Practice Circle 2: October 2, 2025
total class time: 90 minutes
Large Group (20 minutes)
Welcome:
Cohering Meditation
Reminder of Teaching:
This evening we’ll be working in our practice circles for about an hour.
Each circle will begin by choosing one person to serve as Master Facilitator and timekeeper. Their role is simply to help the group move smoothly through the rounds. At the same time, everyone is co-facilitating: we each share our voices, listen deeply, and use questions as gentle invitations to help one another explore more fully.
We are practicing with story because story is the deep structure of life. The stories we tell ourselves shape our sense of self, and the stories we see in the world shape our communities and our collective experience. By exploring the story of self, the story of world, and the mirror between them, we begin to notice how these stories weave together. This helps us loosen the grip of old scripts, see the patterns more clearly, and recognize the seeds of new possibilities. Tonight’s practice is a way of preparing for the day-long intensive — by becoming more conscious of the stories that are already shaping us and opening space for a more intentional, shared script.
The Process
The practice has four rounds and a closing harvest:
Round One: Our Personal Story. We ask, “What story are we living in right now?” and explore the roles, scripts, and patterns that shape our lives.
Round Two: Our World Story. We ask, “What story do we see unfolding in the world around us?” and reflect on the larger collective story we are part of.
Round Three: The Mirror. We explore, “How do the story we are living and the story we see in the world shape one another?” noticing the reciprocity and the weave between self and world.
Round Four: Integration. We ask, “What thread connects our personal story and our world’s story?” and harvest the seed we want to carry forward into the day-long intensive.
Finally, we close with a Harvest. Each person will speak one new line for our shared script — a short phrase or image that distills what you want to carry forward.
We’ll seal the practice by pausing in silence and bowing or placing a hand on the heart. Afterward, we’ll return to the large group for our final 10 minutes of sharing and closure.
PRACTICE CIRCLE SCRIPT:
OPENING INVOCATION (READ BY THE FIRST FACILITATOR)
We are invited to hold this time as more than a conversation.
This is a small ritual — a practice of story, reflection, and belonging.
As Storytellers, we bring the stories we are living.
As Facilitators, we hold the thread of time and guide the inquiry.
As Space-holders, we listen deeply and mirror what shines through.
Together we create a field of seeing — where the stories of self and the stories of the world can be noticed together, and where a new story may emerge.
We enter now with simplicity, reverence, and openness.
THE PROCESS (60 MINUTES TOTAL)
1. SET THE STAGE (2 MIN)
At the start of your circle, choose one person to serve as Master Facilitator and timekeeper.
The Master Facilitator keeps track of time and gently guides transitions between rounds.
At the same time, remember that everyone is co-facilitating:
We share our voices.
We listen deeply.
We ask supportive questions that help deepen exploration.
We use questions as invitations — not to interrogate, but to open space. Trusting our presence and intuition, we allow the right questions to arise naturally, helping the group go further together.
ROUND ONE — OUR PERSONAL STORY (14 MIN)
Prompt: “What story are we living in right now?”
We share the roles, scripts, patterns, and plots that shape our lives, then reflect together.
Supportive angles (all co-facilitate):
What roles are we playing?
What scripts seem to repeat in our lives?
If our shared story had a title, what might it be?
What emotions or moods most often color our story?
ROUND TWO — OUR WORLD STORY (14 MIN)
Prompt: “What story do we see unfolding in the world around us?”
We name what we notice in the collective — in our communities, our culture, our planet — and explore together.
Supportive angles (all co-facilitate):
What patterns or moods are shaping our world’s story?
If this world-story were a play, what kind would it be?
If this story had a title, what would we call it?
What images or symbols best capture our world’s story right now?
ROUND THREE — THE MIRROR BETWEEN SELF AND WORLD (14 MIN)
Prompt: “How do the story we are living and the story we see in the world shape one another?”
We reflect on the reciprocity between our personal stories and the world’s story.
Supportive angles (all co-facilitate):
How does our story feed into the world’s story?
How does the world’s story feed back into our lives?
Where do we feel the two stories meeting in us?
What patterns or tensions appear when we notice the two stories together?
ROUND FOUR — INTEGRATION (14 MIN)
Prompt: “What thread connects our personal story and our world’s story?”
We harvest what we’ve seen and name what we are carrying forward.
Supportive angles (all co-facilitate):
What is the connecting thread in our stories?
What seed do we want to carry toward the day-long intensive?
How might that seed reshape our shared story?
What is one gift or insight we want to remember from this circle?
CLOSING HARVEST (4 MIN)
The Closing Harvest is a ritual distillation.
Each person speaks one new line for our shared script — something brief and resonant that arises from what we explored together.
After everyone has spoken:
Pause in silence for a breath or two.
Place a hand on the heart or bow together to seal the practice.
Facilitator reminder:
“This is not about getting it right. It is about offering a seed — a new line — into the larger story we are creating together.”
Large Group
Share & Closure (10 minutes)
