I'll be honest with you: the "great unraveling" is as real as the "great turning." They're happening at the same time, and have been for decades. The unraveling was already accelerating, and now (late 2024) to see a democratic election process choose a path of more, worse, faster harm to our planet and our fellow human and more-than-human beings? It's been... deeply discouraging. For many I know, it's been devastating.

And at the same time - always at the same time - I feel so blessed to have had a conversation with Cynthia Jurs about this. We spoke about that devastation, and our bewilderment, and how we keep going. We also talk miracles, activism, practice, awakening, and so much more. Cynthia's life has been devoted to embodied, engaged, sacred activism for the healing and protection of Mother Earth for decades. She is a spiritual teacher who doesn't introduce herself as one, and I love learning from her.

Interviewing Cynthia with me in this conversation are Erin Geesaman Rabke and Carl Rabke, of Embodiment Matters. We talk about

Cynthia's stunning new book, Summoned by the Earth: Becoming a Holy Vessel for Healing Our World
U.S. politics and the question: "Is this the flaming end of the patriarchy?"
the interconnectedness of all life
cultural polarization
the 4 sections of Cynthia's book: "answering the call," "hearing the cries of the world," "becoming a holy vessel," and "collective awakening"
reactivity and activism
peacebuilding, and choosing not to fan the flames of blame, separation, and violence
comments from astrologers on this historical moment
and Cynthia's profound experience in Greece at the Oracle of Delphi

As much as I enjoyed hearing everything Cynthia had to say on these topics, I valued hearing the way she spoke about it all. I hope you do too. May this conversation serve your healing and the healing of our world.

Note: There are a number of times when Cynthia, Carl, Erin or I reference teachers and teachings, ideas and terms, that might not be familiar to you. (Many of them I've heard of for the first time in the last few years!) So, I've compiled some links with more info in the show notes. If you hear a name or a term and you're wondering who or what that is - or if you simply want to take an internet wander down some of our favorite paths related to indigenous wisdom, ecological belonging, spiritual growth, global healing, etc. - come to the show notes at turningseason.com/episode44 and find my bulleted list of teachers and terms that we mention in this conversation.

You're invited to… Take Heart: Embodying the Great Turning | A 10-week course facilitated by Leilani Navar and Erin Geesaman Rabke, with special guests Cynthia Jurs, Francis Weller, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, and Lydia Violet Harutoonian

This series is for you if you're looking for helpful teachings and tools, a place for beauty and for grief, and a kind community. We'll be looking to Joanna Macy's teachings about the "Five Vows of the Great Turning" to help us orient, navigate, and stay heartened in these times, giving our lives to the Great Turning while also living in the Great Unraveling. We're so excited about it and we'd love for you to check it out if you're curious.

More about Cynthia Jurs:

Cynthia Jurs has immersed herself deeply in the study and practice of Buddhism for over three decades, annually spending time in solitary retreat and receiving teachings from many great masters. In 1994 she was given dharma transmission from her root teacher, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and became a Dharmacharya in the Order of Interbeing. In 2018 in recognition for her many years of study and practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and her devotion in carrying out the Earth Treasure Vases, she was recognized as an Honorary Lama at the root temple of Kushok Mangden Rinpoche, Tolu Tharling Gompa, in Nepal. Cynthia says that she holds these titles and dharma affiliations lightly. She shares that her true source of refuge and spiritual inspiration is Mother Earth; Gaia. Inspired by her thirty years of pilgrimage into diverse communities and ecosystems, today Cynthia is forging a new path of dharma, connected to the Earth, in service to Gaia, deeply rooted in the feminine, honoring indigenous traditions, and teaching an embodied, engaged, sacred activism through meditation and prayer, ceremony and ritual, pilgrimage and council.

About Turning Season Podcast:

Serving up heartening doses of Active Hope in this Great Turning toward life-honoring, life-sustaining ways of being human. This is a series of deep conversations with people who are rising to their own unique roles in this worldwide shift. This show is for every one of you who's aware of our multiple crises, feels your love for life on earth, and is finding your way to participate in cultivating ways of life we can believe in, making a life honoring present, even in the face of an uncertain future.