Understanding and agreeing to the DNA of the Circles Community
Occasionally a Beloved Community Circle might be a collective initiative, but typically an individual learns about Beloved Community Circles and decides to pull together a group. If you are that individual, it is crucial that you understand and agree with the core elements of a Circle. Read and reflect upon the information in this handbook. Raise your questions and concerns with folks already down the road in forming their Circle. Be sure you are comfortable with Circle’s purpose, values, expectations, core practices, onboarding trainings, emphasis on mindful action working somewhere in the nexus of racial and environmental justice. If you have not done this work of understanding a Circle, then it is likely that the folks you invite will have an incomplete or distorted view of what a Circle is. Please re-read the previous chapter on “Circle Network Structure & Components.”
Forming the group: criteria, invited/self-selected, social issue or area for mindful action
Before reaching out to the 3-12 people you might like to form a Circle with, please think about whether you yourself have a passion for a specific area of work and action around which you wish to gather people, or whether you want the mindful action area to emerge from the group. Once you are clear about that, you will have a better idea of whom to invite. We suggest you consider the following criteria for your Circle members. That your potential Circle candidates…
Have a regular mindfulness or spiritual practice, and are willing to practice in the Circle context.
Have a basic understanding of dynamics of patriarchy, white supremacy, and other forms of oppression and share a commitment to counteract these themselves and within the Circle;
Understand and agree with the Beloved Community Circles' “DNA” as laid out in this handbook;
Are willing and able to participate in the expected set of Onboarding/Orientation trainings;
Can commit to the three core commitments of a Circle member, namely to deepen mindfulness/spiritual practice, actively care about the well-being of each Circle member, and participate in a specified number of days of mindful action as a Circle over the course of a year; suggested range is 12-20 days, but determined by each Circle;
Have ways of skillfully handling their emotional upsets;
Are willing to engage in a self-assessment of their income, wealth, equity situation, and be transparent about resources or needs, and consider making some shifts as appropriate.
Can commit time and energy to the Circle, as determined by the group;
Are committed as best they can to practice caring, compassion, connection, inclusion, diligence, resiliency, and engagement in direct action.
This list of “qualifications” is somewhat ideal and subjective, and you might have different qualities that are important to you. The point is to think carefully about who you would love to grow with, who you would like by your side in the heat of action or for the long haul, who would be a trusted friend whom you can rely on, turn to, and want to be around.
Ideally the group will be cohesive but not homogenous, so the aim is not that everyone be similar. Diversity of backgrounds provides richer discussions and perspectives to broaden members understanding.
(NOTE. Most local Circles are meant to be local where folks meet in person, and act in concert. However, there may be exceptions. For example, if Covid restrictions require virtual meetings; or, if there are not enough BIPOC folks in a locale to form a local BIPOC Circle, a virtual Circle might be workable. However, these same basic criteria apply to a virtual Circle candidate.)
