sharing sensation in a way that is connected to alive, embodied experience?
- Can you notice the way in which thought, too, arises at the level of sensation? (Does the content of thought?)
Trust in experience
Trust in experience invites us to surrender to what is true in our experience in each moment. It is an invitation to trust the unknown, to include non-rational embodied experience, and to acknowledge the truth and wisdom in whatever is arising (whether we understand/like it or not). In this way, it points us towards something beyond our individual mind and consciousness.
Practicing this principle often reveals a profound interconnectedness: when we deeply trust our experience in connection, it frequently reveals hidden truths not only for us but also for the person or group we are with.
To start experimenting with the nuances of this principle, you might like to notice:
- Moments where you are with someone and start experiencing something you can’t quite explain, or that doesn’t seem to fit the circumstances. For example, suddenly feeling sleepy, dizzy, or dissociated. Can you lean into trusting this experience – acknowledging its presence, its potential wisdom, and (in appropriate circumstances) bringing it into connection and staying open to what follows?
- Where trusting experience overlaps with skilful owning of experience and discernment. (For instance, it doesn’t make us an authority on what is happening for someone else, or on what ‘should’ happen; and it doesn’t mean that ‘anything goes’).
Commitment to connection
Commitment to connection is an invitation to stay present with whatever is arising. It is akin to staying with difficult sensations or experiences during a meditation sit, rather than avoiding or attempting to change them.
Commitment to connection is not about staying in connection no matter what, nor about feeling ‘connected’. Indeed, commitment to connection might guide us to turn away from connection. It might also guide us to turn toward the experience of feeling disconnected, getting curious about it.
This principle invites a deep inquiry into what is actually here, rather than reacting habitually or avoiding.
To start experimenting with the nuances of this principle, you might like to notice:
- Which parts of your experience do you habitually move away or disconnect from? Which experiences do you find it difficult to be with during a Circle? Which experiences are you seeking or hoping for?
- Can you welcome resistance itself? Can you welcome resistance to resistance?
Owning experience
Owning experience invites us into a deep form of responsibility for our experience. It encourages us to orient and speak from our own direct experience, rather than from unchecked assumptions about or projections on others. At a deeper level, it invites us into a profound inquiry into the relationship between perception and reality.
To start experimenting with the nuances of this principle, you might like to notice:
- What in your own experience is informing your projections or assumptions about others? Can you track the subtle sensations involved?
- Are there limits to owning experience? Are there moments where ‘too much ownership’ seems to move you further away from truth?
Being with the other in their world
Being with the other in their world invites us into a deep curiosity, wonder, innocence, and presence in connection. It encourages us to meet the other exactly as they are in each moment, seeing their inherent perfection and wholeness, while following our curiosity about the nuances of their experience. What is it really like to be them, in this moment? Rather than seeking intellectual understanding, this principle invites us to surrender into being with the other.
Curious to attend an event?
Come and discover the Five Principles for yourself at one of our events.
