What is Council?
Council is a formalized group communication practice in which participants sit in a circle, share personal stories one at a time, and listen without judgment or interruption. The Latin word concilium, from which the word council derives, means “a gathering of people,” and participants create a circle, in a particular place, for a given length of time, with the intention to listen and speak from the heart. A talking piece is used and passed around the circle; when it comes to each person, it’s their invitation to speak, with guiding principles including one person speaks at a time, speaking and listening from the heart rather than the head, being spontaneous with no pressure to speak, and not sharing others’ stories outside the circle. Council is not therapy—nobody purports to hold more authority or wisdom than anyone else; council is not religion—there is no dogma or belief system that is elevated or preferenced over any other.
Origins & Lineage
Council weaves ancient practices and wisdom traditions developed over thousands of years throughout many different cultures around the world, drawing from practices like Veche (Slavic), Satsang (Hindu), Ho’oponopono (Hawaiian), Daré (Zimbabwe), Fambul Tok (Sierra Leone), Ibitaramo (Rwanda), Diwan & Loya Jirga (Islam), Farbrengen (Yiddish), and Quaker Devout Listening Circles. Benjamin Franklin witnessed the Talking Circles of the Iroquois Nation and wrote about the inspiring collective wisdom practice, dubbing what he observed “the council,” utilizing a word derived from Anglo-French cuncile, from Old North French concilie and from the Latin concilium.
The modern iteration of council emerged from a specific American lineage. In 1979, the seeds of contemporary council found fertile soil in the Upper Ojai Valley in Southern California when Dr. Joan Halifax, anthropologist and protégé of mythologist Joseph Campbell, was invited to lead a non-profit organization known as Human Dimensions Institute/West to explore living spiritual traditions and to study the interface between science and spirituality. Jack Zimmerman and Gigi Coyle, educators and community visionaries, collaborated with Joan in these early years, bringing their own threads of living and working in circle in different venues and cultures, championing council as an essential way of governance at The Ojai Foundation, as well as further developing the practice for sharing in a variety of settings.
The way of council was shaped in collaboration with renown teachers and elders over the course of many years, including Andrew Weil, Arvol Lookinghorse, Deena Metzger, Francis Huxley, Grace Spotted Eagle, Jean Houston, Joan Halifax, Joanna Macy, Jose Arguelles, Joseph Campbell, Pir Vilayat Khan, R.D. Lang, Robert Bly, Rupert Sheldrake, Terence McKenna, Terry Tempest Williams, Thich Nhat Hanh, Wallace Black Elk, and many others. The practice was codified and popularized with the publication of The Way of Council, written by Jack Zimmerman and Virginia Coyle, in 1996. Center for Council began as a program of The Ojai Foundation in 1984, restructuring to become its own independent organization in 2014, relaunching as Beyond Us & Them, a 501©(3) nonprofit, in 2024.
How It’s Practiced
Council is typically guided by a couple of council hosts or facilitators who help create a safe, non-judgemental and respectful container, with the circle opened by acts such as lighting a candle, setting an intention or sounding a bell. The facilitator offers various prompts to the circle, inviting people, including themselves, in turn to respond and share from their personal experience. Participants sit in a physical circle, often with a meaningful object in the center. The talking piece—which can be a stick, feather, stone, or other significant item—passes from person to person, designating who has permission to speak.
The practice is guided by several core intentions. Participants speak one at a time, sharing personal stories and listening non-judgmentally while others speak; council fosters attentive listening and authentic expression, building positive relationships between participants and neutralizing inequitable dynamics that may arise due to status, age, race, or other social factors. Silence is honored—participants may hold the talking piece without speaking and simply pass it on. Once the council is complete, it is closed by, for example, blowing out the candle, doing a group gesture or sounding a bell. What is shared in council remains confidential.
Council Today
Council has been introduced and expanded in a variety of settings—intentional communities, educational settings from kindergarten through university, business organizations, hospitals, professional groups, prisons and restorative justice settings, municipal organizations, inter-and intra-cultural settings, rites of passage, intimate relationship, clans and family groups, with practitioners steeped in The Ojai Foundation council practice now active in many parts of the US, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.
Beyond Us & Them’s “Council for Insight, Compassion and Resilience” is a six-month intervention where prisoners are trained to facilitate council sessions for other prisoners, expanded to 29 California prisons, and awarded the 2020 “Innovations in Corrections Prize” by the American Correctional Association. “POWER Training” (Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilience Training) is a mindfulness-oriented training program for law enforcement officers piloted for the Los Angeles Police Department and subsequently expanded to other law enforcement agencies around the country.
Council is commonly encountered in weekend workshops, multi-day retreats, school classrooms, restorative justice programs, men’s and women’s circles, spiritual centers, and community gatherings. Training programs range from introductory workshops to comprehensive facilitator and trainer certification pathways.
Common Misconceptions
Council is not therapy; nobody purports to hold more authority or wisdom than anyone else; council is not religion; there is no dogma or belief system that is elevated or preferenced over any other. Council is not gossip; the focus is on personal stories, not judgment or opinions of others; council is not casual; the form is intended to create a strong container for sharing vulnerably and inviting the emergence of collective wisdom.
Council is not a debate format—participants do not respond directly to one another or engage in cross-talk. It is not a facilitated discussion where a leader synthesizes themes or offers interpretations. The practice does not belong to any single spiritual tradition, though it draws from many. While rooted in Indigenous circle practices, modern council as codified by Zimmerman and Coyle represents a specific contemporary adaptation developed through collaboration with diverse teachers and traditions.
Issues of cultural appropriation arose in the very early days of circle practice at Ojai, and now as various forms of council practice have spread around the globe, these essential questions arise even more frequently; awareness exists of the possible abuse, misuse or lack of understanding around the powerful essence of circle ways, which is why training emphasizes cultural sensitivity.
How to Begin
The foundational text is The Way of Council, written by Jack Zimmerman and Virginia Coyle, in 1996. A more recent resource is Jared Seide’s 2021 book, Where Compassion Begins: Foundational Practices to Enhance Mindfulness, Attention and Listening from the Heart. Many organizations offer introductory workshops and public councils—Beyond Us & Them (formerly Center for Council) hosts regular gatherings and training programs in Los Angeles and beyond.
Beginners can start by attending a local council circle, often listed through intentional communities, meditation centers, or restorative justice organizations. Weekend workshops introduce the basic forms and intentions. For those interested in facilitating, formal training pathways exist through Beyond Us & Them, The Ojai Foundation (now Topa Institute), and certified trainers internationally. The practice is best learned experientially—sitting in circle, holding the talking piece, and experiencing the rhythm of deep listening and authentic speech.