This awesome 6 week training begins TOMORROW!? Monday, June 1st and ends on Monday, July 6th.??(Note:? some of the specifics are USA-centric yet the skills and strategies are universally applicable and policies adaptable)
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TIME: 4:30 ¨C 6:30 PM ¨C Pacific Daylight Time (5:30pm MDT, 6:30pm CDT, 7:30pm EDT)
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To register:? ?
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WHAT WE KNOW:
- Membership in white supremacy groups is on the rise as are violent attacks by those who identify as white supremacists
- We are facing environmental catastrophes of unprecedented proportions and the potential destruction of the life-support system of our planet
- Refugees, immigrants, and undocumented workers are facing greater threats to their security and safety
- The gap between the wealthiest 1% of people and the remaining 99% continues to rise
- People of all ages, races, genders, ethnicities, and religions are feeling more fearful and distressed
WHAT WE NEED TO DO:
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We have a strategy to turn the tide: build an inclusive social change movement that is warm, welcoming, and loving, and that puts forth a positive vision of the world we want
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HOW WE CAN DO IT:
- Engage in political conversations with prophetic empathy and revolutionary love
- Encourage social change organizations to put forth a positive vision of the world they want and visionary proposals to get there
- Help the Left unify identity politics (which can divide people), class issues (including a powerful analysis of capitalism), and universal values (of love, empathy, and justice) to help unite people across differences.
In this six-session training by the Network of Spiritual Progressives and?Tikkun?magazine led by Cat Zavis, you will be in an environment in which your desire for a loving, caring, just, and sustainable world will be embraced and encouraged. You will be given the tools you need to bring that vision into the world through concrete proposals and programs that can create lasting systemic change.
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In this training, you will gain the following skills:
- How to listen to people who do not share a progressive worldview?without criticism and blame
- How to express empathy and understanding for contrary points of view without necessarily agreeing with those views
- How to identify the needs (social, political, spiritual) of the person who expresses a position with which you don¡¯t necessarily agree
- How to express the vision of a world based on a New Bottom Line
- Understanding of how the Right attracts people who are not racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and whose economic interests are with the Left ¨C and how to win them back
- How to take these ideas into local social change organizations, or religious or spiritual communities, seek endorsements for proposals from elected officials, and raise these issues with your friends
By the end of the training we hope that you will become active?in one of the following ways (we will discuss this in greater detail during the training):
- Join the efforts of the Network of Spiritual Progressives?to build a movement that seeks a fundamental transformation of our society sufficient to save the environment, democratize our economy, and replace a society based on selfishness and materialism with a society based on love, compassion, and generosity.
- Commit to share what you learn in our training with some other social change organization(s).
- Create a local love and justice circle and/or prophetic empathy practice group.
WHERE:?The training is conducted on?, a video conferencing platform that allows us to see one another and break into small groups. It is possible to participate via computer, phone, or other devices from anywhere.
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You will learn about the psychological and spiritual suffering that people experience living in our society and how to help people both understand and overcome it, strategies to create meaningful and lasting systemic change, and skills in empathic listening and speaking that will help?you reshape the liberal and progressive world so that it can be more effective in?reaching?across the divide?to speak to those who didn¡¯t vote in 2016 or to that section of the Trump voters who are not racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, or anti-Semitic. Sessions will include readings, role-plays, listening to role-plays of Rabbi Lerner and Cat?Zavis, group practice, and large and small group discussion.?This training will only work if you commit time outside these sessions to do the homework that includes outreach exercises, readings, and watching videos. We encourage you to try and find one or two people in your community or network (local or otherwise) to take the training with so you have a buddy for ongoing support and engagement throughout the training. In addition, it is our hope to partner participants with folks who have previously taken the training for additional support and guidance.
More details including week by week outline:
Susan