Start a Circle

Before you invite anyone

Read our Covenant and Care and Conduct. When you invite friends or neighbors, be clear about what you are offering: an informal table for shared reading and reflection using public materials from the Toroidal Way, with no fees and no spiritual hierarchy.

What to prepare

• A quiet room or a private video link shared directly with the people you invite.
• Copies of A First Circle and the short passage you plan to read together.
• A simple, unhurried way for anyone to pass when a question goes around the table.
• A clock in view so you can honor everyone’s evening by ending on time.

Rotating stewardship

In our tradition, no one owns the chair at the head of the table. We rotate the host’s task from meeting to meeting. The host welcomes newcomers, keeps the time, guards the right to pass, and asks at the end what should be adjusted next time. Our founding story The Unfinished Instrument tells how this habit began: with a scuffed wooden case and a handwritten card that every host is free to revise. We never collect dues or donations at a circle.

Welcoming different bodies and circumstances

Make sure your invitation tells people what to expect physically: whether there are stairs, whether the room is scent-free, and how long the sitting lasts. Always welcome eyes-open stillness, movement, or written reflection for anyone who finds silent sitting difficult or uncomfortable.

Knowing when to pause or stop

A circle is healthy only as long as it leaves people freer and more attentive to their lives. If a group begins to feel like an obligation or a place where people manage one another, pause or bring it to a clean close.