Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Seven Circles summary
Chelsey Luger
Thosh Collins
Indigenous Teachings for Living Well
23 mins
Brief summary
The Seven Circles offers a holistic approach to wellness based on Indigenous wisdom, focusing on balance across seven key areas: food, movement, sleep, ceremony, sacred space, community, and connection to land.
Table of Contents
The Seven Circles
Summary of 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
What is Indigenous wellness?
It’s a little ironic that practices like yoga and meditation are familiar parts of mainstream American wellness culture – and yet many don’t know about the rich healing traditions of the nation’s own Indigenous peoples. The “Seven Circles” model offers a window into that wisdom. It’s an integrative approach to well-being centered around the core values of interconnectedness, balance, self-mastery, and lifelong learning.
This way of wellness starts with gratitude – a recurring emphasis across all Indigenous communities. More than a superficial feeling, gratitude involves recognizing your profound connection to all your relations: other people, animals, the land itself. Wellness, then, isn’t about achieving a “perfect state,” but cultivating the resilience and steadiness to weather life’s inevitable hardships. The aim is to help you heal, and to feel grounded and at ease in the loud, modern world.
Wellness is a cycle of taking in wisdom, actively applying it, then circling back for more learning when life changes. It asks you to stay open to receiving elders’ teachings. It requires you to achieve self-mastery – level-headedness and rationality – and then pass those lessons on to others. It focuses on honoring the interdependence of your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and communal health.
This holistic approach is embodied in seven circles: movement, land, community, ceremony, sacred space, sleep, and food. In the following sections, we’ll dive into each of these seven areas to help you recognize wellness as a lifelong practice. Each circle offers grounded wisdom for healing and growth as part of the shared human journey – but feel free to adapt these teachings based on your own unique culture and experience. Ultimately, wellness is sometimes about reclaiming lost traditions, and sometimes about creating new ones.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Seven Circles?
Key ideas in The Seven Circles
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Seven Circles about?
The Seven Circles (2022) draws on Indigenous ancestral wisdom for achieving spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. It proposes a holistic model called the Seven Circles – a template for modern living that’s intended to keep all aspects of life in balance including food, movement, sleep, ceremony, sacred space, land, and community.
The Seven Circles Review
The Seven Circles (2022) explores Indigenous wisdom and calls for a reconnection with nature and ourselves. Here's why this book is a must-read:
- Offers profound insights on reclaiming ancestral knowledge and living in harmony with the Earth.
- Provides a refreshing perspective on spirituality, personal growth, and healing, blending tradition with a modern approach.
- Presents a captivating journey through the seven circles, inspiring readers to reflect on their own relationships with the world around them.
Who should read The Seven Circles?
- People interested in Native American culture and spirituality
- Wellness and self-help enthusiasts
- Individuals seeking community and connection
Categories with The Seven Circles
Book summaries like The Seven Circles
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
33 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
The Seven Circles FAQs
What is the main message of The Seven Circles?
The main message is to reconnect with ancient wisdom through indigenous teachings and practices.
How long does it take to read The Seven Circles?
Reading time varies, but it typically takes a few hours. The Blinkist summary only takes 15 minutes.
Is The Seven Circles a good book? Is it worth reading?
The Seven Circles is a valuable exploration of indigenous wisdom, offering insights for personal growth and societal healing.
Who is the author of The Seven Circles?
The authors of The Seven Circles are Chelsey Luger & Thosh Collins.
What to read after The Seven Circles?
If you're wondering what to read next after The Seven Circles, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- 28-Day FAST Start Day-by-Day by Gin Stephens
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Real-Time Leadership by David Noble & Carol Kauffman
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- Fast Like a Girl by Mindy Pelz
- The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
- The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway
- Walmart by Natalie Berg and Bryan Roberts
- The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- Coach Yourself Confident by Julie Smith