The Container Field Guide

The front porch of the Academy. Light, social, come-as-you-are energy. This is where trust is built: no one is asked to open up, and nothing is expected but kindness. The perfect first touchpoint for anyone curious.

• Introduce yourself to someone new. Hosts model this first.
• Keep conversation invitational: ask, don't assume; share, don't preach.
• Heavy personal processing belongs in a circle, not the snack table. If someone needs more, a Team member can point them to the right container.
• Watch for people hovering at the edges. A warm “want to join us?” with an easy out is the whole job.

Not the container forDeep emotional work, ceremony energy, confidential sharing.

Learning energy: curious, structured, head-and-hands. A teacher holds the room; participants receive, practice, and question. Skeptics are explicitly welcome: language here never requires belief to enter.

• Questions are welcome; debates are taken to the break. Hold the skeptic and the believer in the same room.
• Practice partners are chosen, not assigned, and “I'll observe this round” is always available.
• Facilitators name the “this is where I lose people” moment before it happens: transparency over mystique.
• If material stirs something, the quiet space and a support person are available without leaving the class in spotlight.

Not the container forGroup emotional processing, ceremony, therapy.

The heart of the wading-to-deep range. People speak from lived experience and are witnessed without commentary. The circle shape is the teaching: no head of the table, no hierarchy, every voice equal weight.

• One voice at a time; a talking piece may be used. Speak from “I,” not “you should.”
• No crosstalk, no advice, no fixing, no referencing someone else's share, even kindly.
• “Pass” is honored in full. Silence is participation.
• Time is shared: facilitators may gently hold time so every voice fits.
• Confidentiality is stated aloud at opening and agreed to by all before sharing begins.

Not the container forFirst-time drop-ins mid-session, bringing a plus-one, working out conflict with another attendee.

Practitioners and learners exchanging work in a held field. Quieter than a sharing circle: the medium is practice, not words.

• Consent is asked per exchange, not assumed from attendance, including hand placement and pressure.
• Receivers may end any exchange at any moment with a word or a hand signal agreed at the start.
• Practitioners work within their scope of practice: no diagnosing, no prescribing, no promising outcomes.
• Energetic hygiene: holders clear before and after; the space is cleared and closed at the end.

The deepest hold. Ceremony marks a threshold: ordinary time is set aside on purpose. Preparation is part of participation: you'll know what to bring, what to wear, what to expect, and what's expected of you, before you say yes.

• Arrive early. The container seals at the stated time: this protects everyone inside it.
• Follow the facilitator's lead completely; questions are welcomed before, held during, and honored after.
• The land is a participant. We work with its permission, acknowledge it aloud, and leave it in reciprocity.
• Integration matters: expect a closing sequence, grounding, and a check-in within 24 hours for deep-water ceremonies.
• What happens in ceremony is not content. It is never photographed, recorded, or retold with names.

Not the container forCuriosity-tourism, plus-ones, multitasking, arriving activated by substances.

Built for young nervous systems on purpose, not adult containers with kids added. Shorter, lighter, movement-friendly, and always double-held: minimum two adult facilitators, guardians present or on-site per listing.

• Two-adult rule always; guardians are never out of reach of their kids.
• We teach consent by practicing it: kids' “no” to hugs, games, and sharing is honored exactly like an adult's.
• Content stays age-true: wonder, nature, breath, creativity. No processing circles, no ceremony energy, no adult material.
• Teen circles get their own protective container: two trained facilitators, guardian-informed, confidentiality explained with its legal limits stated plainly.

Distance doesn't dissolve the container. It just changes the walls. Everything in this guide applies online; the markers below adapt it to the screen.

• Cameras on for circles (the field needs faces); cameras optional for classes.
• Private room, headphones if others are home: confidentiality is yours to hold on your side of the screen.
• Mute is the online talking piece. One voice at a time still applies.
• If tech drops someone mid-share, the facilitator pauses the field and re-welcomes them. Nobody vanishes unnoticed.