We Are The Great Turning Joanna Macy & Jessica Serrante

When it comes to the state of our world, the concept of hope can feel elusive. Joanna teaches Jess that the future may be uncertain, but that means that there’s still room for something beautiful to happen. This episode offers insights into embracing uncertainty, cultivating joyousness, and understanding the intricate interplay between hope, courage, and action.



In this episode:



“Active hope” is about acting in service of the future we hope for

Whenever Jess asks about hope, Joanna talks instead about courage 

When hope eludes us, courage and our devotion to life remain steadfast



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.

This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb and Episode 5: This Pain Is Not for Nothing, deeper into your life. 



Both of these episodes are about the second phase in the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects, Honoring Our Pain for the World. This bonus is a recording of Joanna leading a meditation called Breathing Through, recorded at a retreat in 2006. In it, she’ll guide you to create space to acknowledge and honor the pain for the world that you carry without numbing or getting overwhelmed. All you’ll need for this bonus exercise is a place where you can close your eyes and relax.  



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.



 

Now we get to what may be the toughest part of reckoning with our planet’s situation: dealing with numbness, grief, and despair. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the many crises around us, and natural to want to numb ourselves to the pain. 



Joanna and Jess speak with great vulnerability and candor about what it takes to navigate our darkest feelings—and the strength and beauty that can be found when we honor our pain. 



Trigger Warning: In this episode, we discuss suicide.



In this episode:



When it feels like our pain could swallow us whole, it helps to remember that all feelings come and go

Desperation can take us to dark places, but we are more than our despair

Numbness—Jess opens up about her familiar tactic for escaping pain

Our pain becomes sacred when we allow it to deepen our connection with the world

Bonus Exercise: Breathing Through



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.

We recorded this conversation just after news broke of the Biden administration’s approval of the controversial Willow Project, opening up millions of wilderness acres in Alaska to new fossil fuel drilling. Jess captured in real time how Joanna processes the fresh outrage and sorrow of this insult to the planet from the very culpable powers that be. It’s a master class in being present with these feelings—feelings that can give rise to determination, courage, and recommitment to our shared purpose.



In this episode:



As the news of the Willow Project breaks, Joanna flows through outrage and sorrow 

The second step on the spiral: what does it mean to honor our pain, and how do we do it?



Bonus Exercise: Breathing Through



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com. 

This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 3, “We Begin with Gratitude,” deeper into your life. 



In Episode 3, we talked about how in the Work That Reconnects we always start with gratitude, because it gives us the strength to speak the truth and act in service of life.



Lovingkindness meditation is a simple and powerful way to feel and express our gratitude and love for our world. 



All you need to do this bonus exercise is a quiet place where you can meditate. We hope you’ll do this exercise with someone else, so that you can talk together about your experience after you finish.



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.



 

When things are at their darkest, what is it that “allows you to see promise and allows you to see beauty?” Joanna begins her exploration of some of the most difficult emotions and circumstances we face in a surprising place: with gratitude. This episode introduces the concept of the spiral, the basic structure of the Work That Reconnects. 



In this episode:



Why it’s necessary to speak our darkest thoughts out loud

How to follow our fear and pain into a state of profound gratitude

The spiral of the Work That Reconnects: gratitude, honoring our pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth

Bonus Exercise: “Gratitude Meditation”—the first stage on the spiral



We recommend starting a podcast club with friends or family to do these practices together. Links and assets to help prompt reflection and build community can be found with every episode on WeAreTheGreatTurning.com.