Talking Circle

The Talking Circle has been assimilated from indigenous culture into common usage in the last decade and it is important to note the shift in context and meaning with this cultural shift. The emphasis in much of its current usage is on the talking while less attention is focused on listening and non human voices. The thoughts here are meant to expand the meaning of Talking Circle and connect it to its energetic roots.

The Circle is form for discourse and sharing because it gathers the people around sacred energy (the elements or intention) and acknowledges The Circle of Life and the Living. Each person comes to the circle to listen and witness - the talking is meant to be listening out loud. It is a way to express deeper listening and remember to listen for the voices that could not be present. The talking stick/rock/pouch is not a microphone to be passed around but rather a reminder to each person in the circle that humans are not the only presence in the circle. Humans are in the circle with the stone people, the tree nation, the oceans and rivers and so on. Each person speaking who holds the stick/pouch/stone is called to listen to their own hearts and listen for the voices of all our relations ( all life on the planet). So the conversation that reveals itself in the talking circle is accretive, a growing chorus of the voices of the people, the landscape, and the Mystery.