Circling Organizations

(Get a list of current events in the global Authentic Relating community on our latest monthly newsletter)

(Extract from the Circling Guide.  See also the Favorites page and History page for other historical resources and commentary)

Below you will find links and resources relating to Circling and the Authentic Relating movement. This section should also give you some ideas about where to start, and ideas for starting your own groups, in person or online.

For finding a group in your area, your best bet is to look at the communities map at https://www.authrev.com/worldwide-connection/.  You can also look for compatible groups on Meetup.com, such as NVC.

Training Organizations

In addition to local communities, all of which offer either Circling intros or Authentic Relating Games nights, the organizations below offer advanced training in Circling, at different locations and/or online.

Lineage Circling schools

The three “primary lineage” schools of Circling are as follows (in order of creation):

• CIRCLING INSTITUTE (San Francisco CA, Asheville NC, Washington DC and other places), www.CirclingInstitue.com. Led by Guy Sengstock and team.
• CIRCLING EUROPE (Amsterdam & Western Europe/Norway, New York City, Austin TX, and other places), www.CirclingEurope.com. Led by John Thompson, Sean Wilkinson and Jordan Myska Allen
• AUSTIN CIRCLING STUDIO (Austin TX and online through CircleAnywhere), www.circleanywhere.com/austin-circling-studio. Led by Jordan Myska Allen and team.

Other Circling and A/R Training Organizations

• ART INTERNATIONAL Led by Ryel Kestano, offering online courses in Authentic Relating, on-the-ground weekend courses in 4 continents, and programs in prisons.
• THE CONNECTION MOVEMENT (New York City and online).  Led by Amy Silverman and team.
• THE CONNECTION INSTITUTE (Boston and USA via Zoom).  Peter Benjamin, Mark Boughton and team.
• THE AWKWARD LEADERSHIP SCHOOL (Toronto, Ontario, and online),Led by Josh Stein.

Online Circling

You join online circling with a computer equipped with a webcam, or even on your phone.  Online Circling and A/R games are surprisingly effective and highly recommended. 

• Circle Anywhere (circleanywhere.com). A product of the Austin Circling Studio and operating since 2015. CircleAnywhere is the largest online circling community, with 30+ sessions every week, skilled facilitation and relatively small group size.
• Authentic Relating Go. www.ar-go.live/
• The Connection Institute (theconnectioninstitute.net). This is a relatively new (as of Fall/2019) offer by Peter Benjamin & team.  About a dozen events per month, focused on Circling leadership training.

Books, articles, courses and podcasts about Circling

There are a few books on Circling, listed below, and a lot of podcasts that cover similar material.

• Relational Power: Win Friends, Influence Others, and End Loneliness Through the Practice of Authentic Relating. This is a sequel to the Circling and Authentic Relating Practice Guide (the most popular book on Circling in the A/R tradition), currently in crowd-sourcing and scheduled to be published in the summer of 2023.
• Authentic Relating Games Manual: Social Games for Deeper Connection, by Sara Ness & team. This is the classic manual for Authentic Relating Games, available by donation or on Amazon.
• Conflict = Energy: The Transformative Practice of Authentic Relating, by Jason Digges.
• Authentic Relating: A Guide to Rich, Meaningful, Nourishing Relationships, by Ryel Kestano
• The free Online Circling Orientation course at CircleAnywhere.
• The Art of Circling: 37 Practices for Deepening Your Relating Skills, by Bryan Bayer. Published September 2014 on Lulu.  105 Pages, $24 USD.
• The Art of Getting Someone’s World + Guide to Soul-Bending, by Sara Ness. Self-published at https://www.authrev.com/circling-resources/.  33 Pages, Price by donation.  The website has other great resources and interviews as well.
• Cohering the Integral We Space: Engaging Collective Emergence, Wisdom and Healing in Groups. This is a collection, of which Chapter 15: We-Space Practice, the Future, Circling and All There Is is an article by Sean Wilkinson and John Thompson, founders of Circle Europe.  Available on Amazon and Kindle from $10 USD.
• Millennials, Here’s Why You’re Dissatisfied At Work. Article in Forbes with Sean Wilkinson, John Thompson, and Jordan Myska Allen.  See also the Unconventional Life podcast (unconventionallifeshow.com) interview with Sean, John and Jordan.