Going Forth

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“Onward” © by Carolyn Treadway

We go forth into the actions that call each of us, according to our situation, gifts, and limitations, with others whenever possible. We don’t wait for a blueprint or fail-proof scheme, for each step will be our teacher, bringing new perspectives and opportunities. Even when we don’t succeed in a given venture, we can be grateful for the chance we took and the lessons we learned together.

September 2023

we practised to love all the people

poem by Tet Koffeman
in English & Dutch

Metabolizing Grief in Mental Health: A Provider’s Perspective

by Sara Thorsen, LMFT and Krista Gaston, LMFT
The Bloom + Grow Collective is a collaborative of mental health professionals passionate about advocating for and supporting the well-being of providers, based on the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects.

Resistance, Reskilling, and Re-Membering

interview with Michael Wellman by Molly Brown
The second part of our interview focuses on the Great Turning as explored in Michael's dissertation.

Light a Candle

poem and essay by Judy Myerson
Judy offers us a simple practice for bearing witness to our collective grief and loss, and illuminating our path to our collective evolution as a species.

On Taking A Poem For A Walk

by Barbara Whitfield
Barbara describes a practice she has discovered, and its wonderful effects.

Ways of grieving

prose poem by Nicholas Tippins

March 2023

Seasonal Forecast

Poem by Cheryl Pallant

Love, Rage, Rebel: Hope in climate activism

by Kirsty Heron and Tom Deacon
The authors recount how they are supporting movements for climate justice with the Work That Reconnects, drawing on their experience with Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, Extinction Rebellion and global activists during COP26 in Glasgow

The Work That Reconnects in Academia – Visioning an imperfect but possible future

by Eileen Laurie
The author describes her 2022 Spiral workshop "Visioning an imperfect yet possible future: Art-based methods for sustainability researchers," at Lund University’s Agenda 2030 Graduate School in Sweden.

The Spiral – a musical journey

by Linda J. Chase
The author explores how music and poetry can help us grapple with our fears and articulate a vision of hope.

learning to say good-bye

Poem by Susi Moser

September 2022

Wisdom of the Water

Prose poem by Marjorie Lumet
From an experience in a Council of All Beings - English & French

Ultimately, it is Humanity who has to heal Her wounds…

Uiteindelijk is het de Mensheid die Haar wonden moet helen...
by Manon Danker, Dirk Polder, Laura van den Berg, Lenneke Brussee, & Lida Hospers
A collection of voices for change contributed by workshop attendees in response to their experience with WTR. - Dutch & English

Once You Know, You Can’t Say “No”—the Work That Reconnects in Israel

by Hila Lernau and Ellen Serfaty
The impact of the Work That Reconnects on teachers, students, and sea turtle activists in Israel.

One hundred and forty meters of new life: A hedge for birds, bats, and insects

Hundertvierzig Meter neues Leben
by Gisela Wiehe
How a hedge for birds was created at a zendo east of Berlin, because all beings are Buddha. Companion article "Shining One Corner of the World." German & English

Shining one corner of the world

Eine Ecke dieser Welterhellen
by Von Bernd Bender
Buddhist and Deep Ecology principles of the Hedge Project at the zendo near Berlin. Companion article: "One hundred and forty meters of new life: A hedge for birds, bats, and insects" German & English.

Interview with Abigail Sykes from the Starfish Collective

by Erin Holtz Braeckman with Abigail Sykes
The Starfish Collective in Sweden works to develop "ecological masculinities" and dismantle patriarchy, integrating the Work That Reconnects.

This Critical Moment: A Case Study in Education for Change

by Dr. Paul M. Pulé
A scholarly account of Dr. Pulé's workshop series to shift the ethical and practical foundations of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) professions towards a deep, long-range, and life-sustaining future.

Exploring the Effects of the Work That Reconnects

Explorando los efectos de El Trabajo Que Reconecta
by Felipe Landaeta Farizo
A report on qualitative research on the perceived impact of the Work That Reconnects on participants in a 10-day intensive facilitated by Adrian Villaseñor-Galarza in Chile. Spanish & English

Holding Actions for Les Guilleries, Catalonia

Actions pour protéger la Vie dans Les Guilleries, Catalogne
by Zsanna Sebesteny
The Work That Reconnects inspired the author to create three films based on the Spiral to raise awareness about a destructive pylon installation in Catalonia, France. French & English

March 2022

Daughters of the patriarchy

poem by Julia Smagorinsky

Transforming Destructive Masculinities Norms through the Work That Reconnects

by Paul M. Pulé and Abigail Sykes
Paul and Abigail discuss how the Work That Reconnects helps shape the Starfish Collective's work to shift away from the overculture habits of Industrial Growth Society.

Podcast: Ecological Masculinities with Paul Pulé

In this inaugural episode of our Deep Times podcast series, Erin Holtz Braeckman interviews Paul Pulé on men, masculinities, and their impacts on Earth, others and self.

Great As You Are

poem by Susan Griffin

Male Representation in Transformational Spaces Within a Power-over Paradigm

by Leo Murray
Leo explores why so few men show up in movements, projects, protests, and learning environments in Aotearoa New Zealand and elsewhere.

Cultural Emergence

poem by Looby Macnamara

September 2021

Wild Reciprocity

Poem by Susan O’Connell

Finding Solace in the Sacred: Ritual, Simplicity and Robust Hope

by Laura Koens
How sacred practices of simplicity, rhythm, and ritual can help us develop our moral imagination and emotional fortitude for the Great Turning.

The Crows of Istanbul

Poem by Nico Arcilla

Sacred Life

Poem by Alia Stewart-Silver

March 2021

Parenting during the Great Turning

by Julia Smagorinsky
Yulia shares a journey as a mother facing the impossible demands and circumstances of our time.

Walkabout

Poem by Susan Solinsky

The Work That Reconnects: A Resilience-building Practice

by Constance Washburn
Constance describes resilience building skills that are already part of the Work That Reconnect and how to use them in a more trauma-informed way.

September 2020

No posts found.

March 2020

No Time to Lose

by Joanna Macy
It will be messy, but this is our work right now: to see the Great Turning even as things are falling apart.

A Wild Love for the World

Interview with Stephanie Kaza, editor of A Wild Love for the World - Joanna Macy and the Work of Our Time

What If

Prose poem by Carmen Rumbaut

What do I love about being alive at this time?

by Karen Scott
"Could it be that Gaia's dying days are happening at the same time as humanity is trying to birth something new?"

August 2019

Galvanize 

Poem by Toni Spencer

International Bioregional Gatherings

by Aravinda Ananda
Regional gatherings across the world to activate our immune response in the face of climate chaos and the collapse of living systems as well as ongoing racism and oppression in all its forms.

Holding a Council Of All Beings, Behind Bars

by Jo Bauen
Jo describes her work bringing the Work That Reconnects to the San Francisco City Jail.

What Matters Now

Poem by Minx Boren

February 2019

Doing What We Can

by Martha O'Heir
Five inspiring videos show creative, sustainable, and hopeful responses to the global challenges we face today.

The Hospital

Poem by Claire Rousell
"We have been sending smoke signals to the future people asking them for advice on how to be good Ancestors."

The Power of the Heart in China

by Werner Brandt
Werner shares his experience offering a 30-minute presentation on the Work That Reconnects at the first Holistic International Wellness Forum in Beijing in November 2018.

July 2018

Six lifetimes of love

Poem by Ann Marie Davis

Re-Connecting: Laboratories of Truth and Reconciliation in the womb of Mother Earth

by Helena ter Ellen
Helena tells of an exciting project offering workshops in the Work That Reconnects to victims and ex-combatants in Columbia, as part of a Truth and Reconcilitation process.

Ecovillages and the Great Turning: 1,000+ ways to heal the planet

by Silvia Di Blasio
Are ecovillages showing us the path forward? Ecovillages are great incubators to test the new systems and structures that we know possible...

Finding A Way Forward – Book review

by Carolyn Treadway
A review and response to Bob Stilger's new book about the aftermath of the Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan: After Now: When We Cannot See the Future, Where Do We Begin?

February 2018

Evolutionary Leadership: An Interview with Victor Lee Lewis

Conversation with Molly Brown and Joanna Macy
Victor shares his perspectives on the challenges of acting as evolutionary leaders and social justice leaders in the face of oppression, violence, and trauma. 

The Elm Dance Revisited

by Carol Harley
A brief history and personal reflection on the Elm Dance, with translation of the lyrics.

Thanksgiving

Poem by Bernadette Miller

May 2017

Poem: I Have No Advice

by Rick Benjamin

Sharpening Our Night Vision

by the Cascadia Rough Weather Network
In January 2017, Joanna Macy led a retreat at Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico. Ten participants in that retreat, who live in the Pacific Northwest, met two months afterwards. Here they share their reflections on their experience, inspiration, and learnings for going forth at this watershed moment in human and planetary history.

Wild Energies: People in Movement

by Marguerite Kahrl
When Marjetica Potrč and I were asked to collaborate on a project for Parco Arte Vivente (PAV) in Turin, Italy, we proposed to develop new resilient connections around the experimental art center. This process-oriented study of urban ecology employed permaculture and deep ecology to re-imagine the existing community, one which has experienced upheaval, isolation and depression.

Seeding the Work That Reconnects in Colombia in Times of War and Peace

by Helena ter Ellen
How can this historical threshold serve as a leverage point for the Great Turning in Colombia? What role can the Work that Reconnects play in fostering reconciliation and empowerment among Colombians? How to embrace in our vision and road for peace an integration of our Ecological Self? These have been some of our key questions on our path.

Poem: Blazing a Path of Devotion

by Randy Morris
This poem was written near the end of a week-long retreat on ‘Grief and Longing’ that took place in the Canyon of the Ancients in Colorado in 2012. How could I be an activist, a family man and a contemplative at the same time?

November 2016

Poem: As Earth

By Doug Hitt

Seeking the Proper Threshold

by Karina Lutz
Today, our cooperative homestead installed composting toilets, replacing both of the flush toilets in the house. It is such a relief to no longer have to poop into clean water!

Behind the Scenes of Sustainable Activism

By Barbara Cecil
I am part of blessed legions of men and women who sense deep down inside that we are made for these times, that our life work has to do with preservation of what is sacred and just.

Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement

by Morgan Curtis
A cup of tea finds my hand from a vast steel pot, and I feel the care of yet another mobile vegan kitchen collective roaming Paris. We’re halfway through COP21, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.