Over dit evenement
Ancestors, Compost & Community at the Threshold of Dark Days
In the Northern Hemisphere, autumn is upon us and we invite you to come harvest the gifts of the season with a day of collective reconnecting. Guided by the spiral of the Work That Reconnects and supported by Deep Time, we will co-create unrushed space to reconnect with our bodies, our lineages, our community, and the rest of the natural world.
Cultures around the world celebrate autumn as a season powerful for its liminality. It bridges harvest and hibernation, light and dark, the spiritual realm with the earthly plane. It is a season that connects us with our ancestors, invites us to release and compost what is ready to die, and to remember where we find joy and sustenance in dark days.
As we head into the coming season of darkness, our busy, extroverted social and cultural rhythms often clash with the natural rhythms that ask us to slow down and go inwards. Not only can this leave us tired and dysregulated, it can rob us of the deep rest, regeneration, and creativity that need darkness and quiet to emerge. We offer this day of autumn-inspired ritual as a precious moment to pause at the threshold, to harvest, to listen, to be intentional about what we want to release, and to rededicate ourselves to the tending of our own soil.
What does this tending and reconnecting look like?
- Somatic practices to arrive in our bodies and care for our nervous systems
- Inviting benevolent ancestors and receiving their gifts
- Co-creating a container of care worthy of our stories
- A releasing and witnessing circle for expressing our truths
- Practices that build our capacity to honor and compost our pain for the world
- Embodying the community we long to be a part of
Why the Work That Reconnects?
The Work That Reconnects is a collection of teachings and practices that integrate deep ecology, systems thinking, engaged Buddhism, and indigenous wisdom traditions. Initially called Grief & Despair Work, it was designed to empower those who feel overwhelmed by their caring for the world to be able to grow our capacities to hold this pain so we can move through it towards wise action.
Facilitators
Hanna Jertz (she/her) and Rebecca Sampson (she/her) both found their way to facilitation through careers in sustainability, recognizing how fundamental our inner and interpersonal capacities are to doing this important and complex work well. They have both trained in the Art of Hosting and the Work That Reconnects, and together bring additional skills and experience related to various fields, including coaching, anti-oppression and liberation work, entrepreneurship, permaculture, systems thinking, and social, climate and imagination activism. An intergenerational duo, both carry a developed sense of intercultural awareness borne from their bicultural identities. As science-loving animists, they are ignited by what becomes possible when we recognize our inseparability from the living world.
Practicalities
Date & Time: Sunday 1 November, session runs 11:00 - 16:00, please arrive no later than 10:45
Location: Centrum EMMA, Cremerstraat 245/247, Utrecht (approximately 15-20 min walk from Utrecht CS - please see website for route description and parking options)
Language & Accessibility: The event will be hosted in English and we are able to offer occasional support with Dutch as needed. Weather permitting, we will make use of the garden so please dress to be comfortable both in and out of doors.
The facilities at Centrum EMMA are not currently wheelchair accessible. If you have any questions or requests about accessibility before registering, please contact us via this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSJOFREj8WwDdI6SwjE9zaZ_0B5H0oHDbjxd94x4pteEwg0A/viewform?usp=dialog
A light vegan lunch, snacks, and tea will be served. Please use the accessibility form to indicate any allergies.
We want this work to be accessible to all who feel called to participate. And we want to make such work the basis for our own livelihoods. If this offering feels right on time for you and the cost is a barrier to participation, please contact us via the contact link on this page to discuss reduced-price tickets.
Not sure what to expect? That’s part of the magic! Still want to know more? Here’s what others have experienced:
“Hanna and Rebecca created an atmosphere of true welcome and genuine warmth. I felt grounded by their continual sense of presence, guided by their command of the material, and nourished by the depth of sharing from the other participants. This is work I want to see more of in the world!” - K.C.
“The Work that Reconnects is timely, momentous work. It moves away from a linear "A to B," "let's-fix-it" mindset towards a space of feeling, accepting, and marveling at the worlds purpose practitioners carry within them…In just a few hours, Rebecca and Hanna held the space with quiet confidence, quickly convening a group of strangers into a small community. Truly remarkable, and much needed.” - M.M.
“Hanna and Rebecca led us in a wonderfully spacious, welcoming, and safe space that allowed us to move into sharing deeply and vulnerably with people we’d never met before…I left the 3-hour spiral workshop feeling nourished and replenished. I am deeply grateful for their offering and very glad I was able to attend.” - Y.S.
“At the tail end of “the worst” heatwave we have experienced in Europe so far (but not the last), it was imperative for me to come together in community to process this devastation. I felt held by the facilitators and the participants in this event, and we truly were able to work through the spiral (in a short workshop no less!) and come out of the event feeling more energized, less lonely and afraid, and knowing that we are doing this work for our future descendants. I can highly recommend this workshop for anyone who can't bear the climate catastrophe alone (which should be all of us) and want to feel invigorated by Active Hope.” - S.T..
Image Credit: Bilal Telci
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