Introduction
| Circle Consciousness
| Truthspeaking
| The Talking Circle
The Talking Circle
"Circle attunement is central to the healthy functioning of Old Way groups and is a good share of the reason that such groups have no need for government, judiciary, or law enforcement. What these agencies handle for civilized societies is taken care of in a form of truthspeaking common to Native peoples, called the Talking Circle. It is conducted by the group sitting in a circle, with everybody facing everybody else and thus being equal to everybody else.
The center of the Talking Circle is the Talking Stick: a special staff or feather, or just a plain stick, which is held by the person speaking. In honor of the Talking Stick, the one who holds it is listened to without interruption or comment, and the talking stick is passed around the circle so everyone gets a chance to speak. The focus of the Circle is on the Stick rather than the speaker, which keeps the attention on what is being spoken rather than on the speaker. This encourages the speaker to express herself from Circle rather than personal consciousness.
--From Tamarack Song's Sacred Speech
Healing
The Talking Circle
"Circle attunement is central to the healthy functioning of Old Way groups and is a good share of the reason that such groups have no need for government, judiciary, or law enforcement. What these agencies handle for civilized societies is taken care of in a form of truthspeaking common to Native peoples, called the Talking Circle. It is conducted by the group sitting in a circle, with everybody facing everybody else and thus being equal to everybody else.
The center of the Talking Circle is the Talking Stick: a special staff or feather, or just a plain stick, which is held by the person speaking. In honor of the Talking Stick, the one who holds it is listened to without interruption or comment, and the talking stick is passed around the circle so everyone gets a chance to speak. The focus of the Circle is on the Stick rather than the speaker, which keeps the attention on what is being spoken rather than on the speaker. This encourages the speaker to express herself from Circle rather than personal consciousness.
--From Tamarack Song's Sacred Speech