Circle Lab: Agency and Communion

When we are caught in uncertainty or fear of change, many of us default to pushing forward—deciding, acting, fixing. Agency is familiar. It’s rewarded. And it’s often necessary.But what happens when action outpaces sense? When movement outruns meaning?

This Circle Lab invites us to explore the dynamic balance between agency and communion—between stepping forward to act and pausing long enough to sense what the whole system is asking of us.

Drawing inspiration from living systems—from flocks of birds to schools of fish—we’ll reflect on how intelligence in nature doesn’t come from constant motion, but from being in synch. From the ability to pause, circle, and re-orient before moving decisively together.

Together, we’ll explore:

• When agency serves clarity—and when it becomes brittle or disconnected
• Why communion is not passivity, but a powerful form of collective intelligence
• How modern systems reward action while sidelining listening—and what we lose as a result
• What it feels like, in the body and in relationship, to practice the pause

This is not a space to debate or solve.It’s a space to notice. To see what’s emerging—individually and collectively—and to practice moving fluidly between acting and attuning.
As always, Circle Lab is a place to slow the pace just enough to hear the signals we usually miss—so that when it’s time to act, we do so with greater clarity, alignment, and integrity.

Circle Lab: Agency and Communion

📅 March 11th
🕓 4pm – 5pm PST USA
🌐 Free & Online
Circle Lab is offered free of charge. Donations are welcome and help support our nonprofit work of reweaving community and cultivating spaces for collective learning and connection.
Donate Here: https://givebutter.com/oc_donate

What Is Circle Lab?

Circle Lab is a monthly space to pause, reflect, and connect with peers navigating complexity, change, and impact in their organizations and communities. Each session explores a shared inquiry related to leadership, collaboration, and human systems—through dialogue, reflection, and collective sensemaking.

At Open Circle, we believe meaningful change begins not with rushing to act, but with learning how to listen—together.