MOVING THE DECISION MAKERS: A workshop for Climate, Social, or Political Activists on creating and shaping short stories to be used to address truth to power and influence policy and behavioral change. This is a 2 session class of 2 hours each that will use a great deal of break-out time for team work.
Everyone whose stock and trade is story understanding that it is a powerful and lasting means of communication because it can builds empathy and identification with an issue and move folks in a direction of activism. This workshop will help activists draw on this power by creating tales to be used when addressing political and community decision makers. 3 meetings/90 minutes each on-line or live
STORIES FOR ALLIES
Storytellers have oft been warned: “Stay away from my culture, you don’t understand it.” Respectfully, we do not interpret culturally specific stories unless we learn them from the cultural font and are given permission to communicate them. How then can we support diverse communities in their quest for environmental and social justice, sharing their issues and hopes with a broader world? We will explore respectful ways to consider, share, create empathy and press for action in stories we tell, even if you are not born of the culture.
This is a 90% participatory workshop with many opportunities to connect with others, explore the issues, and emerge with a story. 3 hours on-line or live
ATTENDING TO OUR SOULS IN A DYING WORLD
I have always been impressed and a little jealous of people with deep religious practices. These are the folks who don’t seem to burn out from social/political/environmental action, because their fuel comes from a deeper place.
As we experience our world either in or moving towards collapse, those of us without religious affiliation that offers a place of safety, energy regeneration, and spiritual renewal might be in search of this without the rigid framework of theology. Some of us even hold the hope that a new way of connecting deeply with both our natural world (our host), and each other (our human community) can forge a new way of being that moves us away from extreme consumerism and towards collaborative communities that can live harmoniously with the planet and one-another. The key to this, if observation and experience serve, needs to include integrating the spirit of love, or whatever you experience as the divine nature or essence of the universe, into our daily being.
During our time together we will explore:
-Our own and each others humanity
-Our individual theologies and how they interface with the present experience of our collapsing bio-sphere
-What are we mourning?
-In our desire to identify with and maintain the viability of the biosphere, What do you want from your spiritual practice?
-How can we acknowledge and integrate the natural world, its voice and needs into our practices?
-What parts of our beings get in the way of creating and maintaining this practice?
-We will culminate the session by each creating and sharing a practice that keeps us grounded, hopeful, and connected. 3/90 minute session on-live or live