MOLLY YOUNG BROWN on The Great Turning /360
Photo by Stephanie Jud of a lush, vibrant green fern spiraling in the morning light.
What if we started with gratitude? With love? In this episode Ayana is joined by longtime mentor Molly Young Brown in a discussion that tends to what it means to be human in times of polycrisis and unraveling.
Grounding the conversation in practice of group processing, activism, and relationality, Molly details the paths that created the Work That Reconnects, an inspiring, interactive group process for anyone who longs to serve the healing of our world in a more powerful and effective way. With this, Molly offers an explanation of psychosynthesis and ecopsychology bringing the conversation to compelling questions about the nature of consciousness and the malleability of human nature.
Molly speaks to the reality of our time. We simply can’t go on like this, and it is dizzying to pretend anything else. This truth is illuminating, but does not need to be wholly devastating. At the peak of crises, how might we turn towards a world that imagines things differently, a world that is not driven only by profit, a world where we might center love? Molly encourages listeners to turn to deep time – our connection to our ancestors and to all who come in the future – and to root into a relationship with humanity and the earth that recognizes our interconnectedness.
“Does a tree know how to grow? No, it doesn’t have a master plan. It just grows. You know, we need to trust our intuition, our imagination a whole lot more than we do.”
Photo of Molly Young Brown by Mutima Imani
Molly Brown, M.A., M.Div. lives in Mt Shasta, CA with her husband Jim. In her work as a writer, educator, workshop facilitator, and life coach, she draws on the Work That Reconnects, ecopsychology, psychosynthesis, and systems thinking, and specializes in working with activists. She co-authored with Joanna Macy both editions of Coming Back to Life (1998, 2014) , edits the online journal, Deep Times: A Journal of the Work That Reconnects, and co-directs the Spiral Journey Facilitator Development Program. She is author and co-author of several books, including Growing Whole: Self-realization for the Great Turning; Unfolding Self: The Practice ofPsychosynthesis, Held in Love: Life Stories To Inspire Us Through Times of Change (co-editor Carolyn Treadway); and Lighting A Candle: Collected Reflections on a Spiritual Life.
♫ The music in this episode is “In Plain Sight” and “Clearance” by Celia Hollander. These tracks are from Celia’s new album “2nd Draft” provided courtesy of the artist and Leaving Records.
Episode References
Roberto Assagioli - Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis
Five Questions for Humanity in the Great Unraveling by Molly Brown and Richard Lamb
What Matters Conversations with Molly Young Brown
GUEST Recommendations
Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown
Growing Whole: Self-Realization for the Great Turning by Molly Young Brown;
several articles on my website MollyYoungBrown.com.
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For The Wild Podcast is an anthology of the Anthropocene; focused on land-based protection, co-liberation and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism.