Authentic Relating &
Circling Immersion Level 1

Salt Spring Island, BC | March 8-9 | 18 people max

In a Nutshell:

Join us for an advanced training designed to master the art of conscious communication, human connection, conflict navigation, speaking your truth, and empathetic listening. This immersive experience includes a weekend of profound and playful connection with wholehearted individuals committed to personal growth and authenticity.

What is Authentic Relating?

Authentic Relating (AR) is a transformative practice centred on being truly yourself. It involves being real, honest, revealed, and transparent, allowing others to see, hear, and understand your inner world. You will engage in AR exercises specifically designed to deepen your connection with yourself and others. In a supportive environment, you are encouraged to express your genuine feelings and thoughts, fostering a profound sense of understanding and closeness among participants. Authentic Relating is more than just a practice—it’s a growing movement with vibrant communities worldwide. People are gathering to connect authentically and enrich the human experience, fostering a sense of belonging and deeper interpersonal connections.

What is Circling?

If AR is practicing the punching and kicking moves, Circling is the sparring match where all these skills come together. Circling is a relational meditation in which participants share their authentic present-moment experiences—sensations, emotions, and thoughts—while connecting with each other. Participants express their sensations, emotions, thoughts, judgments, assumptions, stories, desires, attractions, observations about each other’s demeanour or way of being, the group's dynamics, moments of dissociation, boredom, and more, all in an exploration of consciousness through the present moment. Two common types of Circles are “focus circles,” where one person is the centre of attention for up to an hour, revealing their present-moment experience to a group exploring their world, and “organic circles,” where there is no focus person and attention moves organically as people reveal themselves and follow their curiosity.

For more information about Circling, you can download the Circling Canada Handbook here.

In this level 1 immersion you will:

  • Learn the fundamental ground rules, principles, and teachings of Authentic Relating and Circling.

  • Connect deeply with other seekers on a path of personal development and the evolution of consciousness.

  • Discover the language of intimacy that fosters deeper connections by understanding and practicing the three levels of conversation.

  • Master powerful empathetic listening tools, such as the art of reflective listening, sharing impact, and asking presence-deepening questions.

  • Experience your first Focus Circle which is 20-40 minutes of small-group exploration centered on your present-moment experience in connection with others. You’ll transparently share your thoughts and feelings while the group explores your world and offers their experience in connection with you.

  • Become more relationally aware through present-moment, honest feedback about how others feel in connection with you. Learn when they feel most or least connected with you, how your way of being impacts others, how you seem, and the stories or assumptions they hold about you. This practice uncovers relational blind spots—unconscious behaviors or patterns that hinder potential connection and intimacy.

  • Sharpen your intuition about interpersonal dynamics by developing a ninja-level ability to discern what others are truly feeling or thinking and to notice the nuances of what’s happening between people.

  • Learn and practice the art of revealing withholds to cultivate more transparent and honest relationships.

  • Take steps toward mastering conscious communication skills, including owning your experience, reflective listening, sharing impact, understanding someone else’s perspective, and empathetic listening. Improve your ability to articulate present-moment feelings through enhanced somatic awareness (awareness of body sensations and feelings) and greater emotional literacy (a broader vocabulary to describe emotions).

What people are saying…

“My first Circling Immersion was the most potent experience of my adult life. I felt supported showing up in a deep honesty and transparency that I did not know I was capable of. The integration of this experience continues to ripple through all my human connections.”
- Allistair Dell

"My circling immersion experience with Garrett was a worthwhile opportunity to practice and deepen fundamental relational skills that underpin my life. Every time I invest my time in this container, I walk away feeling profoundly connected and better resourced to step into everyday intimacy."
- Patricia Parkinson

“My first contact with circling was at a weekend immersion hosted by Garrett Rokosh and Robbie Stainton. I had a wonderful experience which would set me on a path to deepen into this practice. It was a weekend that covered the full range of human experience, from a deep sense of connection to intense discomfort. Circling is an excellent opportunity to step beyond social convention and learn more about what is actually happening, in this moment, between you and I. I would recommend this to anyone who craves a clearer lens on relational reality and would choose an uncomfortable truth over a comforting lie every time.
- Anonymous

“Garrett creates a clear and inquisitive space. His prompts are evocative, adapted to each situation and bring a sense of ease to participate. Within it, I felt safe to share my heart's content and excited to discover deeper layers of myself.”
- Manuel Matsya

“Circling is a space where I consistently feel the most alive, honest and free. It’s a place where I can settle into the comfort of my somatic experience and feel at home in myself. At the same time, I can also choose moments to lean into the bolder edges of my authenticity and take more risks in connection with others. It is one of the few places where I feel safe enough to express dissonance and feel challenging emotions like anger in a clean and embodied way. It’s a precious tool for coming into attunement with a collective and witnessing one another in what’s present here and now.
- Andrea Wiebe

"I appreciated Garrett's focused facilitation and his ability to both hold the space of the Circle, while also revealing his own experience in a transparent and vulnerable way. I've experience facilitation with many people before, and can see that Garrett is very intentional and skilled in his ability to support people to go deep and uncover their truth."
- Leo Cheung

Location | Pricing | Schedule

Location

The venue is called Strawflower Homestead and is located at 521 Beaver Point Road.

Pricing

*Prices do not include GST or PST
Full Price is $390
Early Bird is $365 (ends Feb 22nd)
Extra Early Bird is $320 (ends Feb 8th)
Alumni Price is $250 (for people that have completed the level 1)

*Limited scholarship spots are available for people with financial constraints. Reach out to the email listed in the registration form.

Schedule

*Note that this will change. It’s just a general idea.

Saturday, 9am-5pm
8:30-8:45: Arrival
9-10: Taste of Circling + Check-Ins + Context for weekend
10-11:30: Teachings + Authentic Relating Games to introduce concepts
11:30-12:30: Trainings Wheels Circle
12:30-1:30: Lunch
1:30-2: Debrief + Teachings
2-3: Focus Circles
3-4: Focus Circles
4-4:50: Organic Circles (small groups)
4:50-5: Debrief + Tomorrow's plan + Closing

Sunday, 9am-5pm
8:30-8:45: Arrival
9-10:30: Authentic Relating Games + Teachings
10:30-11:30: Organic Circle
11:30-12:30: Focus Circles
12:30-1:30 Lunch
1:30-3: Triad Circles
3-4: Organic Circles
4-5: Integration + Self reflection + Close

Accommodations + Food (not included)

Accommodations:
If you are coming from out of town, you can contact Greg from Strawflower Homestead at gregclayton@gmail.com. They have floor space available for $20/night (bring your own sleeping stuff and pack it up each morning), bunkbed dorm for $50/night (bed set up already), or a private room with a one-person mattress for $100/night. If you’re coming Friday night, you can also ask to join them for dinner for $10.

Food:
Salt Spring Island is the only immersion where we have a special circumstance that the venue provides an optional meal plan for $10/meal. You can register for the meal plan by e-transfering $30 to circlingcanada@gmail.com. This includes lunch and dinner on Saturday, plus lunch on Sunday. The food is vegan and uses mostly locally grown produce, with gluten free options. We highly recommend signing up for this, people usually regret it if they don’t after they see it.

Facilitator Team

Garrett Rokosh he/him - Lead Facilitator

Garrett’s authentic relating journey began six years ago. Feeling depressed, numb, and lonely at the end of business school, he stumbled upon an Authentic Relating (AR) games night. That night left him completely transformed—glowing, with a cathartic sense that those people had come to know him more deeply than even his closest friends. He was hooked.

Garrett eagerly completed an online training with Sara Ness, the author of the Authentic Relating Games Manual, and later flew to Austin, TX, to attend her advanced facilitator training—an experience he describes as the most impactful week of his life. He then moved to Austin for six months to immerse himself in these practices and serve as an apprentice instructor on her training team. Soon after, his focus shifted to Circling, and he trained with renowned leaders such as Jason Diggs, Mark Boughton, and Peter Benjamin. He went on to lead the first Circling immersion in Western Canada, has since facilitated 19 weekend immersions, and has mentored several leaders in Circling facilitation.

In addition to his work in AR and Circling, Garrett completed a two-year deep nature connection and cultural repair immersion with Wisdom of the Earth Wilderness School, a psychotherapeutic training in Compassionate Inquiry with Dr. Gabor Maté, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. His weekly commitments include mentoring youth at Thriving Roots Wilderness School, running a private counselling practice, and integrating authentic relating into the corporate world through his company, Social Architect. His corporate clients have included MasterClass, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Burning Man, and Mindvalley.

For a deeper dive into Garrett, check out his life vision.

Registration

To register, please fill out the form below and send payment with this PayPal link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/TJ82RJDB7BEK6

Email any questions to circlingcanada@gmail.com