Welcome to Empathy Circle
A safe space where you will learn and discover what empathy really is, and most importantly, practice giving and receiving empathy, allowing you to be deeply seen and heard in whatever challenge or celebration you’re navigating. All are welcome.
One of the most important and fundamental human needs is to be deeply heard and seen. To be known for the experience you’re having in the moment and for the values you hold dear. Empathy, therefore, is one of the most valuable tools you can access to meet those needs for others.
What is Empathy
Empathy, as defined within Mindful Compassionate Dialogue, is a willingness to offer curiosity and compassionate presence for another person’s experience without trying to fix them or insert your own agenda. It’s offering your companionship to the other person in their experience. Meeting someone where they are in their experience. Empathy is a form of attunement to and acknowledgement of our shared humanity.
What is an Empathy Circle?
An Empathy Circle is a structured dialogue process based on mutual active listening. The process increases constructive dialogue, mutual understanding and connection by ensuring that each person feels fully heard in their experience. The practice is the most effective gateway practice for learning, practising and deepening listening- and empathy skills, as well as nurturing an empathic way of being.
You are invited to join our Empathy Circle, where we’ll be cultivating a collective sense of presence and connection with each other. To join, register on the link below, where you’ll also be provided with a Universal Feelings and Needs list, to support you in building your emotional literacy and vocabulary.
Register For Free!
You'll also receive a Universal Feelings and Needs guide, to support you in your practice.
When and How?
● A monthly offering, happening the first Tuesday of the month, for one hour.
● Time: 7:00pm SAST / 6:00pm CET / 5:00pm GMT / 9:00am PST
● Online, via Zoom
● Cost: Free
● The Zoom link for these calls will be sent to the email address after registering. Also contained within that email are the links to the WhatsApp and Facebook Community of Practice groups - to stay connected with, practice, learn and receive empathy from fellow participants in between our fortnightly calls.
● If you haven’t received any of these links, please email us at HERE.
Benefits of Empathy
● It Feels Good
It feels good to take part in meaningful and constructive dialogue. It feels good to be able to fully express oneself and feel seen and heard. It feels good to listen to someone else and feel one is contributing to their well-being by listening to them.
● Nurture an Empathic Way of Being
You become more open, authentic, caring, trusting, grounded, stronger, and able to see the humanity of everyone. It enhances quality of life and overall well-being.
● Build Empathy and Relational Skills
Empathy skill: empathy is a skill that can be learned and needs to be practised. An Empathic Circle gives you a structure to do it.
Relational skills: communication, reflective listening, active and empathic listening, cognitive, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, etc.
● Build Closer Relationships
Develop trustful and deep relationships with Empathy Circle participants and others.
● Brings Clarity
Get a clear understanding of your own and others’ perspectives, feelings and needs.
● Clarify Your Thinking
It’s an opportunity to express your thoughts and have them reflected to you. It gets the thoughts out of your head. You see how they are taken in by others, which helps test them. Also having this reflection by another, helps clarify and deepen your thoughts.
● Share and Purge in a Safe Space
A place to safely ‘purge’ your pent-up feelings. When participants come into a circle, they often have pent-up frustrations and need to express themselves and feel heard and seen. The circle offers a space for that.
● Nurtures Emotional Healing
The gift and companionship of an empathic stance are illuminating and healing.
● Cultivate Emotional Intelligence and Vocabulary
Learn to identify and articulate what feelings and needs are alive for you, building your confidence and connection to yourself and others.
● Allow Space for Creative Solutions
Once participants feel heard and seen, they feel more space for creative thought, able to access their own deeper wisdom (insight), creativity and solutions.
"Experience what it means and feels like to be seen and heard for your experiences without judgement, blame or being ‘fixed’. And learn how to offer this gift to others."
Ceferino Cenizo
Ceferino Cenizo is a Self-Mastery and Relationship Coach who partners with individuals and couples to access their highest potentials. He’s passionate about empowering others to create thriving relationships and transform in the direction of the person they choose to be.
Through his work with others, personal experience and observation, he has come to realise relationships (together with relational and emotional competency) to be the most effective and potent catalyst (and obstacle) for personal transformation and living a joyful, connected and fulfilling life.
He’s an ICF-certified Life and Consciousness Coach ®, Trauma and Tension Release Provider (TRE ®) and Regenerative Farmer.