training practitioners to transform the work for change
- What does it take to create sustainable movements for lasting social change?
- How can we engage with practices of liberation that enable us to cultivate wisdom, build authentic relationships, and be successful in our work?
- How do we speak, act, and live across spiritual lines of difference, while also claiming the particularities of our experiences?
We believe social change organizations can increase their capacity and effectiveness by integrating spiritual and reflective practice into their organizational culture — transforming everything from how programs are designed to staff turnover. Training prepares people to facilitate reflective practice, demystify the role of spirit for others, help the organization integrate specific practices, create key tools, and capture stories of success.
We have developed a new RIPPLES training curriculum that was unveiled in 2004. Designed for activists who already have a spiritual path and strong facilitation skills, this training provides skills training, tools, practice time, confidence, support, and strategy to impact particular social change organizations and communities.
training curriculum highlights
- individual sustainability: deepening one's practice or path; values clarification, working with limiting beliefs
- facilitation skills to leading reflective practice: creating contemplative space, facilitating reflective practice, building support, awareness of possible "entry" points; creating trust across lines of difference; working with body and breath to renew energy; workshop design
- organizational change: analyzing strengths, edges, and support; building on past success; understanding how we resist and embrace change
- frameworks: role of anti-oppression work and power in spiritual activism; analysis of how movements develop; doing spirit-based work in a multi-faith context
national ripples training participants, 2000
building on ripples
Our training work is very much based on the success of our Ripples National Training program, which we ran in 2000 and 2001. Developed by Claudia Horwitz, Leigh Morgan and Cara Page Ripples was designed to help social change folks build organizational capacity through reflective and spiritual practice.