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The backbone of Earth Circles is people who come together in small self-facilitated groups (ideally eight to twelve people) in their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, non-profits, workplaces, faith groups and public agencies. The exact focus of and actions taken by each Earth Circle will vary according to their composition and the environmental challenges of their geographic location, as will the frequency of the meetings. In this work there is no beginning and no end. That is why we offer this workbook as a guide rather than as a set curriculum.
This workbook is meant to offer a simple structure for exploring the impact of climate change on our lives and communities, and to assist you in focusing on activities to meaningfully address this issue.
The website supports the work of the Earth Circles by providing links to helpful resources and tools. It will also host a bulletin board so that each Earth Circle can share its insights on key questions, such as, How can local communities plan for frequent power outages, and food and water shortages, given the probability of severe weather?, or, What will it take to provide alternatives to the prevailing culture of consumerism?, or, How can we reduce air travel and transform the way we connect to and support friends and family who live far away? Our work is built from breakthroughs in human consciousness that translate into transformations in individual and collective behavior. The website will also facilitate networking among Earth Circles, especially when they are geographically proximate or focusing on a similar concern.
We spent considerable time thinking about the structure of the Earth Circles experience. We drafted the workbook, tried all the exercises in our prototype group, and then revised them. We are eager for each Earth Circle to evaluate this process and communicate with other Earth Circles and with us about your experience. This is a living document, subject to new insights, improvements and ideas.
The Earth Circles process contains two kinds of engagement. First, there is a 4½ hour session, five 2½ hour sessions and a final 4 hour session. Second, there are assignments designed for pairs (buddies) to complete between group meetings. Our prototype group decided to take fourteen weeks to complete the Earth Circles process, allowing one week for group meetings and the next week for homework with our “buddy.”
The homework is meant to prepare you for the upcoming group meeting and is generally discussed in the following session. The buddy system allows people to share their progress, thoughts and feelings with one other person while doing the homework and enables a deepening of relationship between members of the group. We recommend finding a new buddy each session as a way to get to know everyone in the group.
Each session has several common elements. Opening circles are meant to center the group, either through a reflective reading, a moment of silence, a piece of music, and/or another creative offering group members choose to share. This has been an important part of our own group, allowing each of us to create a deep connection with the whole group before moving into other activities. There are group activities, reports on homework assignments, and time left at the end to discuss the next week’s assignments and decide who will facilitate the following session. Sessions end with a closing circle.
We suggest that each session be facilitated by two people. That way everyone will take some responsibility for making sure that the sessions are well-prepared. This includes taking charge of each exercise and making sure that the group agreements are honored. You will notice that the first session involves the creation of group agreements. These agreements should be revisited from time to time as the group moves forward, and we recommend posting them each week in the space where you meet.
At the end of the workbook is an excerpt from the facilitation guide in Joanna Macy’s book, Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World. We feel it sums up the importance of the facilitation role, including how to handle strong emotions that could arise as people begin to experience the depth of their own concerns about the climate crisis and its impact on the Earth.
The final session allows an opportunity for surfacing ideas you may have for how to continue together as a group, should you choose to do so, and what kinds of commitments people might want to make as they incorporate the Earth Circles process into their daily lives.
We take heart in the fact that you are embarking on the Earth Circles journey and strongly believe that the more people come together in circles to face this historic moment with the desire to help heal each other and the planet, the more chances we have of making a crucial shift in direction.
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