We Heal Together
Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A hopeful, wise, and practical guide to help us move into spaces of individual and collective healing, community, and relationship building—with practices to shed our isolation, connect, and thrive.
In times of isolation, heartbreak, and brokenness, reaching out to each other, being in conversation, finding ways to connect with compassion and openness can help us heal, and thrive. This powerful, positive guide coaxes us to go beyond our individual and collective grief, and courageously re-enter and reclaim our sense of community—which then further strengthens our spiritual practice.
Through spiritual teachings drawn from the Bhagavad Gita, mindfulness practices, rituals, resources, and journaling prompts in each chapter, Michelle Cassandra Johnson shows us how we can heal and facilitate healing; reclaim what it means to hold space and build community; find joy; connect to and summon support from our ancestors; connect with nature to strengthen and restore ourselves; and love, alchemize, dream, and conjure in community.
Examples of practices include journaling on what community means to you; meditation with a ritual object; progressive muscle relaxation; Yoga Nidra; and many more—all adapted for use alone or in a group. Includes simple, evocative line drawings by Vashon Island, WA-artist, Ivan Moy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this uplifting if flawed entry, activist Johnson (Skills in Action) calls on readers to address ancestral trauma and communal pain through spiritual rituals. Drawing from Buddhist tradition, feminist theory, and her own anti-racist work, the author asserts that, since "when any living being suffers, we all suffer," humans must work toward a more just world for others as part of their own healing. Johnson delves into the link between grief and liberation (releasing unprocessed grief can unburden the soul), finding joy in the midst of suffering, and the importance of learning about one's ancestors, particularly for readers of color. Spiritual rituals follow each chapter, and include journal prompts ("If I hold trauma in my body from my lineage, where is it showing up and how does it feel?"), yoga practices, and relaxation techniques. While the meditations on the power of community grow repetitive and there's a surfeit of overly long recollections of retreats she's led, readers will appreciate the author's detailed, actionable ritual suggestions and strong social justice principles. The spiritually inclined will find some wisdom here if they're patient.
