What is Circling?Circling is a particular communication and relational practice. It offers a way into self-knowledge that keeps deepening, and into developing our ability to connect. It can be used in individual sessions, in a group, and in any personal relationship.Why this name?The English noun “circle” means a ring, and here we use it as a verb. It points to the group situation: we sit in a circle, and when one of us comes into focus, we are “around” them and we give them our attention. Of course this “giving of attention” is just as true between two people.

The Circling method is also known as Authentic Relating. Authentic means true to oneself. Relating points to connection.

I like this name very much because it points at the endlessly interesting question:“How can we stay true to ourselves while connecting deeply?”

In my experience, practising Circling / Authentic Relating can give an answer to that.What can it give?The general observation is that the more time we spend in Circling, the more our personality shifts toward being more honest, more authentic, more attentive, and more able to connect with ease.What participants experience

• Empathy
• “My sensing of myself and of others has become finer. I notice much smaller things in myself and in others, and through that my empathy has grown a great deal.”
• Freedom from judgement
• “My own feelings, thoughts, and actions, and those of others, come into acceptance more easily. Judgement and labelling lessen, and sometimes stop.”
• Sharing feelings
• “It is easier to share my feelings, because I now know what it is like to be in a safe, understanding space. I feel this also affects how I attach.”
• A more realistic self-image
• “Through the reflections we get a much more realistic picture of ourselves!”
• Loving connection
• “I experienced what an authentic, loving connection is like, and that I am capable of it with strangers too, and relatively quickly. Brilliant!”
• Patterns becoming conscious
• “In Circling a deep resistance toward men came up in me, and it was able to smooth out even during the session!”
• “A communication laboratory”
• “In Circling I can watch my effect on others in safe conditions, and I can even try things in communication that are new for me.”