10 March 2008
The Great Turning
Posted by Aether under: Community News .
Joanna Macy is a Gaian treasure (that’s an upgrade these days from being acknowledged a national treasure). I am just learning about her and her work, and have been very moved and inspired by what little I’ve had a chance to digest so far. Her concept of The Great Turning is magnificent, and presented in such a refreshingly humble manner. The cultural process of shifting from an industrial / extraction / growth oriented civilization to a life sustaining organically renewing culture is what is unfolding within our lifetimes, and she says that future generations may very well look back on our times (if we succeed) and refer to it as The Great Turning. I love it!
On her webpages she offers numerous resources to align oneself with The Great Turning. She also speaks at events worldwide and if you are fortunate enough to be present at one of her presentations or participate in one of her workshops than you can count yourself quite blessed within the times we live in.
Joanna Macy & The Great Turning
In particular, I am quite fond of her personal guidelines for The Great Turning. The “Act Your Age” one is so resoundingly alive with the overall intentions of this website. “Since every particle in your body goes back to the first flaring forth of space and time, you’re really as old as the universe. So when you are lobbying at your congress person’s office, or visiting your local utility, or testifying at a hearing on nuclear waste, or standing up to protect an old grove of redwoods, you are doing that not out of some personal whim, but in the full authority of your 15 billions years.” Brilliant!
She also offers some deeply resonant experiences in a section of her website entitled New Practices. They are meditations, exercises, and group participations that offer participants the opportunity to connect with unfolding processes in ways that might not be readily apparent. I was particularly drawn to the “Bowing to your adversaries” practice. This is a good lesson for me, to express gratitude and appreciation for the insights that I have gathered in the face of what is all too easy to describe as an opponent.
Thank you Joanna for the inspiring path you have chosen to embody. It is very much appreciated, and I look forward to learning more from you as the path unfolds.
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