Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups [Hardcover]

Charles A. Garfield (Author), Cindy Spring (Author), Sedonia Cahill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

Gathering in small group circles to heal, share, and celebrate has moved from new age workshops and 12-step programs into the mainstream. This practical, inspirational guide shows readers how to use the power of the circle to effect changes in their lives and in their communities Targeted print ads .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At a time of increasing loneliness and individualism, Wisdom Circles provides an outline for creating your own spiritual, social, and/or consciousness-raising group. The authors--Charles Garfield, psychologist and the author of Peak Performers; Sedonia Cahill, director of a group that helps people become more spiritual; and Cindy Spring, founder of the Wisdom Circles organization--describe a structured setting in which people can meet regularly for whatever purpose they choose: getting to know each other better, sharing personal and social concerns, or just offering mutual support and healing. You'll find guidelines to help participants create rituals to begin and end a session, agree on a goal or discussion subject for each meeting, create a safe and confidential environment, and allow each member to "co-facilitate" the gathering. There's also information on dealing with problematic members, such as those with psychological problems or those who are too narcissistic or rigid in their beliefs to participate in an open, wide-ranging dialogue. Whether you're looking for ways to improve an existing group or are considering starting your own gathering of supportive friends, Wisdom Circles will help you get started; the group itself will tell you where to go from there.

From Library Journal

The idea that a group is more than a sum of individuals is a social science axiom, and this book offers a New Age exploration of that premise. Rooted in gathering traditions, wisdom circles are discussion groups oriented to healing, sharing, celebrating, and other purposes. With his collaborators, Garfield (psychiatry, Univ. of California, San Francisco) outlines the "ten constants" that form the essence of wisdom circles. They provide guidance on how to start and sustain such groups, along with rich case study material on those involving AIDS patients, men, and corporate clients. Some readers might be put off by the book's jargon, e.g., talking stick, and no empirical evidence is presented to show that circles accomplish their lofty aims. However, the material is well organized and applies to diverse circumstances and groups. Inspirational yet practical, this book is highly recommended for public libraries and collections serving social service and other group leaders.?Antoinette Brinkman, Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr., Evansville
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Books; 1st edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786862769
• ISBN-13: 978-0786862764
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom Circles, March 29, 2000

By 

Jean Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups (Paperback)

This book has some of the best information I have found on community building, self-awareness and friendship through small groups. If someone is interested in starting a Circle, this is the book. After reading two other books on the subject, I appreciate the thorough coverage and information on forming and participating in a Circle that this book offers.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here is a book that is worth what you paid for it., October 19, 2001

By 

ssipdx "ssipdx" (Eugene, Or United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups (Paperback)

I bought this book because a women's group that I belong to decided to use it as a model. A few of us browsed and we *borrowed* a few ideas at the beginning..now a year later, the book is our *bible* and we wonder what we would do without the wisdom that the author share with us and their models for procedure that WORK. My admice is that if you are buying this book for a reference..that you consider trying the author's suggestion first, before you blunder as we did..for almost 8 months doing our best..to do our best..finally, in despair, we dug out the book again..and started following directions..smile.
IT WORKED...buy now and you wont need to worry later.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creating safe places, December 19, 2007

By 

Story Circle Book Reviews - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wisdom Circles: A Guide to Self Discovery and Community Building in Small Groups (Paperback)

Wisdom Circles was written, the authors say, to help people call a circle--"a safe space within which to be authentic, trusting, caring, and open to change" The book offers "Constants" for circle work. When we come to a circle, we honor its processes and purposes as if they are sacred; we create a "safe container" and a "collective center" (transforming "I" into "we"); we speak and listen from the heart, with gratitude; we invite silence; we commit to and empower one another through a continuing relationship.

Wisdom Circles also helps us to improve our practice of circle work by offering ideas for opening and closing rituals, sustaining the process, and meeting challenges. If you are facilitating or working in a circle, you will find this book both helpful and inspiring.

by Susan Wittig Albert

for www.storycirclebookreviews.org

reviewing books by, for, and about women