A community is a group of people living in the same local area, or a collection of individuals linked by shared interests, culture, identity, or goals.

Community Concepts: (Inspired by Nike Aurea)

1. Community: is an ongoing practice and an art form rather than a neat, predictable, or finished product

2. Shared responsibility: Wanting a supportive "village" isn't enough; true community requires actively helping to build it through accountability, boundaries, and mutual care

3. Not a cult: Real community allows for shared power and diverse centers, noting that a space meant to center only one person or leader is a cult. We want those in our community that value our standards to have the chance to facilitate and lead the circles.

4. Accountability Over Punishment: Genuine accountability in community focuses on consequences and repair rather than isolation, blame, and shame

Below just the start of our list, please contact Chelse and Zach - a group text massage, with your idea.

• We are a diverse community that can leads with curiosity, compassion and repair. Examples of diversity are but are not limited to genders, age, spirituality, race, sexual orientation and neurodiversity.

• Connection to nature.

• We believe in investing into our local community and there are different forms of capital we are interested exploring together: nature/living, knowledge, spirituality, experiential, emotional, social, intellectual, material, and financial (inspired by Ethan Roland & Gregory Landua.)

• Safety is important to us. Aspects include and are not limited to physical, emotional, psychological, social and cognitive safety. See more on this topic under our safety tab

True safety in a group isn't the absence of conflict, but the collective commitment to acknowledge our inevitable imperfections and do the courageous work of repair when a rupture occurs. Embracing our flaws and choosing to stay present during misunderstandings transforms these moments into opportunities for deeper connection and accountability.

Different Types of Safety

• Physical Safety (Personal/Civic): Protection from violence, bodily harm, and physical threats.

• Emotional Safety: The ability to express feelings and be vulnerable without fear of ridicule, rejection, or punishment.

• Psychological Safety: Feeling safe to speak up, share ideas, or make mistakes in a team or workplace without fear of negative consequences.

• Social Safety: Inclusion, respect, and freedom from bullying or ostracization within a community.

• Cognitive Safety: An environment that encourages learning and exploration without fear of failure.

1. Physical Safety: Grounding Our Bodies in the Space. Using trauma informed principles as a guide.

Physical safety in a trauma-informed circle means structuring the environment and our physical presence so that every nervous system can settle and feel secure. Note: this circle is not physiotherapy, we simply want to honor that people can be holding a lot and if you need further support, please reach out to a medical professional for care.

Shared Definitions

• The Space: A trauma-informed environment where everyone has clear sightlines, easy access to exits, and control over their immediate sensory surroundings.

• Bodily Autonomy: The absolute right of every individual to control their physical body, movement, and boundaries without needing to justify their choices to the group.

Guidelines & Practices

• Freedom of Movement: You are always welcome to change your posture, stand up, stretch, or temporarily step out of the circle to care for your body. No explanation or permission is required.

• Consensual Proximity & Touch: We respect physical boundaries. We do not engage in physical touch (including comfort hugs) without explicit verbal permission.

• Predictable Cadence: We honor our schedule by starting and ending on time, ensuring your body can anticipate and rely on the structure of the space.

2. Emotional Safety: Tending the Heart of the Circle

Emotional safety means creating an environment where participants can exist authentically without fear of judgment, shaming, coercion, or forced vulnerability.

Shared Definitions

• Safety: We can promise clear agreements, the freedom to opt out, and embodying care when things get hard. We can't promise that no one will ever feel uncomfortable. We commit to tending the space together.

• Support: Support is witnessing, not fixing. We listen, offer presence, and share only when invited. We're also honest about our own capacity, and saying "I don't have room for that today" is welcome.

• Confidentiality: What is shared here stays here. Take the learning with you and leave the stories in the circle.

• Respect: Respect is mutual. It means honoring each other's boundaries and choices, including the choice to pass or stay quiet.

Guidelines & Practices

• The Right to Pass: You always hold the choice to opt out of an exercise, stay silent, or say "pass" when it is your turn to share. Forced vulnerability is not safety.

• Sharing from Scars, Not Wounds: We invite you to share from scars rather than open, unintegrated wounds. If a topic feels too raw or overwhelming to speak aloud, you are encouraged to hold it in gentle silence.

• Tending to Capacity: Before offering deep emotional sharing or seeking to hold space for another, check in with your own emotional bandwidth. It is an act of love to voice your limits.

3. Psychological Safety: Safeguarding Mind, Voice, and Power

Psychological safety allows us to explore deep concepts, navigate differences, and process our collective wisdom without fear of being cast out or minimized.

Shared Definitions

• Witnessing & Sharing: Witnessing is listening to understand and be present. We don't solve, interpret, or compare stories. We simply let each person be heard.

• Power: Power is shared here. The facilitator holds the space but is not the authority on anyone's experience.

• Curiosity: Curiosity is caring interest in someone's experience, not interrogation or debate.

• Wisdom: Wisdom is memory held with feeling. We build it together by sharing what our lives and bodies have taught us.

• Accountability: Accountability means owning our impact and making repair. It is not blame, shame, or being cast out. When we mess up, we acknowledge it, ask what's needed, and try again.

• Impact and Intent: Our intentions matter, and so does how our words land. When someone is hurt, we listen to the impact first, without defending ourselves.

Guidelines & Practices

• No Interrogation or Debating: We ask questions out of genuine, caring curiosity, never to challenge, cross-examine, or correct another person’s lived truth.

• No "War Stories" / Uncontained Storytelling: To protect the collective nervous system of the room from secondary trauma or flooding, we focus on the feelings, meanings, and wisdom gained rather than graphic, distressing details of traumatic events. Share your scares not your wounds.

• Centering Impact First: If a boundary is crossed or harm occurs, the circle pauses to listen to the person impacted without jumping into self-defense or justification.

• Support Beyond the Circle: We acknowledge our limits as a group. If you find yourself needing deeper, individualized care, please notify the facilitator so we can connect you with external resources.

Support

Support is witnessing, not fixing. We listen, offer presence, and share only when invited. We're also honest about our own capacity, and saying "I don't have room for that today" is welcome. 

Accountability

Accountability means owning our impact and making repair. It is not blame, shame, or being cast out. When we mess up, we acknowledge it, ask what's needed, and try again.

Impact and Intent

Our intentions matter, and so does how our words land. When someone is hurt, we listen to the impact first, without defending ourselves.

Witnessing & Sharing

Witnessing is listening to understand and be present. We don't solve, interpret, or compare stories. We simply let each person be heard. Also, we share from scars not wounds. If you need further support, please let the facilitator know. There is support beyond this circle. 

Safety

We can promise clear agreements, the freedom to opt out, and embody care when things get hard. We can't promise that no one will ever feel uncomfortable. We commit to tending the space together. Please look at community safety drop down for further details

Confidentiality

What is shared here stays here. Take the learning with you and leave the stories in the circle unless permission was given.

These definitions are a work in progress. They can be amended as we grow as a community, and your voice is part of shaping them.

Concepts we want to explore together

• What is healed power look like?

  A start to this conversation…

  Power is shared here. The facilitator holds the space but is not the authority on anyone's experience.

• What does mutual respect look like? How is the word respect shaped in our culture, how is it used differently?

  A start to this conversation…

  Respect is mutual. It means honoring each other's boundaries and choices, including the choice to pass or stay quiet.

• What does compassionate curiosity look like and why is it important to talk about?

  A start to this conversation… Curiosity is caring interest in someone's experience, not interrogation or debate.

• What is wisdom and how does it mean to become an elder?

  A start to this conversation…

  Wisdom is memory held with feeling. We build it together by sharing what our lives and bodies have taught us.

Repair and nonviolent commination is important to us. A simple guide will be created for the community. Stay tuned