Power, Regeneration & Wholeness

This discussion was filmed as part of the Move to End Violence Cohort 5 convening. We know that systems of oppression on the large scale are always working to destabilize us, and that we are in active resistance at the grassroots, national and global levels to create a different future. But also we know that there is inner work that we get to do to be able to have some longevity in our movements and also to be able to practice freedom as we are searching to get free.

As you watch the conversation, you can use this guide as a starting point for discussions within your own group, organization, family or community.

What is your movement or community superpower?

How do you think about power, regeneration and wholeness within your organizing work or community?

ML shared that there is no regeneration if there is no rest. What practices or rituals allow you to rest? Who supports you in those practices or rituals?

Isa shared that she has worked to go beyond the rage and trauma of her work within trans communities, to reconnect with her magic. What wisdom lies beneath your experiences of rage, sadness, trauma? What is the power you can tap into? What practices allow you to see what lies beneath?

Nicole shares that the medicine wheel is one way that indigenous communities reflect on their wellbeing. How are you feeding your mind, your body, your spirit, and your emotional wellbeing?

Monica shares that even within our movements, we can really hurt each other. There are the larger systems that are working against us, and then there are the ways we harm each other. How have you worked with these moments of harm? What are your approaches to rupture and repair?

ML ended our conversation by saying that “we’ve been hopping along as movements for too long, and now it is time to leap.” What are the leaps you want to make in your work?