Listening to the Land (Private event)

Integrating the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel teachings and the Work That Reconnects, this interactive workshop centers on human creativity and empathy as powerful tools to mitigate the climate crisis and repair essential relationships.

In this workshop, you’ll experience community exercises, tools and processes to:

• connect with fellow humans who share similar cares and concerns for earth
• feel, honour, and release our pain for the world 
• cultivate courage, creativity, and joy in ways that are renewable
• build resiliency and capacity to act for collective thriving
• support for clarifying your next steps in the Great Turning* to a life-sustaining world (peace, justice, and ecological restoration) 

The medicine wheel is a powerful tool used by many First Nations and Indigenous communities to better connect with the natural world and more deeply understand the knowledge, gifts, and teachings this world offers.  The Anishinaabe medicine wheel teachings make us aware of the multiple dimensions of our own wellbeing, and embolden us to act respectfully and reciprocally in our relationships with the more-than-human world.

Over the past five decades, Joanna Macy has created a body of teachings and group work that helps participants transform despair and apathy, in the face of social and ecological crises, into constructive, collaborative action.  This work, called the “Work That Reconnects,” brings a fresh way of seeing the world as our larger living body helps to clarify what we can do to support life on earth.

*The Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a life-sustaining civilization.

Facilitators:

Robin Macdonald is a spiritually-rooted facilitator, moving at the intersections of social justice, earth care, spirituality and mental health.  Part of the Scottish-Irish diaspora living on Turtle Island, Robin is a restorative justice practitioner, communal grief and Work that Reconnects facilitator, Yasodhara Yoga teacher and writer. Core to her work is the role of community in healing and thriving.

Julianna Morin is a member of the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation and identifies as a fat, white-presenting, Indigiqueer femme. They are honoured to live and work in their home community, Omamawenini Anishinaabe-aki – the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe First Nation. Julianna is a registered social worker and psychotherapist. They aim to mobilize their traditional teachings, roles and responsibilities, and social work experience to inspire individuals and families to achieve social and environmental justice.

There is no cost to participate in this event, however we ask you to rsvp by March 24th to help us plan and to be able to contact you with event information.  

Participation in the workshop includes a lunch-time post-event feedback session taking place on Tuesday April 4th from noon - 1 pm.  For those who can't make this time slot, a written feedback option is available.