Joyful Affirmation, Giving Thanks, and the Great Turning

In the last few weeks, we moved from the Book of Genesis, which focuses on the myths of our individual ancestors’ encounters with the mystery, into Exodus – in which God interacts with the people as a community. For me, this shift always raises the challenge of how we take the awareness and attention we are cultivating through Jewish Mindfulness and move into action in the world.

At our Shabbat service on January 14 , Lynne Iser and Rabbi Mordechai Liebling spoke about the work of spiritual activist Joanna Macy, whose teachings – called “the Great Turning” – speak to this essential transition. The idea is that, by becoming more conscious of the world around us and our place in it, people are starting to realize that our needs can be met without destroying our natural world.

Lynne invited us into a practice that many of those at the service committed to take on – and which I wanted to share with you. It is one of joyful affirmation—a practice of, every  day, noticing moments of connection, love, healing, understanding, justice and peace and, when we do, mentioning them out loud. Macy suggests saying “That’s the way it goes in the Great Turning." We could also say, "I give thanks," or "May the good go forth.  This echoes the teaching of the rabbis who say we should stop 100 times a day to offer a blessings of gratitude, to take a moment and acknowledge something amazing, or turn toward the truth of a painful situation.

Doing this affirms the good, directs our attention toward healing potential and brings us into deeper more committed relationship with each other and all the earth.

I also have posted more teachings from Joanna Macy plus four steps she suggests for turning attention into action.  It would be a gift to the community if you would share your experiences with this practice.