Joanna Macy- The Work that Reconnects

[orig published 2016-10-11--1812hest]


@WTReconnects
Joanna Macy's 'The Work That Reconnects'
http://www.joannamacy.net/
http://workthatreconnects.org/
#emotional #healing #faith #hope


I did a workshop based off of Joanna Macy's work before.
It built some trust, it opened to ideas of complexity theory and chaos in seeing how 'simple rules', like each person in a crowd looking at one person and trying to stay the same distance away as everyone else is moving around, turns into complex, 'chaotic' and unpredictable-seeming behaviour on the surface, even though there is a unifying principle, which may be 'telological'- or 'goal directed'/intentional, which may serve as part of an autopoietic or homeostatic regulating principle for an organism or meta-organism or process/etc- that is, it serves to keep a system moving towards a certain goal, or to regulate itself into  a stable state that allows it to maintain its existence.  'Complexity' (as in 'Complexity Theory') is a word sometimes used to describe systems that seem 'chaotic' (as in 'Chaos Theory') but have underlying organizing principles or structures/functions/processes that can be understood, but sometimes evade linear or reductionist methods for solving or analyzing them- they may require the ability to recognize patterns that exist in a more holistic form and 'work back' inductively to the principles or rules or functions (like a 'fractal) which are generating the system.  'Autopoiesis' is a term often used to describe 'complex system' which can generate or 'self-generate' themselves- a property ascribed to most organisms we define as 'living systems'.

Some of the struggle and inspiration from which this workshop series evolved was the hopelessness of activists who were burning out fighting what seemed to be unwinable battles - in this case against nuclear disarmament, primarily-  and burning out.  When emotions and trauma and struggles became overwhelming, people would retreat from their emotions, often suppressing them, and then becoming unable to face these bigger problems in themselves, and the world.  The point of 'The work that reconnects' in large part, is to help people move towards opening their emotions again, healing and restoring their sense of hope and faith and goodness, in themselves, in others, the world, and the possibilities for the future, and being able find a balance with their emotions, struggles in the world, and what they might feel is a life path, spiritual meaning, or simply existing and experiencing the world in a good way; resolving the problems and being able to feel, and connect, and love themselves and others again with or without resolving the struggles from which this blockage arose (but I believe part of the hope is that when we can stay connected to our hearts and love and relationships and 'heart' and simple existence as living beings in families, friendship, and communities- people can have meaningful and joyful existences even amidst the struggles, and the ever-present ominous shadow of mortality, by being present with an existence- however mundane-seeming at times, like 'family' and community', that is bigger than ourselves, and gives us a sense of meaning and continuity even when our own individual lives or existences may seem to be approaching an end.)

There are other teachers and tools related to this sort of struggle and experience that I hope to share later.