Ep 3: We Begin with Gratitude

Joanna & Jess — May 2, 2024

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When things are at their darkest, what is it that “allows you to see promise and allows you to see beauty?” Joanna begins her exploration of some of the most difficult emotions and circumstances we face in a surprising place: with gratitude. This episode introduces the concept of the spiral, the basic structure of the Work That Reconnects.

In this episode:

Why it’s necessary to speak our darkest thoughts out loud
How to follow our fear and pain into a state of profound gratitude
The spiral of the Work That Reconnects: gratitude, honoring our pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth
Bonus Exercise: “Gratitude Meditation”—the first stage on the spiral

We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.

Resources

Links, prompts and exercises to further your inquiry.

The WAGT Toolkit

We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Learn more about how to start one here.

Posted May 2, 2024

Meet Your Hosts

Joanna and Jess

Joanna Macy, PhD, is a scholar of Buddhism, systems thinking, and deep ecology who has been working for peace, justice, and the preservation of life on Earth for seven decades. She is the creator of The Work That Reconnects, a globally celebrated framework of practices that has helped leaders and activists for decades to serve the healing of our world in a more powerful and effective way. Joanna is 95 and lives in Berkeley, California.

Jessica Serrante is a coach, facilitator and trainer who has been supporting activists in the climate movement since 2007. She has served on staff at organizations like Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network and worked with groups like Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion. Her first encounter with Joanna’s work a decade ago changed her life, transformed her burnout, and led to a deep, abiding friendship. Jess is 35 and lives in Oakland, California.

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Ep 5 Bonus: Breathing Through

Joanna & Jess — May 16, 2024

This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb and Episode 5: This Pain Is Not for Nothing, deeper into your life.

Both of these episodes are about the second phase in the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects, Honoring Our Pain for the World. This bonus is a recording of Joanna leading a meditation called Breathing Through, recorded at a retreat in 2006. In it, she’ll guide you to create space to acknowledge and honor the pain for the world that you carry without numbing or getting overwhelmed. All you’ll need for this bonus exercise is a place where you can close your eyes and relax.

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Ep 5: This Pain Is Not for Nothing

Joanna & Jess — May 16, 2024

Now we get to what may be the toughest part of reckoning with our planet’s situation: dealing with numbness, grief, and despair. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the many crises around us, and natural to want to numb ourselves to the pain.

Joanna and Jess speak with great vulnerability and candor about what it takes to navigate our darkest feelings—and the strength and beauty that can be found when we honor our pain.

Trigger Warning: In this episode, we discuss suicide.

In this episode:

When it feels like our pain could swallow us whole, it helps to remember that all feelings come and go
Desperation can take us to dark places, but we are more than our despair
Numbness—Jess opens up about her familiar tactic for escaping pain
Our pain becomes sacred when we allow it to deepen our connection with the world
Bonus Exercise: Breathing Through

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Ep 4 Bonus: Breathing Through

Joanna & Jess — May 15, 2024

This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb deeper into your life.

This bonus is a recording of Joanna leading a meditation called Breathing Through, recorded at a retreat in 2006. In it, she’ll guide you to create space to acknowledge and honor the pain for the world that you carry without numbing or getting overwhelmed. All you’ll need for this bonus exercise is a place where you can close your eyes and relax.

Sounds True is a multimedia publishing company founded in 1985 by Tami Simon, with the mission of disseminating spiritual wisdom. The company is based in Lafayette, Colorado.

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Ep 3: We Begin with Gratitude

Joanna & Jess — May 2, 2024

Episode details

Resources

The WAGT Toolkit

Meet Your Hosts

Also By Author

Ep 5 Bonus: Breathing Through

Ep 5: This Pain Is Not for Nothing

Ep 4 Bonus: Breathing Through

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