Last night at group, it came up that it’d be helpful for folks to have some guidance about what makes “holding the container” successful. *Note that these are my observations, teachings, and learnings, not rules. Take what you wish from them.* > Containers are intangible yet real spaces in which the potential and possibility of a group can unfold. They have boundaries that are physical and psychological. They are often best characterized by a feel, but they are nevertheless real aspects of deep dialogic practice.[^1] - It helps to have, near the beginning of the circle, an opportunity to check in with our bodies and their subtle sensations. There are many ways to do this. - Firm boundaries create safety. It helps if the “space holder” tends to timeliness, so we move the evening, covering what needs to be covered before time is up. - A bit of “ritual” helps. To me, this means simply acknowledging and asking for support and guidance from unseen forces. Our ancestors, the future children, the spirits/gods/creatures, all the known and unknown parts of ourselves. In acknowledging them, we feed them. [^1]: From Corrigan, C. (2024). Hosting and Holding Containers. In D. L. Anderson (Ed.), _Organization development: The process of leading organizational change_ (6th edition). Sage Publishing.