Joanna Macy and The Work That Reconnects Community
Books and Videos


JOANNA MACY: Climate Crisis as a Spiritual Path from Old Dog Documentaries on Vimeo.


Naropa Lecture
“The Courage to See, the Power to Choose” with Joanna Macy, PhD
Naropa University 2014

Non-stop war-making, climate chaos, lost harvests, poisoned seas and bodies, refugees in the millions pouring over borders while millions of Americans are locked in prison… How do we relate to such immensities of suffering? How can we dare to see the pain when we don’t know how to stop it? The helplessness of the bystander falls away as we discover that the pain is our own. What willingness arises then? And what clarity of choice? More at www.naropa.edu.


FREE STREAMING VIDEO SERIES:

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Eco-philosopher, teacher, writer, mother, and friend-of-all-life, Joanna Macy, has generously consented to share free of charge with all who may be interested, the heart of her current teaching and training work.

Table of Contents:  Workshop Series via Streaming Video

Chapter 1:  Welcome   (1:26)

Chapter 2:  You Can Do This Work   (2:45)

Chapter 3:  The Spiral of the Work   (7:25)

Chapter 4:  Open Sentences   (10:44)

Chapter 5:  Gratitude as a Revolutionary Act   (5:42)

Chapter 6:  The Great Turning   (35:58 in 3 linked segments)

Chapter 7:  The Milling   (22:38 in 2 linked segments)

Chapter 8:  The Truth Mandala   (24:56 in 2 linked segments)

Chapter 9:  Breathing Through   (10:28)

Chapter 10:  The Ecological Self   (27:08 in 3 linked segments)

Chapter 11:  The Systems View of Life   (47:48 in 4 linked segments)

Chapter 12:  Widening Circles   (9:53)

Chapter 13:  Deep Time Work   (3:49)

Recent talk on Deep Time (43 min) 2014

Chapter 14:  The Gifts of the Ancestors   (11:14)

Chapter 15:  The Seventh Generation   (24:07 in 2 linked segments)

Chapter 16:  Goals and Resources for the Great Turning   (11:57)

Chapter 17:  Epilogue   (2:34)


The Work That Reconnects (2-DVD set)  presented above

This two-DVD set, all segments of which you may view in low resolution on this web site, presents the teachings and methods of The Work That Reconnects, empowering people to respond with truth and creativity to the overwhelming social and ecological crises facing our planet. A powerful visual tool building on Joanna Macy’s book Coming Back to Life (see below), this valuable resource is a light in the political darkness of our time. The lively, personal presentation of Joanna’s work will appeal to workshop facilitators and participants alike, as well as anyone with an interest in personal transformation.
 BOOKS BY JOANNA MACY:

  coming-back-to-life-2014-cover N E W   E D I T I O N
Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work that Reconnects  2014 Edition


Deepening global crises surround us. We are beset by climate change, fracking, tar sands extraction, GMOs, and mass extinctions of species, to say nothing of nuclear weapons proliferation and Fukushima, the worst nuclear disaster in history. Many of us fall prey to despair even as we feel called to respond to these threats to life on our planet.

Authors Joanna Macy and Molly Brown address the anguish experienced by those who would confront the harsh realities of our time. In this fully updated edition of Coming Back to Life, they show how grief, anger, and fear are healthy responses to threats to life, and when honored can free us from paralysis or panic, through the revolutionary practice of the Work that Reconnects. New chapters address working within the corporate world, and engaging communities of color as well as youth in the Work.

The Work that Reconnects has spread around the world, inspiring hundreds of thousands to work toward a life-sustaining human culture. Coming Back to Life introduces the Work’s theoretical foundations, illuminating the angst of our era with extraordinary insight. Pointing the way forward out of apathy, it offers personal counsel as well as easy-to-use methods for group work that profoundly affect peoples’ outlook and ability to act in the world.

Joanna Macy is a scholar, eco-philosopher, teacher, activist, and author of twelve previous books including Coming Back to Life.

Molly Young Brown is a teacher, trainer, counselor, and author of four previous books on psychology and Earth-based spirituality.


Look for this book in your local library, order from your local bookstore (ISBN=9780865717756), or click the button below to see online bookstore links.




World as Lover, World as Self:
Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal

A new beginning for the environment must start with a new spiritual outlook. In this book, author Joanna Macy offers concrete suggestions for just that, showing how each of us can change the attitudes that continue to threaten our environment. Using the Buddha’s teachings on “Paticca Samuppada,” which stresses the interconnectedness of all things in the world and suggests that any one action affects all things, Macy describes how decades of ignoring this principle has resulted in a self-centeredness that has devastated the environment. Humans, Macy implores, must acknowledge and understand their connectedness to their world and begin to move toward a more focused effort to save it.


Look for this book in your local library, order from your local bookstore (ISBN=9781888375718), or click the button below to see online bookstore links.




Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory:
The Dharma of Natural Systems

This book brings important new dimensions to the interface between contemporary Western science and ancient Eastern wisdom. Here for the first time the concepts and insights of general systems theory are presented in tandem with those of the Buddha. The interdependence of all beings provides the context for clarifying both the role of meditative practice and guidelines for effective action on behalf of the common good. Published by the State University of New York Press.


Look for this book in your local library, order from your local bookstore (ISBN=9780791406373), or click the button below to see online bookstore links.




Widening Circles: A Memoir

In this absorbing memoir, well-known eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, and deep ecology activist/teacher Joanna Macy recounts her adventures of mind and spirit in the key social movements of our era. From involvement with the CIA and the Cold War, through experiences in Africa, India and Tibet, to her encounter with the Dalai Lama and Buddhism which led to her life-long embrace of the religion and a deep commitment to the peace and environmental movements, Macy’s autobiography reads like a novel as she reflects on how her marriage and family life enriched her service to the world. Widening Circles reveals the unique synthesis of spirituality and activism that define Macy’s contribution to the world.


Look for this book in your local library, order from your local bookstore (ISBN=9781897408018), or click the button below to see online bookstore links.