This is one of the resources for Restorative Circles and here is the resource page to see all the resources
Dominic Barter:
“This that I understand what empathy is about is an essential aspect in our ability to live together.
And I see similarly as Obama does, that part of the problem that we are experiencing at the moment is that there is a gap in our ability to do that on a daily personal, interpersonal and social basis. There’s a gap between our ability to do that, and the society in that we want to live in.
It’s not sustainable to live in the way that we’re doing — unless we recover this ability to see each other as being human first of all.
I’m really interested in the creation of social structures that support the emergence of empathy as the logical next step between people who are living together. So I love the way in which the – for want of a better word – the personal growth culture over the last few decades has investigated the question of empathy, made it its own, and started to develop it as a skill.
I’m really interested in the creation of
social structures that support the
emergence of empathy as the logical
next step between people who
are living together.
But I don’t actually experience it as a skill. The artificiality implicit in skill is something that is at odds with the authenticity that I experience when real empathic change occurs.
I am interested in building a capacity through personal practice, I’m also really interested in what is a school that supports, that makes it logical for empathy to be the next step that I take in my day-to-day dealings.
What does that school look like?
What does a family in which empathy is the logical next step when disconnection emerges, or conflict becomes painful?
What would a justice system look like where it makes sense that empathy is at the heart of the way in which these people come together to create balance, safety and inclusion for everybody?
So I’d like to invite people to start thinking beyond the intra- and interpersonal, and to start questioning what it looks like to set up social structures which are designed with the intention of creating the conditions for empathy to emerge.
The restorative circle work that I do is my attempt to do that investigation. But it’s just the first few seconds of whatever needs to be done. So I’d like to invite people to join this investigation.”
Julie says
I want to add this to the resource page at assuranceservices.net for restorative circles.
I also want to share it in the Regenerate Cascadia thread about living together…
In the context of this is a resource for discussion we will have at the next Cascadia regional call on Friday August 29th 2025, part of my presentation.
Watch this short video of the founder of Restorative Circle Facilitation, Dominic Barter in his own words…
https://youtu.be/XH9XZHVCN4g?si=WHvGRUcHqhdFrZbJ
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