Circle it Out

Let's Circle it out!

From Restorative Justice proponents, you must have heard a lot about this word ‘a Circle's or an ‘RJ Circle’. 

What is it?

Let me tell you what a circle is and why we do a circle.

To understand a Restorative Justice Circle, it is important to understand what Restorative Justice is and how it works. That would simplify the idea of Circle.

Restorative Justice or RJ is a practice which promotes involvement of all the stakeholders impacted in any incident or involved in a scenario to address it and find the resolution, if required, that fits all. It is, hence, a collaborative process with everyone playing an equal role. The collaboration essentially requires the voice of every stakeholder to be heard. To enable this, a process is required to support an equal opportunity for everyone to talk, share, and listen. 

This happens in a circle. Here comes another question: Why a circle? Why not a square? Or triangle?

It is called a circle because there are no sides. Everyone is equal and equally listened to and supported. They are all connected to one center- symbolizing one set of values they all agree to.

So how does a circle work?

A circle starts with one person being a circle keeper. A circle keeper makes sure that all the values and guidelines are followed. A circle keeper starts by welcoming all the participants and making them seated. They then inform them about the topic of the circle followed by its rules/ values/ guidelines. These rules/ values/ guidelines are set by the participants themselves.

With regards to the topic, it can be about anything from relationship building to healing. In a workspace, it can be for orientation of new employees or regular team building exercises. At school, they can be done at the beginning of a new session or at the end of one, or impact circles, healing circles, diversity circles, or even one for prevention of bullying. They can also be done in the event of conflict resolution or an incident of crime.

Once the topic is shared, the circle keeper can ask for introduction of the participants, if need be. They can propose the values they seem appropriate and ask participants to modify or add others they would like to follow. Involving participants in setting the values increases the chances of adherence.

After the values are set, there is a check-in. A check-in is a small, yet quite helpful, activity in gauging the temperature of the room and maintaining the environment. There can be a varieties of check-in including, but not limited to,

• Asking series of questions like how are you doing today, what do you needs, rose and thorn currently in your life

• Weather check-in

• Medicine wheel check-in

• Art check-in 

• Song check-in

• Talking about a favorite object that brings peace

• Meditation

• Centering

• Sharing a Quote

These are some of the check-ins I have used in my previous sessions. Trust me! They help in breaking the ice.

After the check-in, the circle keeper starts with the circle. In a physical space, it may involve keeping a center piece in the middle, like a vase with flowers, or anything that brings positivity.

In a circle, the flow of the circle is decided, that is, what sequence will be followed, clockwise or anticlockwise, for instance. The circle questions are asked and for every question, the circle keeper answers first followed by the next participant in line. One participant ‘passes it on’ to the next.

One of the most important tenets of a circle is that it is ‘voluntary’. This simply means that no participant can be forced to answer. If a participant does not want to answer, they can pass the question. When one participant is talking, there should be no interruption from the other. Every participant gets an equal opportunity to answer.

After all the questions are done, the circle keeper thanks the participants for joining. They can also talk about how they felt, their experience, and any other input they would like to give.

This is how a typical circle is done.

Wish to do a circle in your community, workspace, or home?

Connect with me here!