Participants Comments on the Benefits of Taking Part in an Empathy Circle.  "This rocks!! I really enjoyed this, it was like “Ok, I’m not going to be attacked. They are actually listening. I’m not going to be afraid to bring up topics because that is what we are here for, is to talk about these hot topic buttons and to get responses.”
― Kristie M Gordon “It is not like those usual conversations where there is so much anger and emotion.“  I felt impressed with how much agreement there really is. And about how this discussion naturally brought out what we did have in common and what we did agree on and makes it easier to figure out how do we move forward with these difficult issues. I appreciate that about this too." ― Sam Kifer "I’m so grateful that you both joined today. So I could have the opportunity to listen in and I am so impressed. I have heard of other circles and I don’t think they always go this smoothly. You guys did an awesome job. That was great, so nice, exactly how you want it to go. It’s though, it was already 2 hours long and I really wanted to hear more. There is just so much packed into this and we could have talked about so many other things. It’s super engaging. At first I didn’t know if I wanted to spend 2 hours of my Saturday doing this. Every time I do an Empathy Circle I wonder if I want to spend the time, but then I really being into it." “It seems like it to goes better than shutting people down.“ ― Alissa Stover "I really enjoyed the empathy circle process because I listen to people in a way that is so much harder to do outside of this process. It gives me the opportunity to practice what I do want to put into my real life and my personal relationships and everything else. Just the beauty of it. " ― Evan Magor "I think that active listening is skill. I was fortunate enough to get some training earlier in life and it is good to keep up with that because just to devote yourself entirely to listening and not to be thinking about what you are going to say back and to be genuinely invested in taking everything in and just listening to what the person is saying is a skill. It is an exercised skill and I think we are flexing that muscle. I think it’s good. " ― Tyler Morris "I like that description of it being like a muscle. We have to practiced it to become good at it. I don’t know if good is the word. I think we all have post traumatic stress right now from the way the dialogue has been going. This is kind of an elixir to slow down, and be present, and get to know what is going on behind it all. And that is very much needed right now. So I hope more of us do it. " ― Rick Feltington ― Art Burns  "This is always cool. this is my third or fourth one of these.. It's a good tool in the tool belt. I don't think it can cure everything but it's an effective tool from what I have seen so far." ― David Carson  ― Lou Zweier  I was a part of this empathy circle yesterday, which was intended to be a gathering of people on the "left" and the "right" to be heard around what is being felt after the election results. "One thing that felt alive that emerged for me along the way, was a longing for this kind of process to become our public process. I mean, instead of gathering for debates in which posturing and one-liners are the game, these gatherings could be transformed into full day or even a 2-3 day event where we use processes to go deeper into what the real needs are, for people of every perspective. Once we are able to connect at this level, new possibilities emerge. It is no longer a battle. The enemy images we create tend to dissolve as we see the human being before us. We can talk about various strategies from a different energetic space. It becomes a co-creative process. This, I feel, is what is needed. Yes, to me, the core issue that needs to be addressed is that we are allowing ourselves to be divided, and hold within our hearts and hands the power to change this." ― Rick Feltington "I LIKE how being selected to listen and mirror back what was said creates true hearing of another, and how feeling so heard creates the safety to share even more of one's feelings and perspectives."  " I WISH we could enjoy and learn from more diverse individuals and perspectives. WHAT IF every conversation were so enhancing and enriching?" ― Lewis Brown Griggs "I LIKE how good it felt to be heard, and to hear others."  |
2. Why Participate? >
