Circling: Exploring Fear

Doors open at 6:45PM / Circle begins at 7:00PM

The goal of Circling is for a group of people to see the world through your eyes, and for you to see the world through other people’s eyes. We flourish under the influence of caring, curious, and non-judgmental attention – and so does the connection between us. If money is tight, please contact me for pay-what-you-can options.

According to some theories, all feelings can be broken down into four root emotions. These are anger, sadness, fear, and joy. For example, frustration might be a combination of anger and fear, and nostalgia is probably a mix of sadness and joy, perhaps with a dash of fear that those good times will never return. But depending on our culture and upbringing, many of us don’t feel comfortable expressing these emotions: if we show fear, are we weak? In many cases, why is it more acceptable for men to get angry and for women to be sad?

In this circling series, we’re going to focus on one root emotion at each session: what are our beliefs and assumptions about it? How do we express it? How do we feel when we witness other people expressing it? What happens in our bodies? Can we learn that emotions are messengers and not commands or an absolute state of being?

The focus on this session is fear. Fear is a complex, heavy emotion to feel and to talk about. As a society, we believe that certain fear is justified, such as being surprised by some kinds of wildlife (snakes, bears, rats) or in particular situations (perhaps a lone woman in a parking garage late at night who seems someone who appears to be hiding). We’re judgmental of other kinds of fear, perhaps directed at people who are different from us, or experienced with adventure sports (skydiving, for example). It’s common to get feel ashamed of being scared of someone or something, and it can start an emotional loop that hard to stop.

At this session, we’re going to explore how and when we experience fear, drop the stories around it, and explore the messages it sends us.