Facilitating Deep Ecology and The Work That Reconnects

In this workshop, we explore the art of facilitating The Work that Reconnects, with particular emphasis on Despair and Empowerment facilitation and processes. As facilitators, we wish to create safe opportunities for participants in groups to express their worldly concerns, to enable them to move into their empowerment, and to explore ways they can more easily act on these concerns.

The Facilitation Training Workshop is geared towards those who wish to gain skills in facilitating Deep Ecology and The Work That Reconnects as well as those who are facilitators in other fields who would like to add the flavours of this Work to their current practice.

The training is a mix of experiential processes combined with debriefing sessions and a sprinkling of teaching segments on group facilitation.

The full richness of the experience of participants is drawn upon as well as that of Ruth Rosenhek, MS Organisational Management and facilitator of Deep Ecology workshops worldwide since 1995. Ruth Rosenhek has worked extensively with John Seed and was introduced to the work itself through Joanna Macy.

Ruth's many skills include the remarkable ability to improvise and adapt her processes as she works with a group. Her process intro's, the linking
between processes, and indeed her ability to change stream to accommodate the group at any given moment, are all lovely to experience.  She will enable us to fill up our kit bag so we too can pull out just what is needed by the groups we facilitate.

Because we only have enough space for 30 people we are inviting facilitators who we believe already recognise the value of, and increasing need for, Despair and Empowerment work.

And of course this work is needed throughout society, not just in the obvious areas of social change.  It is all social change.

If you know someone who would benefit and enjoy honing their skills in such a workshop please pass this on.

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TESTIMONIALS

From Ruth Yeatman's letter to Joanna Macy:

Waking people up and getting the work of despair and empowerment out into the broader community is our priority, and creating opportunities for new facilitators to get practised in presenting the work is part of this vision.

In January we decided to hold a two day facilitator training to further explore the art of facilitating The Work that Reconnects, with particular emphasis on despair and empowerment facilitation and processes. All sorts of people jumped at the chance to do this work, and we ended up with a full house.

We invited Ruth Rosenhek to lead this training.  I first experienced Ruth's facilitation with John Seed in 1998 and I was struck then by her creative and organic style of facilitation.  She tuned into the group quickly and demonstrated great insight, imagination, and compassion. Her ability to improvise and 'go with' the group was really like watching an artist at work.  Like you Joanna, she makes the Work very alive and accessible.

The workshop was more successful than I anticipated, so much so that the 32 people who attended asked Ruth for a follow-up later in the year and we have now scheduled a weekend workshop in August. I really look forward to continuing exploring this interesting development with her.

I was interested to see how she went about training us in the Work and was bowled over by her profound teaching ability.  She's a natural.  I've been lucky enough to observe a number of good facilitation teachers and I believe what Ruth offers is quite unique and special.  I think you would be delighted to witness Ruth's work.

I thought I'd let you know that Ruth may consider doing some training workshops with facilitators in Canada and America alongside the time she visits her family in Canada, some time this year.  I have no doubt that my fellow Seedlings, and many others, would love to do this work with her.

Below are three testimonials from some of the participants, including one from Glenda Lindsay.  These are still coming in but I thought you might be interested to read what people said about the workshop.

Much love,

Ruth Yeatman

Ruth Rosenhek's modelling of skillful, inclusive, focused and sensitive facilitation was really valuable and the exercises expansive, affirming and profound. Well done team!

- GLENDA LINDSAY, community food growing advocate

The weekend with Ruth Rosenhek was an energizing event for me. The  enthusiasm and commitment of the 30 or so participants was inspirational in itself but I found Ruth's facilitation built on this basis and enabled the  group to enter deeply into their desires for The Great Turning.

I learned a great deal from Ruth's introduction to each of the  despair and empowerment activities and felt that they offered a cognitive insight into the experiential processes. Her gentleness did nothing to impede the communication of her passion for the work. Ruth modelled in so many ways, and so reminded me yet again, that as a facilitator one must continue to do one's own inner work so as to evoke the connections and insights in  others.

I also felt that there was a great spirit of openness in the group such that Ruth easily shared aspects of the process with others and so provided a range of learning experiences for all.

A weekend well spent - thank you to  all.

- ANNE BOYD

My passion for doing the work that reconnects us to the Earth and each other in these crisis times has always exceeded my confidence and skills to act - probably always will, as the more I learn and grow, the bigger the vision gets!  This weekend made me remember just how many of us shambhala warriors there are - how we're all doing the Work in unique ways - and how we form community in our connections.  I feel more connected, freshly inspired, supported and encouraged in my path as I plan some big steps for 2008 and 2009.  It was lovely to deepen my experience with the different processes.  I realised how a workshop like this is effective for very simple reasons - we connect, we practice, we network, and we feel safe to open our hearts.  Thank you Ruth for sharing your experience with generosity and authenticity - you are walking the talk!  And gratitude to Joanna Macy who from a distance continues to make my life direction clearer.

- LIA DOWNES