September 21st - November 9th

The Essential

Joanna Macy

Facilitated by Lydia Violet.
with pre-recorded teaching from Joanna Macy

Curriculum by Joanna Macy
and Lydia Violet.

Come on in!

Have you been hearing the name “Joanna Macy” over the years, as you’ve explored sustainability, activism, climate grief, engaged Buddhism, or systems thinking? Looking for resources to help you sustain yourself through the promise and peril of these times?

Studying Joanna’s work - and putting it into practice - has been pivotal for thousands of people for over 40 years. In today’s moment of intersecting, accelerating planetary challenges, Joanna’s teachings continue to be a profound resource, for orienting ourselves to what’s going on, and finding our ways to stay present and contribute to this world we love.

Maybe you’re already familiar with her work, and would love to dive deeper into her most essential teachings.

Or maybe you haven’t had the chance yet to dive in at all. Ready to explore what’s been so powerful about her work?

We got you!

In this carefully crafted

8-week study of Joanna’s most essential teachings…

…you’ll be guided through a curriculum handcrafted by Lydia Violet and Joanna herself.

Joanna Macy, an environmental activist, scholar, and deep ecologist, has dedicated her life to addressing the ecological and social challenges facing humanity. Throughout her thirteen books and countless workshops and classes, she has offered several central teachings that inspire and empower people to engage in positive change.

Lydia Violet Harutoonian, a dedicated scholar of Joanna's work and direct student of Joanna's for the past 16 years, will be teaching this course live online. The course also includes a rich library of recorded teachings from Joanna herself. Even though, at 95 years old, she is no longer teaching live, we are so blessed to have had Joanna’s guidance in crafting this course, and a wealth of teaching videos from her time at School for the Great Turning.

In this course, you’ll gain an understanding of Joanna Macy’s most central teachings, including:

The Great Turning

In the face of global challenges, Joanna Macy introduces the concept of the "Great Turning." This refers to the critical shift from the industrial growth society characterized by environmental degradation to a life-sustaining civilization. She outlines three dimensions of the Great Turning: holding actions to slow down and stop further damage, creating new structures and practices that promote sustainability, and shifting our perceptions and values to embrace a more ecological and compassionate worldview.

Deep Time & the Poison Fire

The terrible problem of radioactive waste, which Joanna Macy dedicated much of her community organizing to, first drew her attention in the 1970s. Studying its effects and how long the danger will persist (some 10,000 generations) led her to develop a vision for Nuclear Guardianship. To cultivate the will and the capacity to care for the people and creatures who will come so long after us, we’re asked to open up to an experience of “deep time.” She helps us to extend the span of time, both before and after our own lifetimes, that we allow ourselves to feel connected with, and to care about.

The Work That Reconnects

This is Joanna Macy's framework for addressing the ecological crisis and cultivating personal and community resilience. Originally developed under the name Despair and Empowerment Work, it’s now known as the Work That Reconnects. Usually a facilitated group experience, it includes a series of teachings, meditations, and exercises that enable individuals to reconnect with themselves, others, and the living Earth. It encourages acknowledging and feeling the pain and grief for the world, fostering a sense of interconnectedness, and empowering people to take meaningful action.

Living Systems & Dependent Co-Arising

Joanna Macy’s dissertation was called Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory. A practicing Buddhist, she perceived the connections between the Buddha’s teachings on dependent co-arising and Systems Theory’s non-reductive ways of explaining causality. Her work in this area helps us understand interdependence, through lenses of Buddhism and Western science.

Deep Ecology

Joanna Macy is closely associated with the deep ecology movement, which recognizes that humans are an integral part of the Earth's ecosystem and emphasizes the intrinsic value of all life forms. Deep ecology calls for a shift in consciousness, moving away from anthropocentrism to a more ecocentric worldview, where humans view themselves as part of the web of life rather than separate from it. Joanna co-authored one of the first books on deep ecology, and has contributed since then to the growth of the deep ecology perspective around the world.

Rainer Marie Rilke

Joanna first encountered the poetry of Rilke in Germany in the 1950s, when she walked into a small bookstore and opened a book to the poem that begins, “I live my life in widening circles.” She has since then co-translated four volumes of Rilke’s poetry and letters, faithfully and exquisitely bringing his writing on consciousness, beauty, mortality, and loving this world to English-speaking readers and seekers. In the hundreds of Work that Reconnects workshops that Joanna facilitated, she would often read aloud the poetry of Rilke and other poets she loved.

Dates & times

Recordings will be available within 24 hours for those unable to attend live.

8 Saturdays:

10-11:30am US Pacific Time
1-2:30pm US Eastern Time

  • September 21

  • September 28

  • October 5

  • October 12

  • October 19

  • October 26

  • November 2

  • November 9

Together, Joanna Macy's teachings inspire us to…

embrace a deeper sense of belonging

to the Earth and to act on our innate care and responsibility for the world. Her work serves as a catalyst for personal and collective transformation, urging us to recognize our agency in shaping a more compassionate and ecologically sustainable world.

Lydia Violet Harutoonian, M.A., has studied dedicatedly with Joanna Macy for the past 15 years, facilitating hundreds of Work That Reconnects workshops in learning how we can metabolize planetary despair, anxiety, and community traumas into energy for resilience, action, and community healing.

She has had the great privilege of supporting activist communities internationally and carries with her a particular passion for Macy's work and teachings. As a daughter of immigrants raised in the Iranian-Armenian-American diaspora, she offers a critical, intersectional perspective on Macy's seminal work.

Together, Lydia and Joanna have crafted this course for you to experience the key aspects of Joanna’s work and discover what you want to integrate into your life and work.

Join and get:

  • A selected anthology of Joanna’s writings, compiled by Joanna Macy and Lydia Violet

  • 8x90min live calls with Macy scholar Lydia Violet Harutoonian, with recordings available within 24 hours, weekly Saturday calls at 10am US Pacific Time / 1pm US Eastern Time

  • Pre-recorded video teachings from Joanna, excerpted from her past courses at School for the Great Turning

  • Interactive online forum with Lydia and your cohort (hosted on Circle)

Enrollment Period Ends On Sept 19th

One-time Payment

$275

Two payments

$139
Per month

Financial Hardship

At School for The Great Turning, we are dedicated to creating as much access to our programs as possible. In full transparency, we are currently in a moment of need in regards to financial balance, and cannot offer our full scholarship program. We have created a 6-month financially flexible payment plan for this course.

$46
Per month

If this course is still not financially available for you, please fill out this simple scholarship application!

FAQs

  • The live sessions of this course starts September 21 and ends November 9th, with recordings available forever!

  • 8 Saturdays : September 21st - November 9th, 2024: 10am US Pacific Time / 1pm US Eastern Time

  • Yes, each session is recorded and recording is sent out within 24 hours of live session.

  • Live calls with Lydia, and recorded teachings from Joanna.

  • How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

  • Some kind of computer or smart phone device that logs you onto Zoom, and our Circle Forum.