What questions do you have about the Circles?
To David’s question about how much empathy is too much: When is it time to stop listening and begin projecting? If someone is sad, is it sometimes more helpful to bring them into your world than to experience their world together with them? Where is the balance between hearing where someone is coming from and wallowing with them in suffering? -- Shannon
In conflict resolution, how do you deal with a person who does not participate in the reflection process, who, once heard, continues on feeling their own anger and refusing to find ways to come into harmony with, or emotionally accept, the real world around them, or the other people around them? If they get heard enough, if they begin to feel truly, deeply heard, does that alone work to help them resolve whatever issues they have? And is it acceptable to them to be heard by the party they feel the anger toward? Does that really mean anything to them (assuming that the anger they feel isn’t over not being heard by that particular person)? -- Shannon
Is this a religion? Does it take the form of giving meaning and purpose to people’s lives? Is this THEE way to make the world a better place to some people? Is this what people are dedicating their life to? Their life work? (Note: The word “religion” to me does not connote something negative. It means more a passion in life.) -- Shannon
A person who actively practices and attempts to improve their level of empathy is a special kind of person. It has a population bias. How do we change the bias, meaning, how do we get people to care more about other people enough that they’d want to improve their own levels of empathy and sharing with others? Or can the world be changed through this process if only a segment of the population practice it? Or does the entire world have to eventually come to embrace this philosophy? -- Shannon.