“Grind culture has taken over every facet of our lives. The real fear of what could happen if we step into the unknown is crafted by capitalism and its cult of busyness and productivity. We are wrapped up in a web that feels inescapable and hopeless. Will you trust me and trust your divinity enough to believe it is indeed not hopeless? Can you trust, even for a second, that we can reside in a rested future? I ask for us to walk this road slowly together, lay down together and collectively care for each other in a way that makes rest possible.”
– Tricia Hersey from Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto
Do you find yourself in work that is killing your spirit, even work that you love on some levels, maybe many levels, maybe no levels? Soul Care: A Circle of Trust for Challenging Grind Culture is a series of seven two-hour sessions, shaped by the Courage & Renewal® approach, is designed to support anyone overwhelmed by “grind culture,” the inhumane expectations in our society to prioritize work and productivity above everything else. How do we uphold our values for wholeness, balance, well-being, and integrity in the face of an onslaught of dysfunctional external as well as internal cultural and institutional demands? There is no easy solution, but I’m convinced that by creating an ongoing Circle of Trust®, we can support one another in taking steps on our own individual paths toward a saner, healthier, more loving way of life. This challenge to grind culture is a courageous, essential part of societal transformation.
Practicing the Touchstones, guidelines for creating a Circle of Trust, we invite a trustworthy, sacred, confidential space in which to do our own inner work in solitude and community. In each session, we have the opportunity to listen deeply to our inner teacher (soul, spirit, still small voice, inner guide, integrity, whatever you may call this) and to one another in small groups and the whole group, speaking from the heart. Since a Circle of Trust is enriched by metaphors, we will reflect on “third things”: poetry, prose, images, experiences in the natural world, video, and song. The quality of the space is shaped by the practices that everything we do is invitational, and there is no fixing, advising, saving, or correcting. Instead listening generously and learning to ask open, honest questions unfold new possibilities in our relationships with self and others. Holding paradox, our hearts find new ways forward together in our increasingly violent and exquisite, mystery-rich world.
This retreat series is based on the work of Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. The Courage & Renewal approach, described in Palmer’s book A Hidden Wholeness, focuses on cultivating our inner capacity to live a more authentic, meaningful, and engaged life. Informed by Courage & Renewal Principles, Practices, and Touchstones, we can wholeheartedly create a trustworthy, brave space with our attention, imagination, and confidential conversations.
Photo by Sam Bark on unsplash
The Center for Courage & Renewal and its facilitators do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status.
