Joanna Macy, eco-philosopher, activist, and scholar of Buddhism and systems theory has an international following, thanks to 30 years in movements for global justice and ecological sanity. She is the author of 12 books including the original Coming Back to Life and Widening Circles, and she has produced a 2-DVD set entitled The Work that Reconnects.

Molly Young Brown combines the Work That Reconnects, ecopsychology, and psychosynthesis in her work: teaching online courses, writing and publishing books and essays, coaching and mentoring, and giving talks and workshops internationally. Her five books include the original Coming Back to Life and Growing Whole: Self-realization for the Great Turning.

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Message from Dalai Lama

Foreword by Matthew Fox

Preface by Joanna Macy

Preface by Molly Young Brown

Chapter 1: To Choose Life

We Can Still Opt for a Life-Sustaining World Choosing Our Story

1. Business As Usual

2. The Great Unraveling

3. The Great Turning

The Great Turning

1. Holding Actions in Defense of Life

2. Transforming the Foundations of Our Common Life

3. Shift in Perception and Values

Chapter 2: The Greatest Danger - The Deadening of Heart and Mind

What is Pain for the World?

What Deadens Heart and Mind?

Fear of Pain

Fear of Despair

Other Spiritual Traps

Fear of Not Fitting In

Distrust of Our Own Intelligence

Fear of Guilt

Fear of Distressing Loved Ones

View of Self as Separate

Hijacked Attention

Fear of Powerlessness

Fear of Knowing - and Speaking

Mass Media

Job and Time Pressures

Social Violence

The Cost of Blocking Our Pain for the World

Impeded Cognitive Functioning Impeded Access to the Unconscious

Impeded Instinct for Self-Preservation

Impeded Eros

Impeded Empathy

Impeded Imagination

Impeded Feedback

Coming Back to Life

Chapter 3: The Basic Miracle - Our True Nature and Power

Living Systems Theory

How Life Self-Organizes

Water, Fire and Web

Gaia Theory

Deep Ecology

Beyond Anthropocentrism

The Ecological Self

Asking Deeper Questions

Ancient Spiritual Teachings

Abrahamic Religions

Asian Traditions

Indigenous Spirituality

The Miracle of Mind

Self as Choice Maker

Positive Disintegration

We Are the World

The Nature of Our Power

Power Over

Power With

Power Over Blocks Feedback

The Power of Disclosure

Synergy and Grace

Chapter 4: What Is The Work That Reconnects?

History of the Work

Aims of the Work

Basic Assumptions of the Work

The Spiral of the Work

The Shambhala Prophecy

The Work That Reconnects in Corporate Settings

Chapter 5: Guiding The Work That Reconnects

The Value of Working in Groups Tasks of the Facilitator

Foundations of Good Facilitation

Capacities of an Excellent Guide

Engaging Full Participation

Working With Strong Emotions

Guidelines for Conducting Rituals

Workshop Setting and Arrangements

Money

Opening The Workshop

Closing The Workshop

Evaluation

Follow-Up

Ongoing Support for the Guide

Chapter 6: Coming From Gratitude

Gratitude: Teaching Points

Practices

Becoming Present through Breath, Movement,Sound and Silence

Introductions with Gratitude

Open Sentences

Open Sentences on Gratitude

Gratitude Rounds

Mirror Walk

Open Sentences on the Great Turning

The Wheel of the Great Turning

The Elm Dance

The Presence of Gratitude Throughout the Work

Chapter 7: Honoring Our Pain For The World

Our Inner Responses to Suffering and Destruction Practices

Small Groups on the Great Unraveling

Open Sentences on Honoring Our Pain

Breathing Through

The Milling

Reporting to Chief Seattle

The Bestiary

We Have Forgotten Who We Are

"I Don't Care"

Cairn of Mourning

Truth Mandala

Despair Ritual

Bowl of Tears

Spontaneous Writing

Imaging with Colors and Clay

Chapter 8: Seeing With New Eyes

Brain Food

Key Teaching Points

Advice for Conveying These Concepts

Practices

The Systems Game

Riddle of the Commons Game

When I Made a Difference

Widening Circles

The Cradling

Who Are You?

Dance to Dismember the Ego

Bodhisattva Check-In

Council of All Beings

Chapter 9: Deep Time - Reconnecting with Past and Future Generations

To Reinhabit Time

Practices

Invoking the Beings of the Three Times

Open Sentences on Time

The Evolutionary Gifts of the Animals

Harvesting the Gifts of the Ancestors

Audio Recording to the Future

Letter from the Future

The Seventh Generation

Field Work on the Great Turning

The Storytellers Convention

Chapter 10: Going Forth
Discoveries Made So Far in the Spiral

Practices

Networking

Communicating Our Concerns and Hopes

Life Map

Imaging Our Power

The Sword in the Stone

Callings and Resources

Consultation Groups

Corbett

The Clearness Committee

Dialoging with Mara to Strengthen Our Resolve

Bowing to Our Adversaries

Creating Study/Action Groups

The Four Abodes

Five Vows

Circle of Blessings

Two Poems for the Road Ahead

Chapter 11: The Work That Reconnects with Children and Teens

What Do Children Know and Feel?

The Effects of Silence

Suggestions for Overcoming the Fear and the Silence

Using the Work That Reconnects

Generation Waking Up

Practices for Children and Teens

Mothers and Daughters Follow the Spiral

Talking Circle

Gratitude

The Human Camera

Honoring Our Pain for the World

Open Sentences

Milling with Open Sentences

Two Stories of the Truth Mandala with Children

Boom Chicka Boom with Feelings

Seeing with New Eyes

The Web of Life

Our Life As Gaia

The Robot Game

The Council of All Beings in a School Setting

Going Forth

Open Sentences for Going Forth

Starfish Story and Ritual

The Galactic Council

Planning Actions

Chapter 12: Learning with Communities of Color

Part One by Joanna Macy

Getting Started

Honoring Our Ancestors

The Immensity of the Pain

How the Pain of People of Color is Pathologized

Seeing the Industrial Growth Society with New Eyes

Time for Deep Cultural Awakening

Part Two by Patricia St. Onge

Walking Toward the Work That Reconnects

Deep Culture as a Lens

Weaving the Threads Together

Part Three by Adelaja Simon, Adrián Villaseñor Galarza and Andrés Thomas Conteris.

Part Four: Sharing the Work That Reconnects with First Nationsby Andrea Avila

Chapter 13: Meditations for the Great Turning

The Web of Life

Gaia Meditation

Death Meditation

Loving-Kindness

Breathing Through

The Great Ball of Merit

The Four Abodes

Two Litanies

Appendix A: Chief Seattle's Message

Appendix B: The Bestiary by Joanna Macy

Appendix C: Ethics and Declarations of Rights

Appendix D: Bodywork and Movement and Using the Spiral in Writing

Workshops

Endnotes

Resources

Index

Acknowledgments

About the Authors