The Work that Reconnects
A Two-Day Retreat in Boulder, Colorado
Facilitated by Kathleen Rude and assisted by Laura Rose Boyle
February 22-23 2025
9-5am Saturday and Sunday
Location: Naropa University - Nalanda Campus
6287 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80303
Investment: Sliding scale - $200-450
Do you find it heartbreaking to stay conscious and engaged in these troubling times? Are you feeling powerless, as though your actions won’t make a difference?
It's impossible to ignore the unraveling of our societies and our world: systemic racism and oppression, global climate crisis, armed conflicts, crippling poverty, mass extinctions, and the rise of authoritarianism. The fear, grief, anger, and helplessness we feel can be unbearable because it’s not just our personal pain; it’s the collective pain of all life on Earth. In the face of this, how do we stay grounded, and not fall apart or give up? How do we turn overwhelm into inspired action? The Work That Reconnects offers us a way forward together.
The Work That Reconnects is a life-changing and life-affirming group process that is made for these times. In this weekend workshop, we come together to create a supportive community for our truth speaking and imagination. We’ll explore our individual identity and its impact on how we can show up for ourselves and others. We will ground ourselves in gratitude, honor our pain for the world, expand our sense of self, power and connection, strengthen our resilience and find clarity around how we can play a part in the healing of our communities and our planet.
This transformative in-person workshop includes creative rituals, deep sharing, quiet reflection, inspirational readings, song, movement and celebration. This engaging and invigorating experience empowers us with tools for dealing with the challenges of living in these troubling times, supporting us to move forward with hope.
Facilitated by Kathleen Rude. Offered in collaboration with the Joanna Macy Center for Resilience and Regeneration, Naropa University.
“The Work that Reconnects helps people discover and experience their innate connections with each other and the self-healing powers of the web of life, transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action.”
— Joanna Macy
Pioneered by Joanna Macy, internationally acclaimed author, eco-philosopher, and activist, the Work continues to evolve and grow in response to our ever-changing world. You’ll experience the brilliance of this transformative journey through four stages of discovery:
1 – Gratitude
Opens us up to what we love, to our blessings and gifts. It also gives us a perspective through which to live our lives, to help ground us and build resilience.
2 – Honoring Our Pain for the World
Gives us permission to express our grief, fear, rage and despair, so that these emotions can inform us and strengthen our ability to embrace their partner emotions: love, courage, passion for justice and active hope.
3 – Seeing With New and Ancient Eyes
Invites us to embrace our connections with all life and the self-healing powers in the web of life, to expand our understanding of deep time and spiritual wisdom and to discover the magic of emergence and collective power to bring about change.
4 – Going Forth
Helps you realize your power to make a difference by following what makes our hearts come alive. Discover the many ways we can participate in The Great Turning.
Save your place at the workshop today!
“Kathleen Rude is a guide of remarkable depth, with powerful gifts to bring to people of all backgrounds who seek a life-enhancing relationship with the natural world. Her Earth-centered gifts in shamanic work and story-telling blend with her savvy in group work and her scientific grounding in ecology. They bring her an ease, creativity, and authority that open people up to their power to act for the healing of our world. Kathleen has a natural authority that builds confidence and ease in collaboration. I treasure her guidance and her companionship as we work together for the sake of life on Earth.”
—Joanna Macy
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About Kathleen Rude
Kathleen Rude fell in love with the natural world as a young child and found her voice for environmental activism at age 10. She has a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and a Master of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan. Kathleen began her career as an environmental writer, a profession she embraced for 15 years.
She was raised liberal Lutheran in a household steeped in Jungian psychology. Both traditions continue to inspire and guide her life and work. She was initiated by Blackfoot, Northern Ute and Lakota elders into indigenous spiritual practices and studied core shamanism with Betsy Bergstrom and Sandra Ingerman. She is a shamanic practitioner, teacher and ceremonial leader and a member of the Society for Shamanic Practice.
She was mentored by Joanna Macy, internationally acclaimed eco-philosopher and root teacher of the Work That Reconnects. They continue to share a close friendship. Kathleen is a senior facilitator of The Work That Reconnects, leading workshops in person and online. She serves as a Weaver in the Work That Reconnects Network. She has created A Guided Self-Practice of The Work That Reconnects (42 minutes), available as a digital download.
Laura Rose Boyle will be assisting and supporting the retreat.
About Laura Rose
Laura Rose was raised with a strong sense of service, thanks to her father’s work at the Environmental Protection Agency and her mother’s role teaching in an inner-city Catholic school. From an early age, she was aware of environmental challenges and social justice issues. Although she grew up in the city, much of her family’s free time was spent outdoors—camping, hiking, sledding, swimming, and biking. By fourteen, she was leading her family’s recycling efforts and chose vegetarianism to help “save the earth.”
Her early reverence for nature led Laura Rose to study natural therapeutics, massage, yoga, somatic therapy, spiritual healing, and earth-centered healing arts. Discovering Joanna Macy’s work provided her with a powerful framework for facing the collective heartbreak of our times.
In her coaching practice, she helps people uncover their unique gifts—transforming overwhelm into meaningful action and fostering a deeper connection with their own souls, with the wisdom of their body, the Earth, and each other. In her free time, she can often be found dancing, singing, hiking, or building community.
"Be generous with your strengths and skills. They are not your private property, and they grow from being shared."
-Joanna Macy
We hope that you will join us in Boulder!
And, if you can't make this one, we will let you know when there are other similar events like this in the Boulder area or virtual.