Session 5: Bringing the Foundations to Life

February 18, 2023 // 9am-11am ET

Join the session here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81788771047?pwd=ZE41TnZwTVRVUFhrUDZqYUpzcFhuUT09

Meeting ID: 817 8877 1047

Passcode: 452564

“Different people will find themselves at different gages of a movement. Some will want to make a decision against dividedness, some will need to join with others for support, some will have to learn how to “go public,” and some will try to find alternative rewards. Every stage has a contribution to make not only to the cause, but to the person. At every stage of a movement there is both power to help change happen and encouragement for disheartened souls. Wherever we are on this journey, a step taken to renew our spirits may turn out to be a step toward [institutional] renewal…”

– Parker J. Palmer

Session Overview

For session five, we’ll create space to reflect on what we’ve learned together throughout the program and begin to turn outward from this experience, imagining how we might bring the foundations of this approach more deeply into our lives and the communities we care about, whether personally or professionally.

In advance of the session we invite you to:

• Read the poem “We Look With Uncertainty” by Anne Hillman
• Watch the “Standing in the Tragic Gap” video with Parker Palmer
• Revisit the Movement Model of Social Change on page 11 of the Foundations document, paying special attention to stages 3 and 4 of the model
• Think back to the learnings and reflections that stood out to you most during the program and make note of any insights and questions that you’re holding about the inner teacher, core values, personal and societal wholeness, touchstones, principles and practices, or anything else that’s stirring in you.

Questions for Reflection

What is emerging for you ‘beyond old choices and clear cut answers?’ What is being ‘born in you?’

How are you daring to be a ‘human creature’ at this time?

What questions are you holding about a ‘new doorway?’

What thoughts, insights, or reservations are you having about integrating the foundations of this approach into your life?

“The soul is generous: it takes in the needs of the world. The soul is wise: it suffers without shutting down. The soul is hopeful: it engages the world in ways that keep opening our hearts. The soul is creative: it finds a path between realities that might defeat us and fantasies that are mere escapes. All we need to do is to bring down the wall that separates us from our own souls and deprives the world of the soul’s regenerative powers.”

– Parker J. Palmer