Introducing... 7 Cups Sharing Circles!
The CM team has been giving a lot of thought to new ways we can support the community through consistent activities that you can rely on seeing every day. We wanted to try something completely fresh, and Im excited to share what were about to trial!
We are launching a series of open chats called Sharing Circles. These will happen twice a day to accommodate two different time zones.
The most important characteristic of a Sharing Circle is the intention behind it, which is to create an inclusive space where individuals listen to each other, with their hearts rather than their heads. These chats are dedicated to the giving and receiving of support in a turn-based setting where each participant has the chance to share and be heard.
How will it differ from discussions? These circle meetings have a unique structure that is unlike our discussions and open chats. We took inspiration from the brilliant system groups like AA and OA have perfected and used the core elements to create our own reimagining of the circles as it applies to 7 Cups!
Another unique aspect of this chat style is it will mimic the environment of group listening. Instead of talking all at once, randomly, or waiting for the host to finish asking questions, the host will ask each person joining to enter a queue (ex. typing a <3), and everyone will get a turn to speak and share their feelings. This will go on until the queue is empty. Once the person speaking is done, everyone else can offer words of encouragement and praise. (Youll understand how it flows when you attend!).
Who can participate?
Only members can enter the queue. Listeners are welcome to show support, take part in the rituals and reach out to the members later to check on them (highly encouraged!).
How can I get involved?
We will be looking for help with these as they will run twice daily, and on both adult and teen sides, which means 4 opportunities to care for each other each day! And the cool part about this is: if you are a mod, you can lead!!! This event is one we want to be accessible to everyone because this event belongs to everyone. Please contact @ASilentObserver @Hope or myself if you want to be a leader!
Please keep in mind that this a a totally new wild idea, so it's likely that we will be evolving this as we go and learn from all of you!
Look forward to the announcement of our first 7 Cups Sharing Circle in your alerts this week!
@Heather225
Awesome!
good
I caught my first Sharing Circle this week, and it worked very well and the room was really ... well, wholesome! I just had one point of feedback that threw me off a bit. When explaining the chat at the beginning, suggestions are given for responses, such as Sorry to hear that. These are given with abbreviations, so: STHT (sorry to hear that). The abbreviations throw me off a bit, because when I am entering the chat, I see quite a lot of abbreviations that I am not familiar with. Also, it seems less friendly. I believe that in the listener guidelines it used to say not to use abbreviations. (I tried to check the group chat rules, which link to the listener guidelines. This link gives me an error: item removed. So I couldn't check). I suppose it's a conscious choice that was made, and I wonder if it bugged others as well?
@OpenWindow
In the context of sharing circles, the plan seems to be trying to ensure that the focus is on allowing the person to share the space to do just that. If we have a lot of questions or longer comments, the sharing gets lost in the mix. Hence the emphasis is on shorter comments in the model that they've provided that don't derail the sharing with questions and other comments that tend to cause a loss of focus.
I attend the evening sharing circle fairly regularly and about the only abbreviation I've seen is, "ODAT" or one day at a time. Have you attended the evening or morning circle?
@DaveMcGrath Hey Dave, thank you getting back to me so quickly! Probably it was the morning routine - I am based in Europe and it was afternoon for me haha. Also, thank you for explaining the reason behind opting for abbreviations! Perhaps the abbreviations are just something to get used to, and the Mod did explain the abbreviations every time a new person started sharing. Perhaps I am alone in feeling this was a bit of a barrier. As long as no one else is bothered by it, I am content :).
@Heather225 how do I join this?
@Heather225
Wow this is awesome
@Heather225
I need this.
