Adding More Sharing Circles - Your Feedback Needed!
All,
I hope you are doing well. We started Sharing Circle Sessions in March 2020. Sharing Circle has a unique structure to provide an inclusive and interrupted space to share and feel heard and supported.
In April 2020, we added 4 more sessions based on the inputs and feedback community shared. We are glad to hear you all liking participating in these sessions and wanting to have them more.
So, based on what we heard from the community, we would like to add 4 more sessions to the regular rotation to accommodate all and everyone gets uninterrupted space to share their emotions and thoughts. The current Sharing Circle Sessions time slots are as shown in the below image -
We request you to help us decide the next time slots. Please fill the following form to share your inputs and thoughts with us.
We are thankful to our hosts and co-hosts who stepped up to host these sessions to support the community. We are actively taking applications to be host/ co-host. To ensure coverage of additional sharing circles, we need you to take the lead and community involvement. If you would like to host them, please apply to be a discussion leader!
I have a suggestion. I remember when I suffered from severe depression. Everything was difficult. I think it would be helpful to have a seperate grid for PST and Central time zones. When you're mentally with it, googling or doing the math from EST to PST isn't a bid deal. But when you're suffering, it's a roadblock to getting help.
@ResilientSerenity - Hey everyone, I remember there was a web page set up by 7cupsoftea for this exact purpose. You just put in your own timezone and ta da! this is the time in 7cups time = Eastern Time. I can look, but does anyone remember and know where this page is?
It was made for us by a member/listener cool person (aka not an admin cool person :) Y'all know what I am talking about? I think it was before I was here as BooksHugs! <3 BooksHugs
@BooksHugsandTea6370 yeah i saw that page ~ i'll look for it... ^^
though you can use worldtimebuddy too you set it once and use it as many times as needed ^^
@BooksHugsandTea6370 My 7 Cups Date & Time page detects your time zone and converts to or from 7 Cups time. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?
To use it for this, you would go there and set the 7 Cups time to 08:00 AM for the first slot, and the page immediately shows you what time that is in your local time zone. Sometimes the date changes, too, so watch out for that.
Charlie
@RarelyCharlie thanks charlie ^^
Voted! ^_^ I definitely think there should be more variety of times to accomandate all time zones and working hours. Maybe 12am or a 11PM. Or a 5am or 6am.
@ASilentObserver this is a great thing to do obs ^^ this will help cover all time zones *~*
If I knew what a Sharing Circle was or how it worked, I'm sure I'd love to try it. Can somebody please explain this stuff to me?
@WharfRat
Hi Wharfrat! A Sharing Circle is a round robin style activity that occurs in our Sharing Circle room. Much like an AA meeting (without any religious connotations), it is a one hour circle time where members take turns sharing and getting support. They happen every day at the times mentioned above. Feel free to stop by one!
@EvelyneRose How do I get in it?
@WharfRat
The next one is at 8pm tonight. No invite needed, you can just "walk in". They should be in your group chat section on the computer or on the 7cups app. It is a pop up room, meaning it will appear at the time of the sharing circle, so you will see it then, but it closes after that, so you shouldn't see it right now.
@EvelyneRose I tried and I tried, but I couldn't get to the Sharing Circle that's going on right now. I have no idea how to do this.
I'm going crazy and I need someone to talk to and no one cares.
@WharfRat
Hi Wharf! I'll send you a PM so we can troubleshoot!
my opinion doesn't matter to anyone anyway and it doesn't matter ...
when there was an extraordinary conversation in the sharing circle, no one was paying attention to what I was writing
but this is almost always the case
@emylly
Em, I am really sorry to hear that!
Do you mean there was crosstalk when you were sharing? Or that you got the feeling that everyone in the room was only hearing, and it felt rushed?
Could you please explain why you felt that no one was paying attention to you? 
@bouncySalamander26 unimportant..you don't have to make it a problem..I had already signaled a few times, but it was unnecessary...I accepted that this is the case and ready ..when I enter the room I see who the mod is, who the listener is, who leads the circle and I decide if I stay ... that's okay at least I don't disturb the environment so many times
@emylly
Honestly, my intentions were not to make it a problem, but rather be aware of what you were feeling. In some ways, I thought it might be feedback on the SC itself, and if I chose to co-host an SC sometime, I would try to ensure I did not create an atmosphere that would make members, such as yourself, feel uncomfortable.
I was asking, merely to have knowledge of what was creating an atmosphere as such, for you!
I understand and respect, if you do not want to answer that, but sometimes, feedback brings to the fore- problems that need to be addressed.
So, if you do want to mention it, here would be a good place, I think
@bouncySalamander26
i don't want anyone to have a problem because of my feedback ..so, everything is fine, life is beautiful, the sun is shining and everything goes on
@emylly
Emylly, it's okay to have different perspectives.
If you feel uncomfortable revealing it here, maybe you could email community@7cups.com about it?
Providing feedback is rarely a problem...
@emylly I know that feeling. I've been in group chats at other websites and they always ignore my comments and questions. Just keep trying. There is someone who will answer you. I can't get into those things myself because I don't know how yet.
@WharfRat
Wharf! I am terribly sorry to hear you that you experienced that, while participating in chatrooms on other websites!
The reason for my intrigue on Emylly's post, was that the structure of Sharing Circles (hyperlink included-tap on it), is such that no one else can bring up their issues while you are sharing. For the 3 or 5 minutes that you share, all the attention is on you! Others in the room are only allowed to offer supportive statements.
Hence, there should not be a chance for others to talk over you.
You can refer the Weekly Schedule (in your notifications), as to know when it will be held. I cannot find it, as I only have access to the Teen Weekly Schedule
Please refer to this post on Sharing circles as well-Sharing Circles.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any queries!
@ASilentObserver Awesome. More Sharing Circles, more Support.
@ASilentObserver, more sharing circles are good, but you also need responsible listeners and moderators to guide them. I've been in too many sharing circles where the listeners and mods seem asleep. People ask questions that the L and M could address but don't. People say things that the mods should tell them they will PM them about but they don't. It seems to work so much better when there are multiple Ls and Ms together in a sharing circle, so they can all stay alert and respond to members in the best way possible.
@purpleTree4652 Thank you Tree for the feedback. That is helpful. I agree with you. Please do let me know if you have any questions that needed answer, I can help too.
@ASilentObserver hmm May I suggest that 1 of these Sharing Circles or 2 be something fun related to mental health? I am seeing some of the members being bored of the same thing. So do you think we can add something fun to 2 Sharing Circles a day?
@RumpleSteeleSkin Hi there, I believe GTKY sessions are a bit light-hearted and fun as well - I am not sure how often they are held, but they occur daily.
@SoulfullyAButterfly hey can you explain what those discussions are? I do see the teens wanting fun more so then sharing at times
maybe have a sharing circle every two hours?