Contemplative Circles: Train to Lead

a unique training path designed to assist in leading & facilitating circles

Interested in training to lead and facilitate Contemplative Circles? We’re actively recruiting and training new Contemplative Circles facilitators who represent the diverse interests, vocations, and identities of the community we serve and who are interested in mental health and wellbeing for social justice leaders.

You will receive:

6 months of personalized training and mentorship including
3 two-hour training intensives
Co-lead 3 monthly circles and receive 1:1 coaching and feedback sessions after each Circle

Upon completion of the leader track, you will be able to join CI's roster of Circles Facilitators, with potential opportunity to facilitate future Contemplative Circles. We’ll also provide you with recruitment and curriculum materials to lead a Contemplative Circle as a part of your own business or facilitation practice. We invite all facilitators to join our quarterly Contemplative Circles specifically for Circles leaders, to nurture your own wellbeing and resilience.

Apply for the training track now

what are contemplative circles?

Contemplative Circles connect you with peers within a similar field, vocation, identity or experience to form a circle of support and peer-to-peer coaching. These Circles are founded on wisdom traditions and practices that emphasize wise discernment, deep listening, authentic connection and creative perspective.

how do circles work?

Circles are able to be offered via Zoom, Google Hangouts, or in-person, and meet monthly in small groups guided by a trained facilitator, certified in group coaching models of support. After taking this track, you will learn the steps of ensuring you can match prospective community members to others that will have both a shared resonance and schedule, while being able to identify helpful outside perspectives and neutrality to broaden the horizon of your Circles.

You will learn how to tailor your Circles to the needs and experiences of interested participants, with a deep commitment to ensuring that your Circles space meets the needs of social justice leaders and practitioners, with an eagerness to expand and co-create.

contemplative circles cohorts

Below you will find a small sampling for themes of Circles that you will be trained to lead, but you won’t be limited to these! Previously themes for Contemplative Circles have included Freelancers, Teachers and Educators, CEOs & Executives, Artists and Creatives, Fundraisers and Resource Mobilizers, Spiritual Leaders, and Affinity Groups. The possibilities are endless.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contemplative Circles are founded on wisdom traditions and practices that emphasize discernment, deep listening, authentic connection and creative perspective. Circles meet in small groups, in-person or via Zoom, for support and community around similar issues related to various fields.
The Contemplative Circle approach is a method aimed to create a process of shared exploration around personal and vocational questions and challenges. The process brings about the imagination, wisdom, courage, and connection of the group, both individually and collectively. We believe that supporting the inner development of leaders and practitioners is what will help transform our outer world. Circles are an investment in yourself, your group members, and the impact you will have in the world.
A knowledgeable and skilled facilitator guides the group throughout the process. Our facilitators have been trained in a combination of coaching, leadership development, psychology, counseling, adult education and spiritual direction. Your facilitator is trained to guide the group throughout the process and create a supportive atmosphere for authentic sharing and connection.
A Contemplative Circle is comprised of 4-8 participants plus a Circles International facilitator. Groups are intentionally capped at 8 participants to ensure quality and depth of the program. Each Circle has a unique focus area to meet the needs of a particular field or vocation. We take care in matching you to a Circle that will have shared resonance, as well as helpful outside perspectives and neutrality to broaden your horizon.
We take confidentiality very seriously when forming a new Circle. Each member of the group commits to confidentiality at the beginning of the process. This ensures that mutual trust and respect can be fostered from the beginning and even after the end of the program.
The 2021 Autumn Contemplative Circles cohort will run October 2021 - March 2022. Groups meet at a mutually agreed upon time, either bi-monthly or monthly, for 75 minutes. Groups commit to meeting 6 times over the course of 3-6 months. At the end of the program, the group can collectively decide to extend their time together and for what length of time.
Groups meet either a) in person, at the Circles International office San Francisco, or at a mutually agreed upon location convenient to the group members, or b) online via Zoom, or c) a combination of both.
Absolutely. We value diversity in all of our programs and will generally attempt to match you with a diverse group. However, our primary aim is to create a safe space for you to explore your inner and outer life, for whatever is arising at this point in your life. Please feel free to state any additional preferences in your Interest Form and we will do our best to accommodate your requests.
We aim to create a space that supports and serves each member of the Circle, regardless of ability or disability and prior life experiences. Please let us know if you require any special accommodations to make the Circle more comfortable for you. All information is kept confidential to the facilitator and internal Circles International team.
The full tuition for the 6-month program is $800, which includes all pre-meeting correspondence to match you with the right circle, your Circle "orientation" session, six 75-minute Circle meetings, optional email and phone check-ins between meetings with your facilitator, logistics and administrative support.
We are committed to making our programs accessible regardless of financial status, and offer a sliding scale rate of $500-$800. This includes the full program offerings stated above. We ask that participants discern their financial need and pay at the top of their financial ability, to allow us to keep our programs as financially accessible as possible.
If cost remains a barrier for you to participate, please email us at info@circlesinternational.org. Both financial aid and work-trade options are available. We will work with you to find an option that is right for you. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Ready to join a Contemplative Circle? The first step is to apply below! A member of our team will then contact you directly by email with next steps on connecting you to a Circle that meets your needs. We may request a 15-minute phone conversation to better discern your needs and desires for joining so that we can connect you with the right group. We are committed to connecting you with a Circle that will support your unique inner growth and development. If needed, we may place you on a waiting list until we find the right circle for you.