Since we’ve just completed the release of our 10-part series, We Are the Great Turning, we wanted to introduce you to another podcast with a spirit similar to ours: Outrage + Optimism. The episode we’re going to play for you is called “Our Story of Nature: From Rupture to Reconnection.” It’s the first in a miniseries that shines a light on our relationship to the rest of nature. Remembering our place in the web of life is an essential part of building the Great Turning. Be sure to subscribe to t...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since we’ve just completed the release of our 10-part series, We Are the Great Turning, we wanted to introduce you to another podcast with a spirit similar to ours: Outrage + Optimism. The episode we’re going to play for you is called “Our Story of Nature: From Rupture to Reconnection.” It’s the first in a miniseries that shines a light on our relationship to the rest of nature. Remembering our place in the web of life is an essential part of building the Great Turning. Be sure to subscribe to t...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 10, “We Are the Great Turning,” Joanna shares a story called the “Shambala Warrior Prophecy,” which was told to her by her friend, Tibetan Monk Chogyal Rinpoche. Joanna was tasked with teaching this prophecy in the West, and it’s one of her most famous teachings. We wanted to separate the story from Episode 10 so that you can come back to the story again and again, whenever you need the inspiration and wisdom it offers. Here is Joanna telling the Shambhala Warrior Prophecy. We recomme...
Jun 20, 2024•8 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast In Episode 10, “We Are the Great Turning,” Joanna shares a story called the “Shambala Warrior Prophecy,” which was told to her by her friend, Tibetan Monk Chogyal Rinpoche. Joanna was tasked with teaching this prophecy in the West, and it’s one of her most famous teachings. We wanted to separate the story from Episode 10 so that you can come back to the story again and again, whenever you need the inspiration and wisdom it offers. Here is Joanna telling the Shambhala Warrior Prophecy. We recomme...
Jun 20, 2024•8 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 10, “We Are the Great Turning,” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “Callings and Resources.” In it, you and a friend will take turns interviewing each other. You’ll name a contribution you’d like to make in service of the Great Turning, take inventory of the resources you have and need to achieve your goal, and clarify the small next steps you can t...
Jun 20, 2024•50 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 10, “We Are the Great Turning,” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “Callings and Resources.” In it, you and a friend will take turns interviewing each other. You’ll name a contribution you’d like to make in service of the Great Turning, take inventory of the resources you have and need to achieve your goal, and clarify the small next steps you can t...
Jun 20, 2024•50 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast As this journey around the spiral comes to a close, Jess brings us back to the table with Joanna for one last profound conversation. Joanna shares an ancient Tibetan prophecy, “The Coming of the Kingdom of Shambhala,” which shows us that the way we build the Great Turning is through compassion and insight into the radical interdependence of all things. Jess reflects on the transformative experience of making this podcast, and Joanna expresses deep love and belief in Jess and her generation, urgi...
Jun 20, 2024•30 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast As this journey around the spiral comes to a close, Jess brings us back to the table with Joanna for one last profound conversation. Joanna shares an ancient Tibetan prophecy, “The Coming of the Kingdom of Shambhala,” which shows us that the way we build the Great Turning is through compassion and insight into the radical interdependence of all things. Jess reflects on the transformative experience of making this podcast, and Joanna expresses deep love and belief in Jess and her generation, urgi...
Jun 20, 2024•30 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 9: “Live the Questions Now” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “The Bodhisattva Check-In.” In Buddhism, the bodhisattva is the archetype of the compassionate person who devotes themself to collective well-being. In this exercise, you will be invited to use your imagination to “step in” to each of the circumstances of your life in order to make the c...
Jun 13, 2024•14 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 9: “Live the Questions Now” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “The Bodhisattva Check-In.” In Buddhism, the bodhisattva is the archetype of the compassionate person who devotes themself to collective well-being. In this exercise, you will be invited to use your imagination to “step in” to each of the circumstances of your life in order to make the c...
Jun 13, 2024•14 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to building the Great Turning, it's natural to have questions: What is my individual role in it all? How do we win? Who do we fight? While Jess wrestles with her desire for a “prescription” of what to do, Joanna invites us to "live the questions" instead. In this episode, we learn about the three dimensions of the Great Turning and the way forward: community, relationship, and solidarity. In this episode: There are no perfect road maps, but if we come together in courage and commun...
Jun 13, 2024•23 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast When it comes to building the Great Turning, it's natural to have questions: What is my individual role in it all? How do we win? Who do we fight? While Jess wrestles with her desire for a “prescription” of what to do, Joanna invites us to "live the questions" instead. In this episode, we learn about the three dimensions of the Great Turning and the way forward: community, relationship, and solidarity. In this episode: There are no perfect road maps, but if we come together in courage and commun...
Jun 13, 2024•23 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores the powerful role of Eros (sensual love) and Thanatos (death) in fueling our connection to the world as we contribute to the Great Turning. Joanna and Jess discuss how we might learn to see our world as our lover (and as our self), the gifts of cultivating a sensual connection with the world, and how facing mortality can make the gift of being alive feel even more precious. They also reflect on the closeness of Joanna’s own death, which Joanna sees as "going home" to rejoin...
Jun 06, 2024•31 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores the powerful role of Eros (sensual love) and Thanatos (death) in fueling our connection to the world as we contribute to the Great Turning. Joanna and Jess discuss how we might learn to see our world as our lover (and as our self), the gifts of cultivating a sensual connection with the world, and how facing mortality can make the gift of being alive feel even more precious. They also reflect on the closeness of Joanna’s own death, which Joanna sees as "going home" to rejoin...
Jun 06, 2024•31 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 7: “We Are a Part of a River of Time” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “The Seventh Generation,” which she talks about in Episode 7. We recommend listening to the episode before doing this bonus. In this exercise, you will be invited to use your imagination and do some creative, guided role-playing with a friend, where one of you will speak as you...
May 30, 2024•26 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 7: “We Are a Part of a River of Time” deeper into your life. Jess will guide you through an adaptation of the Work That Reconnects exercise called “The Seventh Generation,” which she talks about in Episode 7. We recommend listening to the episode before doing this bonus. In this exercise, you will be invited to use your imagination and do some creative, guided role-playing with a friend, where one of you will speak as you...
May 30, 2024•26 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Jess and Joanna explore the third phase of the spiral: Seeing with New Eyes. In this part of the spiral, the fog of our pain begins to lift off, and what comes in its place is a feeling of greater connection and belonging. Jess and Joanna talk about Deep Time, a way of understanding ourselves as a part of a long lineage of human and planetary history, and how our imaginations are an essential tool for “plugging back in” to the great web of life we’re a part of. In this episode: Discovering ways ...
May 30, 2024•31 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Jess and Joanna explore the third phase of the spiral: Seeing with New Eyes. In this part of the spiral, the fog of our pain begins to lift off, and what comes in its place is a feeling of greater connection and belonging. Jess and Joanna talk about Deep Time, a way of understanding ourselves as a part of a long lineage of human and planetary history, and how our imaginations are an essential tool for “plugging back in” to the great web of life we’re a part of. In this episode: Discovering ways ...
May 30, 2024•31 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 23, 2024•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 23, 2024•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 16, 2024•13 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 16, 2024•13 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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 e...
May 16, 2024•26 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast 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 e...
May 16, 2024•26 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb deeper into your life. 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 star...
May 15, 2024•13 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast This bonus episode will support you to take the main insights from Episode 4: There is No Future if We Go Numb deeper into your life. 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 star...
May 15, 2024•13 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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 purpo...
May 09, 2024•22 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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 purpo...
May 09, 2024•22 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ho...
May 02, 2024•12 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ho...
May 02, 2024•12 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast