Respond: Toronto presents ART Circling Series (4-Week / In-Person)

Respond: Toronto Connection for this Event
Circling is a we-space practice often focused on the here-and-now in a small group. And while many may not think of it as a philosophical practice, it does indeed offer us the opportunity to build 'brotherly' love or Philia, while also cultivating wisdom or Sophia.

In fact, the founder of The Circling Method™, Guy Sengstock, believes that the practice allows us to be open to being altered through "enjoying the living shit out of each other...". Meanwhile, Dr. John Vervaeke, the Director of the Cognitive Science program at the University of Toronto, recognizes the philosophical and cultural significance of Circling in restoring our capacity to see and fall in love with each other and the world again (quote below).

The Respond Network's Theory of Wisdom highlights the importance of harmonizing view, care, and action. Circling offers ample opportunities to explore how we see things in the present moment, what we care about, and how it affects our actions. Respond's direction of wisdom towards tuning into well-being in relationships is also reflected in the practice.

For those familiar with Respond's DIME framework, ART Circling can touch on all four aspects of Dialogue, Imaginal, Mindfulness, and Embodiment. While stronger in Dialogue and Mindfulness, intentional practice can help integrate embodiment and somatic awareness. Additionally, Circling rewards those with strong imaginal capacity, even if it may not always present the conditions for beginners to work extensively with the Imaginal.

Overall, Circling is a practice that allows us to move towards wisdom and well-being in relationships.

"We’re really allowing people to return to the presumption of innocence in discourse… not of perfection, not of infallibility, not of certainty, but of innocence; and allowing people to return to that without some romantic, childish notion of innocence but a profound one that restores our capacity to see and be so that we can fall in love with each other and the world again… so for me there’s a philosophical and cultural significance of what you’re proposing in this course [Dialog-OS: The Kernel] that really needs to be put center stage.” (Dr. John Vervaeke - New Course on Training Dialogos w/Taylor Barratt – Voices with Vervaeke – January 7, 2022)"

Please see the original event description below for more details.

Original Authentic Relating Toronto Event Description (below)

This 4-week series is for First-Timers as well as Experienced Circlers.

This will be a closed-group (same people for all four sessions) with the first session running for 3hrs, and the subsequent sessions about 2.5 hrs. Circles will primarily be what are known as focus (or birthday) style, with a possibility of offering organic (also known as flow) style in later sessions.

About ART Circling
ART Circling is an organic, in-the-moment interpersonal process that’s equal parts art form, meditation, and group conversation — all designed to allow a visceral experience of connection and understanding of another person’s world, celebrating who and where they are right now.

It’s practicing using our genuine curiosity to better understand and become a connoisseur of another person’s world though present moment awareness while breaking through the assumptions and projections we have about each other. Different than sitting on a meditation cushion by yourself, Circling is a relational practice. And though it works exquisitely in intimate relationships of all kinds, it can be applied in ALL areas of life because it’s so organic, non-analytical, effective, and fun. Through this in-the-moment process, we have more choice about how we respond. The more we are aware of our blinds spots, the greater our choice in any situation. The greater our choice, the greater our degree of relational freedom.

More Info: authenticrelatingtoronto.com | circling.ca

Commitment
Your RSVP indicates your intention to attend all four sessions. You're over the age of 18 and you'll also be asked to sign a liability waiver at the first session. First session is Sunday, April 16th 10am to 1pm. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th sessions will occur 10am-12:30p on Apr 23rd, 30th and May 7th. We recommend you bring a water bottle.

Payment
To get on the RSVP list yourself, you must complete payment via PayPal when RSVPing, if you do not want to use PayPal, we can manually put you on the RSVP list if you send your payment of $140 via EMT to payment@authenticrelatingtoronto.com

This event is led by Taylor Barratt (ART / Dialog-OS / Respond Network).

Note: Event space is not wheelchair accessible.