IEA Coordinators Introduced with Circlework - 14th November 2007:

On Wednesday November 14th coordinators of the Interfaith Encounter Association met with Dr. Jalaja Bonheim for an introduction to Circlework, a method of group leadership intended to heal individuals and communities, connect people of diverse cultures in a spirit of peace, and contribute to the creation of a peaceful global community.

Jalaja presented a short documentary and described the main elements.

The first step is to open the hearts – before that, nothing can work. It is important to create a safe space and the transition from the head to the heart.

The shape of the circle represents holiness and life. The circle symbolizes the world and the whole of humanity and that is the source of its power. The awakening that needs to take place is the realization that we are all one. But it is not enough to read or hear it – it should be experienced.

Circlework is not a technique but the use of the circle through a system of agreements (for example: suspending judgment).

Every circle is facilitated in the way of its facilitator. The key is finding the center of the circle within me.

It includes a lot of respect for the participants and no one is pushed to do what they do not want to. It includes training to listen well, listen from the heart – not only from the head. It helps deepen the encounter and the connection between participants.

A few of the guiding principle:

*  Use of a talking-stick: ensures that everybody speak and listen and introduces discipline of listening and of thinking before responding;

*  The person speaking is not interfered, every one talks about themselves and their experiences, and responsibility is assumed for judgments (not "this person has a problem" but instead: "I have a judgment") as judgment is based on fear and lack of understanding;

*  List of values we are committed to: compassion, kindness, opening of the heart and integration between thought and feelings;

*  We do not give each other advice.

During the process we learn to go through conflicts in a respectful and peaceful way.

The practical steps of opening a circle include:

*  Creating a physical circle, many times with a candle in its middle.

*  Meditating on the meaning of the circle and on the fact that thousands of people meet, all over the world, in circles with the purpose to bring peace.

*  Strengthening the center of each one, in order to bring out their uniqueness.

*  Writing exercises around a leading question – for example: what is the most significant thing in your life – then reading them.

More can be found at: www.instituteforcirclework.org.

We were very much interested and thought this could be a very useful tool for the work of the Interfaith Encounter Association that is also based on circles – circles of people having joint study and conversation around themes taken from their respective religious traditions. We agreed to explore the possibility of using the occasion of a future visit of Jalaja to Israel in order to organize a training retreat for IEA coordinators.

Reported by Yehuda Stolov


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