What is Circling?
Circling is a powerful interpersonal meditation practice, in which mindful awareness is brought to the experience of being ourselves in connection with others. Unlike traditional solo meditation where practitioners focus on breath or bodily sensations, Circling focuses attention on the quality of in-the-moment connection with others. Circling’s objective is to focus a group’s compassionate and undivided attention on an individual, to double-click on their life and “get their world,” coming to know what it feels like to be them.
In a typical session, participants sit in a circle with typically 4-10 people, and if someone volunteers to be the Circlee, they might share a situation they’re grappling with or an emotion that’s dominating their attention—and all the focus is on them. It is concerned with what it is like to be here together right now, with an emphasis on what is most alive. The practice cultivates curiosity, empathy, vulnerability, and undivided attention while minimizing judgment, psychoanalyzing, advice-giving, and agenda.
Origins & Lineage
The practice we now call “Circling” emerged and was discovered independently by at least 3 different groups, starting as early as 1995, though the first paid groups, and the first use of the “Circling” name, began in the year 1998 in the Bay Area through the Arete Experience led by Guy Sengstock and Jerry Candelaria. Guy Sengstock was an artist, philosopher, personal trainer, bodybuilder and a massage therapist, while Jerry was at the time working to become a Landmark Forum leader. They had a powerful experience together at Burning Man, with a group that had moved from conflict into a kind of collective ecstasy, and had committed together to take the practice into the world.
The early practice of Circling was inspired by modalities that include Gestalt, Rave culture and drugs, Carl Rogers encounter groups, man/woman ideas originating from Lafayette Morehouse, the Sterling Men’s course, David Deida, Holotropic breathwork, Ali Hameed Almaas’s Diamond Heart, the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, and more. The Arete Experience ran until 2008, when it shut down.
Bryan Bayer and Decker Cunov had independently discovered the practice as a tool to resolve conflicts in their shared college household in Missouri, later moving to San Francisco and expanding the practice into a community called Soul 2 Soul, which later grew into Authentic SF, and found Guy and Jerry in about 2003, training with them and later developing the Integral style of Circling. Sean Wilkinson and John Thompson, two men from the UK interested in Integral theory who ran a Tennis academy, independently discovered the practice in 2002, and in 2008 trained with Decker Cunov and later with Guy Sengstock, ultimately founding Circling Europe in 2012. The Austin community was founded by Sara Ness, Jordan Allen, and others; Sara had discovered Authentic Relating Games in college and has since trained hundreds of facilitators and created dozens of communities.
How It’s Practiced
The main action of Circling involves a small group of people sharing what’s alive for them in the present moment of being together; while sitting in a group, a participant might notice an emotion or sensation arising in their body, and Circling invites them to share whatever that sensation is using ownership language, which is taking full responsibility for whatever is happening in them. The point is to focus on what’s happening with and within the Circlee in present-tense, amplifying practices that create connection (curiosity, empathy, vulnerability, appreciation, undivided attention), while minimizing practices known to create disconnection (judgment, agenda, opinion, psychoanalyzing, and questions that are more interrogative than inquisitive), with no attempt to heal, empower, advise, coach, or go for the “pop”—the aha, the emotional release.
Circling Europe emphasizes Five Principles of Circling: Commitment to Connection: committing to be present with and speak to what is arising in connection; Own Your Experience: stating what is inarguable (“I feel angry”) rather than what is arguable (“You’re a jerk”); taking responsibility for our experience and how we are participating in relationship. Practitioners typically engage in foundational sub-skills including eye gazing (meditation in connection), welcome everything (allowing all emotions without pushing away), and sharing impact (revealing how another person’s expression affects you).
Circling consists of a combination of distinct qualities, skills, and principles that strengthen both interpersonal communication and relational intelligence, and extend perceptual range, creating a forum for mindful connection where individuals can get to know both themselves and one another more deeply. Sessions may last from 20 minutes to several hours and can be facilitated or peer-led.
Circling Today
Circling is now practiced in over 60 communities in 45 states and 12 countries, and taught in roughly a dozen training schools. Major organizations include the Circling Institute (San Francisco, led by Guy Sengstock), Transformational Connection formerly Circling Europe (led by John Thompson and Sean Wilkinson), and Relateful Company & Austin Circling Studio (led by Jordan Myska Allen). The practice has spread through weekend immersions, multi-month facilitator trainings, online platforms, weekly drop-in sessions, and integration into intentional communities and retreat centers.
Over 10,000 people have taken a weekend course in Authentic Relating or Circling, with teachers working tirelessly from 2000-2018 to develop and teach these practices to hundreds of facilitators who traveled to Boulder, Colorado and the Bay Area. The practice has developed in an open-source, decentralized manner, leading to variations in style and emphasis across different lineages.
Common Misconceptions
Circling is not therapy, though it draws from psychotherapeutic principles. This is not therapy, not coaching, simply practicing the healing art of being with whatever is arising and receiving attention. It is not about fixing problems, giving advice, or achieving emotional breakthroughs. Circling is not encounter group work in the Carl Rogers tradition, though that influenced its development. It does not require vulnerability or emotional disclosure beyond what feels authentic in the moment—participants can remain silent, pause, or step back at any time.
Circling is also distinct from restorative justice circles, council practice, and other circle-based formats. While these share the circular seating arrangement, Circling specifically focuses on interpersonal awareness and relational meditation rather than decision-making, conflict resolution, or ceremonial sharing. The practice is not primarily about creating community consensus or collective action, though deeper connection often results.
There is ongoing debate about what constitutes “authentic” Circling. Some people participate in a few Circling sessions and then claim to facilitate Circling without formal training, which has allowed the term to begin losing some of its distinctiveness. Different schools emphasize different aspects—some stay strictly in the present moment, others welcome life context and personal history.
How to Begin
The most accessible entry point is attending a local Authentic Relating Games night or drop-in Circling session. Many communities offer free or low-cost introductory events where newcomers can experience the basic principles without commitment. Online platforms like Relateful Company provide multiple sessions weekly, making the practice accessible globally.
For those seeking structure, key resources include the Authentic Relating Games Manual by Sara Ness & team, Conflict = Energy: The Transformative Practice of Authentic Relating by Jason Digges, and The Art of Circling: 37 Practices for Deepening Your Relating Skills by Bryan Bayer. Weekend immersions offer intensive introduction to the practice, while multi-month facilitator trainings provide comprehensive skill development for those called to teach.
Beginners should expect discomfort alongside connection. The practice challenges habitual communication patterns and requires sustained attention to subtle relational dynamics. Starting with shorter sessions (20-30 minutes) and gradually building capacity for longer circles supports skill development without overwhelm.