THE WORK THAT RECONNECTS
The Work That Reconnects is meant for anyone who longs to serve the healing of our world in a more powerful and effective way. This interactive group process was developed by Joanna Macy, in cooperation with many colleagues, over several decades. The Work That Reconnects draws on foundational teachings, including Systems Thinking, Deep Ecology and Deep Time, Spiritual Traditions, and Undoing Oppression.
“Truth-telling is like oxygen: it enlivens us. Without it we grow confused and numb. It is also a homecoming, bringing us back to powerful connection and basic authority.”
Joanna Macy
In her early 20s while engaged in environmental and social justice work in Berkeley, CA, Eden met the environmental activist and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy. Joanna’s book Coming Back to Life deeply transformed Eden. It evoked the work of engaged Buddhism and ecodharma, rooting spiritual practice in listening to the Earth. Flowing from this initial meeting, Eden began to study The Work That Reconnects and has now been facilitating the The Work That Reconnects for many years.
Check our schedule regularly for The Work That Reconnects retreats and offerings.
Here is a excerpt from Eden’s book Luminous Darkness: An Engaged Buddhist Approach to Embracing the Unknown -
“Why is it our collective responsibility in today’s world to embrace our emotions? Consider that when you were born, you inherited in your DNA, in your ovaries or gonads, in the cellular memory of your body, in your genetic configuration, all the pain, trauma, and grief of your family lineage. Consider that you, as a human being, are carrying the history of your human ancestry. As a collective, these are times of tremendous distortion, violence, and xenophobia.”
“The human species has an unprecedented amount of shared grief that has remained stored within—but not integrated into—our being. It is the grief of generations of racism, patriarchy, and misogyny. It is the grief of a profound disconnect from nature. It is the grief of global suffering and inequity. We all carry within us the grief of the myth of separation and its detrimental impact on the planet and all living things. We have also inherited a tremendous capacity for joy, love, healing, and vibrant aliveness. But grief and joy are two sides of the same coin. If we repress one, we suppress the other.”
Deborah Eden Tull
