Posted on by Tenneson Woolf

9 Tips for Men in Circle

My friend and colleague Rina Patel reminded me recently of the phrase, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is now.”

There are many things that we may wish we had done 20 hears ago, or that would have started to grow 200 years ago. But Rina reminds me of the hopefulness of today, and of the rigor that is sometimes needed to simply start. Or preserver. Or add practice.

This article, “9 Tips For Men in Circle,” was also published in The Circle Way Newsletter this month. It goes with yesterday’s, post, “Is The Circle Way for Men?” These tips are my version of a cheat sheet for welcoming men and the masculine into the process and way of being that is The Circle Way. It would have been good 20 years ago, and 200 years ago, and 2,000 years ago — but I offer it as practice now to help grow further a healthy masculine connected to the thoughtful listening and awakening that is circle.

Think of this as a cheat sheet. It’s over-simplified. I offer it to steer through a few common bumps on the road that is men adjusting to circle-based forms of leadership and engagement. These tips won’t resolve everything. They won’t remove all misgivings. But they will, perhaps, help some of us to get past the first stretch of potholes, so to journey into important vistas ahead, made visible only by circle.

Get the full cheat sheet description here.

Here’s to planting a few trees, today.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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