Coming Together in a Time of Crisis (Online, Self-Paced)

This course is geared toward anyone interested in this topic - whether you are a health professional seeking ways to support people who are grappling with these issues, or whether you are simply showing up as a human being doing your best to grapple with these issues yourself.

This course is made available by donation on the checkout page

This course weaves together mindfulness and guided imagery, theoretical teachings, experiential large and small-group discussion and practices, and various media to provide a rich and engaging experience.

We find ourselves in an extraordinary time…

The recent Covid crisis has presented us with a strong taste of a globally shared crisis, alerting us to the propensity of humankind to move toward both division and alliance when facing a serious threat. Despite this particular crisis having settled down, many signs point to the emergence of further, and likely much more challenging, global crises that we personally and collectively face.

We see steadily increasing signs of the unravelling of many of the social systems many of us have generally taken for granted—government, economic, healthcare, political and international relations. Even more ominous are increasing signs of the breakdown of our deepest life support systems—the many Earth systems (ocean, terrestrial and climate) that our food web and our lives depend upon.

Understandably, many people are already experiencing strong reactions to this precarious situation, ranging from avoidance and denial on one extreme to overwhelming despair, anger or fear on the other extreme. Closely related to this, we notice increasing polarisations threatening to tear apart the fabric of our social relationships, from friendships and families all the way up to the national and international level.

And yet we also see the stirrings of people and organizations offering great care and kindness in the midst of this hardship – love in the face of fear, generosity in the face of scarcity.

Is it possible that such global crises may ultimately act as a catalyst for profound positive transformation, both personally and collectively? Can “breaking down” ultimately be an essential step in the path towards “breaking through” into greater resilience, harmony and health?

In this course, we will explore the ecological and spiritual underpinnings that unite all of humanity, and indeed all of life, a framework that allows us to dip into the deeper waters of our shared existence, a framework that can allow us to transcend the divisions of politics, religion and identity and meet in the “field beyond right and wrong.”

In particular, we will…

• Explore the concept of a universal spirituality – an Earth/Cosmos/Nature-based spirituality drawing from well-established nonsectarian frameworks of existential, psychological, ecological and systems perspective.
• Frame the course around key principles within the field of Deep Ecology and Joanna Macy's "The Work that Reconnects"
• Consider how such a spirituality can support us, personally and collectively, to face these crises
• Consider how the principles of trauma healing, complex systems change, evolution, emergence and organismic wisdom inform this approach
• Bring mindful attention to our own feelings, needs and values around these themes and issues
• Learn how to empathize with and be heard by others who share different perspectives than us
• Connect more fully with our personal values and explore how these can act as our compass through difficult times
• Explore specific actions we can take to care for ourselves, others and our shared home

Course structure
This course is divided into 4 separate modules. Each module contains a teaching presentation with slides and one or more exercises that you can engage with on your own or with a friend.

Investment
This course is made available freely to anyone - a donation is requested on the checkout page.