Today I'm joined by the  wise, kind and amazing Kathleen Rude — a long-time facilitator of The Work That Reconnects among many other roles and passions — to talk about the incredible alchemical magic of honouring our pain. 

Yes: pain. 

Feeling the painful feels. Beholding them. 

Honouring them. 

Come join us:

• Kathleen guides us through an exploration of what the Work That Reconnects actually is, and why frameworks like this really matter more than ever
• Why our grief, rage, anxiety and despair are not flaws to fix or manage (as we are told in orthodox self help and therapeutic modalities)....
•  …but instead are powerful signals that we are fiercely alive and connected
• How communal witnessing and honouring of our pain actually helps (no, really, how does this squirmy thing possibly help?….we’re going to get to that in this episode! )
• How we might begin to practice this if we feel very uncomfortable when it comes to feeling our feelings, and isn’t this all a bit cringe?
• What western mental health gets so wrong about true wellbeing
• ...which includes why feeling our feelings is so uncomfortable and why I used the word "cringe" just now
• and not forgetting THE MAGICAL WAND from Season 1 of this show is back and we are wishing Kathleen a magical dinner..... which powerful figure would Kathleen invite, and what does she want to persuade them to do?

My guest Kathleen Rude:

Kathleen Rude fell in love with the natural world as a young child and found her voice for environmental activism at age 10. She has a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and a Master of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan. Kathleen began her career as an environmental writer, a profession she embraced for 15 years.

She was raised liberal Lutheran in a household steeped in Jungian psychology. Both traditions continue to inspire and guide her life and work. She was initiated by Blackfoot, Northern Ute and Lakota elders into indigenous spiritual practices and studied core shamanism with Betsy Bergstrom and Sandra Ingerman. She is a shamanic practitioner, teacher and ceremonial leader and a member of the Society for Shamanic Practice.

She was mentored by Joanna Macy, internationally acclaimed eco-philosopher and root teacher of the Work That Reconnects. Kathleen is a senior facilitator of The Work, leading workshops in person and online and she serves as a Weaver in the Work That Reconnects Network. 

Find Katheleen at her website and Facebook

Me, Siobhán:

• Get support or guidance from me here
• Check out the resource my clients are loving (and helping me develop)  An Earnestly Incomplete Non-Guide for the Disillusioned, the Lost and the Totally Bewildered
• If you’d like updates and invitations, pop yourself on to my Friends List
• I write on Substack too—come hang out there if you wanna.
• Everything I do is by donation or gift. You can donate to support my work here if you want (thank you, amazing person)
  
  

Gosh what a stupendous amount of links.

Thank you so much for being with me today. You are the whirl to my pool 🌀