Friday, November 15, 2024

SPIRAL ECOLOGY

Dear RI Interfaith Power and Light members and friends,

 

 

We invite you to a FULL-DAY WORKSHOP, IN PERSON!

Register here: 

https://forms.gle/2sAfba2KPHEfzZan8

 

“Our purpose here is to explore our inner responses to the condition of the world and prepare to take part in its healing.”

—Joanna Macy

 

Registration is mandatory. 

 

We will be masked while indoors.

 

 

SpiralEcology, including Karina Lutz, will offer a “Work that Reconnects” workshop of group exercises to remedy burnout and revive our energies to work toward restoring the world.

 

This perspective-changing, life-affirming experiential learning process helps us face, feel, and make sense of our increasing and multiple environmental and social disasters and future threats. We’ll work to reclaim the energy for action that is thwarted when we deny our emotional responses to these crises.

 

Our responses may feel difficult, at first, but as we face them in a group of mutual support, with a compassion-enhancing breathing practice, we realize how natural, healthy, and motivating these “difficult” emotions can be.

 

We plumb these depths for their own sake and wisdom and to reclaim and nurture the love, courage, passion, and clarity underneath the difficult feelings that we often are overwhelmed with or repress.

 

This inspiring work renews us and helps prevent burnout, allowing us to move back into the world refreshed in our efforts towards environmental and social justice and healing.

 

Burnout is endemic to social and environmental justice advocates as unstable social systems worldwide seem to have lost credibility, effectiveness, or their veneer of sanity. We can look at it as “the Great Unraveling”—that systems are collapsing.

 

Or we can see that unsustainable systems must change, and some unraveling is necessary for the scale of change we need at this point. To move towards a healthy, peaceful, and life-sustaining culture will require transformation of our social systems and structures. This “Great Turning” requires shifting our awareness: to see in systems—how life flows and relates— and to reconnect with life itself.

 

~WHAT TO EXPECT~

 

This workshop will follow the “Work That Reconnects” method developed by Joanna Macy, Molly Brown Young, Constance Washburn, and colleagues:

 

Starting with gratitude for living in earth and all who are working for justice, healing, and regeneration, we’ll move into honoring our pain for the state of the world, then look at the world through a holistic, systems-based and life-affirming paradigm, and finally end with exercises to help us go forth into the world with renewed passion, clarity, and a sense of ‘power with’–instead of the prevailing ‘power over.’

 

The workshop helps us face our anger, fear, emptiness, and deep sadness about the state of the world, to reframe our view of the world in terms of flows and systems (instead of competing and defensive individuals), and to discern how to leverage systems change.

 

~MORE INFO~

 

Learn more about the process at 

www.workthatreconnects.org 

and 

www.joannamacy.net 

and about SpiralEcology here at 

karinalutz.wordpress.com/spiralecology-workshops/

 

Register here: https://forms.gle/2sAfba2KPHEfzZan8

We assume that all participants will be vaccinated, but if you have any symptoms of illness or have been exposed to Covid,

we ask you not to attend

 

~BRING WITH YOU~

 

A face mask

Bag Lunch

Layers for indoors and outdoors

Sunscreen/Bug repellent/Hat

Water bottle

Curiosity

Questions

 

We look forward to seeing you!

 

In faith,

Your IPL Board