The Circle Way

PREFACEThe Origin of the PeerSpirit Circle Process

This is a book about remembering something basic to human nature—the desire to cooperate and participate in conversations in which we can speak and listen fully. This book reintroduces the use of circle process so that anyone, anywhere, can have a meaningful conversation and rise with support to do what needs to be done.

This body of work arose out of the meeting of two midlife, Middle American women in July 1991 during a five-day summer institute writing seminar that Christina Baldwin was teaching at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The classroom looked out over great lawns and low brick buildings with a view ofLake Superior, the world’s largest lake, an inland, freshwater sea. Sixteen adult ...