IN-PERSON Men's Circle

Let's meet for an in-person circle at the cozy Conscious Kiez space in Friedrichshain.

AGENDA:

• 7 pm : doors open & arriving
• 7.15 pm: Welcome from the session host & explaining the format
• Grounding exercise - take a deep breath before we start
• Opening round - describe how you're feeling, in just three words
• Sharing round - expand on your initial thoughts, how are you showing up today?
• Deepening round - expanding on your thoughts, asking clarifying questions to others -OR- the host may highlight a theme
• Open discussion
• 9 pm: Closing the circle
• 9.15 pm: Hang around for a few more minutes
• 9.30 pm: Closing up the space

This is an open group – Newcomers are welcome! If this is your first Men's Circle with us, please take the time to read and understand the GUIDING PRINCIPLES below before attending.

YOUR HOST
My name is Peter. I have hosted over 60 men’s circles for the Berlin Men’s Group. I run Conscious Men Berlin, a biweekly newsletter for men in Berlin to foster conscious and positive masculinity. I have a diploma in men’s work from Bundesforum Männer & maenner.ch.

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1. In the Men's Circle, our challenge is to only speak from the 'I' perspective.

So, instead of
"People always do x, the science says y, men have to be able to z"
bring it back to
"I think, I believe, I worry, I'm certain, I dont know if..."

Though it may feel unusual at first, maintaining this mental discipline is the key to a successful circle.

2. You may be interrupted if you have wandered away from the 'I' perspective. If you are, take a moment to reflect on why you were sharing what you were; then continue to speak from the perspective of why what you were sharing is important to you specifically.

3. Every man has the right to share or keep silent.

4. Every man’s story is equally significant; The man who is speaking is the focus of all attention.

5. Let each man finish what he has to say before speaking next.

6. When a man has finished speaking, listeners may ask if he is open to questions for the purpose of clarification. The speaker is not obliged to take anyone's question.

7. We don't offer advice, unless a speaker actively requests it. Even then, the parameters of what advice he wants may be made very specific - and any advice given should also be from an 'I' perspective. We are here to impart our own experience, not repeat insights or knowledge from others outside the circle.

8. As speakers we work to be as clear, brave and honest with our language as we can be. We calm our inner dialogue and its critics as much as we can, and presume good will on the part of our listeners.

9. It is allowed to reflect on what we hear in the circle when we talk to people outside of it, but we commit to speaking only about the content or what it meant to us personally. We don't share anything that could identify who said it or who was present. We agree to err on the side of discretion if we’re unsure.

Lateness policy: In such a tightly-structured session, the flow of the circle is very important. We will close the door at 19:15, when we start the circle.