Hosting a Metta Circle

If you are interested in hosting a Metta Circle, we hope you will accept the gift of our experience:

  1. Assume you can. The only "qualification" you need is that you doing this with the intention of healing yourself, and holding space for others to heal. This is not an offer of Professional Therapy and those who are in search of that should look elsewhere.
  2. Don't worry if you don't know how to hold space. The only way to learn to hold space, is to practice holding space. At its essence it is simply "Accept people where they are - avoid judging and resist the temptation to offer advice". Your circle will figure it out along the way. (And if your first circle falls apart, that is also part of figuring it out, and you can start another).
  3. Who do you want to invite to your circle? Invite people you are comfortable being vulnerable with, and who are comfortable being vulnerable with each other. An existing group of friends or colleagues would be best. (It may be possible to make this work with strangers, but it will take longer ot build trust to be vulnerable). Reach out to them and invite them to join, or at least give it a try.
  4. Decide the logistics arrangement that works for your circle.
    1. In-person or virtual? Or mixed (e.g. alternating in-person and virtual)?
    2. If in-person, where will you meet? Do you have access to a space for free? Perhaps participants are able to take turns hosting in their homes?
    3. Will it be Scheduled (meeting at a specific time) or Asynchronous (no specific time, people can participate in the conversation as and when they can - only in virtual spaces)
    4. If it will be scheduled, how often will you meet? It might be helpful to have a fixed schedule (e.g. 9:30 on the 3rd Saturday of every month)
    5. How many people do you want to host? Generally circles that convene on a schedule will be smaller (to allow people opportunity to express themselves within the available time), while asynchronous circles can be larger.
  5. How will people show up in your circle? You are welcome to make use of our Practices (Presence, Holding Space, Inner Child) offered here, but each circle is free to adapt it for their needs.
  6. Keep in Touch. We would love to hear how it is working out (or not) for you. If you share with us any changes or improvements you made, we can add it to the website to make it available for everyone.
    Please write to us at mettacircles [at] manan.life