Contemplative Practices & Civil Disobedience: Moving Beyond Individualistic Wellness to Connectivity & Caring.
Finding the work of Joanna Macy felt like a homecoming to me. I’ve always felt like a square peg in a round hole in wellness circles as well as activist spaces. Wellness spaces felt hyper focused on individualism and activist spaces often felt like ungrounded rage to me.
Coming to Joanna‘s work merging individual and collective well-being as well as building and transforming our communities felt like finding water in the desert.
Macy is not the exception, there are many historical examples of the intersection between spirituality and activism, one of them being the civil rights movement. Many of the leaders, including Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. drew upon spirituality and spiritual practices to fortify their spirits as well as encourage and motivate those in the movement despite pushback and violence.
The Civil Rights Movement & Spirituality
The civil rights movement was largely a spiritual movement, rooted and grounded in values of justice and equity that can be found in Judeo-Christian texts referencing the prophets of the Old Testament, as well as the gospel of Jesus.
Reverend Dr. King as well as the esteemed African-American theologian Howard Thurman were influenced by the non-violent movement for independence in India led by Gandhi. In the yogic tradition, the foundation in many of the teachings from the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions root in ahimsa-referred to as respect for all living beings and avoiding violence. Gandhi shared with Thurman that this also referred to rooting out the causes of harm.
Here we go.
Rooting out the causes of harm disrupts the social order.
The social order is upheld by rules and laws, policies, procedures, and invests all the power of the state to enforce and uphold social order. Strongly held beliefs also exist here in the preservation of the social order.
Upholding the social order often violates moral and just causes. Practices that just keep us focused on our own nervous system at the expense of others in our midst who are suffering as a result of unjust policies, rules and laws fall short of their potential for transformation. It is far too easy for good people to enter into business as usual, and focus on their own regulation rather than risk the discomfort of disrupting the social order for just reason.
This makes sense in a chaotic world with climate crisis, genocide, war, famine, deep political unrest, and more. Self preservation is absolutely necessary. But we don’t have to stop there. Finding practices with rooted and grounded time honored teachings and teachers can bring us to the spaces of discomfort where growth and change occur. We can meet our edge here and grow our edge to enable courage, as well as expanding our Heart towards the planet and people.
Contemplative practice can help us be in the mess, but not lose sight of our hearts and why we care about one another and the future of our coexistence and the future beyond our own lives for our beloved planet earth.
Civil Rights Movement & Civil Disobedience
At the time of the civil rights movement, over 70% of white Americans disagreed with protests, boycotts, and other methods of civil disobedience.
Disrupting a social order that upholds laws, policies, and procedures that are unjust and inhumane will not happen by waiting politely for people to come to their senses and find their heart and humanity.
Finding ways to build and become the beloved community is the work of both contemplative practice and civil disobedience.
Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects focuses on The Great Turning. This turning away from oppressive systems, policies and laws as well as consumer consumption based living and turning towards one another. Finding collective resilience and creative imagination to explore new ways of being together socially, economically and sustainably.
The Work That Reconnects.
if you are interested in learning more about this work, this focus and intersection between spiritual practice and activism, please consider having me facilitate this work in your community.
if you are available Saturday, January 24, 2026 two to 4:30 PM Eastern standard time, you are invited to join me virtually for an experience moving through the work that reconnects.
