Workbook Practice Group Guidelines

Welcome to the group! It is important that this be a safe place, in which everyone feels accepted, has space for contributing, and feels at ease about participating as we take this journey through the Workbook. It is important, as well, that it be one in which I will be able to support you as you learn and practice the lessons. To facilitate this, here are a few basic guidelines that will clarify what the group is and what it isn’t as well as what we can expect and what is expected of us.

• Our focus will be on understanding the Workbook lessons, discussing them and your practice experiences, and developing the skills of Workbook practice and application. We will be doing this in the context of the Circle of Atonement’s approach of respecting the book and being faithful to what the Course says, that is, setting aside personal opinions and having an open mind to learning from what is said on the pages of the Course. That is our starting point, and we will always go back to it. We will be using the Complete and Annotated Edition of A Course in Miracles (the CE).

• I strongly encourage you to practice the daily lessons and to follow the practice instructions as closely as possible. Daily work with the Course is a foundational part of its path, and it will be vital to your own experience and your ability to contribute to the group. This daily work will give you far more than a once-a-week meeting can.

• We won’t be discussing other spiritual paths, teachings, and practices. This is not to imply that they are not valid or worthwhile. It is simply to keep us focused on understanding, practicing, and applying the teachings through the Course’s Workbook lessons in the context of the Circle’s approach.

• Although we will be sharing experiences and the application of the teachings and practices in our lives, please know that this is a practice group, not a support group. Our focus will be on the lessons, not on addressing and helping one another find answers to personal issues and situations. Of course, prayers for help are always welcome.

• We are here to learn and, in the process, to treat one another with kindness, respect, and “complete courtesy” (T-3.VIII.6:2), focusing on the holiness, worth, and equality of each and every one of us. Listen respectfully when someone is speaking. Notice any judgments or criticism arising in you and do a practice. Our time together can provide a valuable opportunity to practice and apply our lessons to a specific person or situation.

• Respect one another by listening without interrupting, commenting, questioning, correcting a group member or interjecting your own opinions. Refrain from cross talk; that is, avoid addressing your comments to an individual directly. I invite you to monitor yourself and notice any tendency to want to teach, give advice, negate another and their experience, put down, or “fix” the person. If you do notice this about to come up in you, it will be another opportunity for you to pause and respond to the temptation by applying a Course practice.

• Share your thoughts and your own experience, avoiding generalizing statements such as, “We all have a hard time with…” or “We Course students…” “We” can’t speak for others. Our sharing is meant to be personal not generic; therefore, I encourage you to use “I” rather than “we” or “you” statements.

• It will help us to stay on topic and have time to cover the lessons if you relate your comments, questions, and sharing to the lessons that we’re discussing. If we are getting off track, I will bring us back to the topic at hand. I may also remind us of a guideline as needed.Some of you find it easy to share in a group, however, in the interests of inclusiveness and equalizing participation among all members, I would like everyone (new students as well as experienced) to know that you have the space to contribute and that your contributions are welcome. If you aren’t at ease about speaking up in the group, I encourage you to do so. You are all equally important!

• Be attentive to how much airtime you are taking. If you tend to speak often, before speaking again, ask yourself,“What is it for?” Is it to serve your interests or the interests of the whole group? Is it on topic, and does it further the purpose of learning and applying the lessons? If you have already shared a few times, I may ask you to wait while I invite others to contribute. If your sharing goes on at length or is off topic, I may interject and move us on.

• Be fully present rather than doing other things during meeting, especially those that may be disruptive, such as texting or checking your messages.

• Please consider any personal information shared here private and confidential. This includes the recordings of our meetings [if applicable].

• I will start and end on time, and I request that you arrive on time to avoid disrupting the group. If you do arrive late, please join the group quietly. If possible, let me know beforehand if you will be arriving late or need to leave early.

I hope that these guidelines will help us develop a sense of loving and caring community and support every member as we embark on our journey through the Workbook together. If you have any questions or suggestions of other guidelines that will help you feel at ease, please let me know.

For online meetings

• During quiet times, I may mute you to avoid disruptive background noise. Please mute yourself if you come in after the start of the meeting and/or if there is noise in the background during the meeting.

• I have turned off the group chat feature. Chatting tends to take your attention away from the meeting and from what is being said, and it can foster the cross talk we want to avoid.

• Turn on your video, if possible. It helps to foster a sense of joining with one another. If you are willing, please include your location as well as your name.

•  Try to treat this online meeting as you would an in-person meeting. Be considerate of others and avoid doing other things during the meeting, especially if those things may distract others; for instance, texting, checking emails, talking on the phone, talking to others in the room, or engaging in other activities. If you are moving around or if there is other activity in the room, please turn off your video.

•  I encourage you to use the “Raise Hand” feature to get my attention and to avoid talking over someone else. When you have finished talking, lower your hand.

• Please feel free to login early to socialize and get to know one another.