A Circle is the smallest complete unit of the New Civilization.
It is not a club.
Not a class.
Not an organization.
A Circle is a living field of trust,
Formed by people who choose to show up
With sincerity, responsibility, and care
To help one another grow, transform,
And co-create Heaven On Earth
Circles are how Heaven becomes practical.
They are where abstraction becomes relationship,
and where ideals become action.
Civilizations do not change because of ideas alone.
They change because small groups of people
Begin being, acting, and living differently—together.
History shows this pattern again and again.
LIONSBERG circles exist to:
Awaken shared clarity
Strengthen right relationship
Take tangible transformative action in the world
and Pass The Flame onward
No Circle is meant to last forever.
Every Circle is meant to transform our lives and our worlds.
A Circle may begin with as few as three people.
Five to seven is often ideal.
Twelve is a natural upper bound,
After which it is natural for the emerging organism to split into two.
Begin by gathering—physically or digitally—and reading aloud:
The Prologue
The Story
The Quickstart Guide
And this Circle Guide
Then pause.
Let silence do some of the work.
Choose a name that:
feels alive
reflects your locality, intention, or shared image
can grow with you
The name matters less than the care with which it is chosen.
It is provisional and can be changed at any time.
Agreements are not rules.
They are shared commitments that protect the field.
Every Circle is self-governing, autonomous,
and should explicitly affirm its own agreements.
At minimum, consider the following:
Presence — We show up as fully as we can.
Truthfulness — We speak honestly and humbly, without performance.
Respect — We listen deeply and honor diverse perspectives.
Confidentiality — What is shared in the Circle is protected.
Consent — No one is coerced into belief, action, or interaction.
Responsibility — Each person owns their words and choices.
Agreements may evolve.
Revisit them seasonally.
Improve them continually.
There is no single correct format.
However, healthy Circles tend to include:
Arrival
Showing up "on time" as each circle's culture defines it
a moment of grounding
a few deep breaths to land
a couple minutes of silence to establish presence and coherence
Check-In
each person briefly shares where they are and how they are coming in (1-2 minutes each)
no fixing, no commentary, just deep listening and shared presence
Shared Learning, Reading, or Reflection
a passage from The Story
a Play from The Playbook
or a Profound Question offered to the Circle
Dialogue / Dialogos / Mind Weaving
humbly admit "We Do Not Know" so that Wisdom and Truth can be revealed
honor and invite the presence of the Spirit / Divine Guest in the room
speak authentically from center, source, and lived experience only when moved to do so
listen deeply for understanding and resonant threads, not disagreement
"Yes And" — affirm and build upon one another's statements without contradicting or tearing down the perspectives offered
own your triggers — negative emotion is often a gift revealing something internal longing to be healed
Orientation Toward Action
What is the status of our Seasonal Quest?
What is needed?
What is possible?
What is ours to do?
What are the Wise Right Next Steps?
Tracking Commitments
Invite each member to make at least one specific, measurable, time bound commitment that advances the Critical Path of the Seasonal Quest
Review the Commitment Tracker, mark yes or no to indicate whether previous commitments were kept, and update the Circle's Percent Commitments Kept
Closing
gratitude
retrospection — each participant rate the meeting on a scale of 1 to 10, and either celebrate "something positive that we would like to continue in the future" or suggest "something we could do even better in the future"
silence
closing gesture, ritual, or phrase
Consistency matters more than length.
Ninety minutes is often ideal.
Circles thrive on rhythm.
Experience strongly suggests:
a weekly gathering
a monthly reflection
and a seasonal Quest
These rhythms anchor relationship, consistency, and trust
and prevent the Circle from dissolving into abstraction or distraction.
A Seasonal Quest is a shared, tangible act of goodwill
That produces throughput of The Goal of Heaven On Earth.
It should:
serve real people or places
be achievable within ninety days
stretch the Circle slightly—but not break it (zone of optimum development)
eventually require collaboration with other circles
Examples:
supporting a neighbor or family in need
restoring a neglected space
hosting a community conversation
creating something useful or beautiful
hosting a book club and leveraging learnings into an upcoming seasonal quest
The Quest is where the Game becomes real.
Each solstice or equinox, share your Circle's Stories of Transformation
Your Circle's story should communicate what happened last season
And what positive impact, value, or transformation was created as a result
As well as what your circle plans to do in your next Seasonal Quest
Stories of Transformation are designed to fuel Resourcing and Engagement Flywheel
Circles do not require hierarchy.
They do benefit from shared stewardship
And clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Roles may rotate seasonally
And may include archetypes such as:
Convener — holds, opens, and closes the meeting container
Timekeeper — protects pacing
Scribe — captures insights or decisions
Connector — links with other circles and supports Passing the Flame outward
Relationship Development — develops new relationships, resources, and opportunities on behalf of the circle
Roles exist to serve the Circle functionally—not to confer status.
Tension is not failure.
Avoidance is.
Both convergence and divergence
Are important parts of any circle's journey.
When conflict appears:
slow down
return to shared purpose and agreements
speak from personal experience
listen without rehearsing replies
identify unmet needs (present) or fears (future)
agree on the smallest adjustment that satisfies and reconciles all in play
If needed, pause the Quest before breaking trust.
As a rule of thumb, if tension and divergence cannot be resolved
By the parties impacted within a few days,
Seek the council of a wise elder outside the circle.
Circles grow by learning to stay present
through discomfort—without harm.
Circles are not meant to hoard coherence
And Heaven cannot be co-created in isolation or stagnation.
Passing the Flame means:
sharing stories of transformation
inviting others without pressure
supporting the birth of new Circles
monitoring the progress of The Game against the Milestones
When a Circle grows beyond intimacy,
Follow the pattern of Nature,
Seed a new one,
Remain connected,
And celebrate the growth of The Game
This is how the New Civilization scales—
not by control, but by cellular replication with care.
Every Circle has a lifecycle.
All Circles dissolve naturally at some point in their Story.
This is not failure.
This is how nature and reality works.
A Circle has completed its arc when:
its purpose has been fulfilled
or its members are called elsewhere
or new forms are ready to emerge
Close with gratitude.
Name what was learned.
Share the Stories.
Ensure no one is involuntarily left behind.
Embody new and improved forms.
Pass the Flame forward.
Nothing true is lost.
A Circle does not need to be perfect.
It needs to be committed and sincere.
If even two or three people
choose truth, care, and collaborative action together,
the New Civilization has already begun.
After getting the basics down,
Take a look at The LIONSBERG Playbook
And improve your circle's capacity
By practicing more advanced Plays