Joanna Macy, the treasured “Root Teacher” of the Work That Reconnects, passed out of this world, through the portal and onto the next portion of her soul’s journey, on July 19, 2025.
Joanna Macy completely and totally changed my life in late 2015 when I discovered her 1991 book “World As Lover, World As Self.” It felt as though she was writing about me, and I remember feeling seen and understood for the first time in my life!
She was writing about her own “grief and horror” about the destruction of All Life, about the prospect of human extinction wrought by our own hands.
From the age of seven, I had been living with deep despair, fear, anxiety, and depression caused by what humans were doing to the Earth and to each other. Despite earning a B.A. in Environmental Studies in 2000 and an M.A. in Geography in 2005, I’d never encountered any writer who addressed our emotions.
Joanna Macy, and all who contributed to the growth of the Work That Reconnects over the last 46 years, made our despair for what Humans are doing to the Earth, each other, and All Life be what connects us, and a legitimate conversation to have socially and culturally.
The Queer Despair and Resilience Circle (https://sacraltransformations.com/qdrc/) is an outgrowth of my own ongoing facilitation of this beautiful work since I had the deep privilege of attending a 10-day Work That Reconnects workshop with Joanna Macy in late September of 2016.
The 10 days were filled with meaningful group processes for feeling and expressing our deeply held emotions, in a container of being witnessed and witnessing others. The beauty and transformation we experienced was in the connections created and felt, the knowing that we were not alone in our despair, grief, and rage.
When Joanna Macy led us into the Truth Mandala exercise, I had a profound Spiritual experience. In the Truth Mandala, people sit in a tight circle, or in this case, concentric circles as there were probably 50 people in attendance.
There were 5 objects at the center of this circle: a Stone to represent our fear. Dry Leaves to represent our sadness and grief. A Stick to represent our anger and rage. A bowl to represent our numbness and emptiness. The fifth object was a square of cloth to hold all emotions that don’t fit any of these categories.
One at a time, people took turns entering the center of the circle to hold the object or objects that would help them feel and speak that which they held bottled up inside. With 50 people in the circle, there wasn’t time for each person to take a turn.
Lifelong I’m usually the shyest person in any given group, but I knew I needed to find the courage to enter that circle, to take up space, to be witnessed, seen, held. So, I did.
During my turn, I didn’t hold any of the objects- the stick, the leaves, the stone, the bowl, though I felt all of those feelings- fiery rage, oceans of grief, hurricane-force fear, and aching emptiness. Instead, I held my Moon Stone in one hand and my Earth Stone in the other. These represented my primary Spirit Guides: Grandmother Moon and Mother Earth.
And I spoke. About having brought two children into this extreme mess of a world even though for most of my earlier life I’d been determined not to- I’d known better. About my love and thus wrenching fear and grief for all the amazing forms of life on this beautiful, generous planet. And more- I don’t really know what I said- I just allowed what moved through me to pour out of my mouth.
And as I sobbed, and as I was held in silent witness by a room full of humans, Energy began pouring into the top of my head and through my body in a way I’d never felt before. It was strange and wonderful, and all I could do was allow it, and feel it.
Quickly the energy came to be pulsing through my hands with such force that my fingers were clenched into fists around my stones and I could not open them. It felt like I was holding powerful magnets and my fingers were the opposing force, attracted and held there, stuck.
I could no longer speak- the energy was too intense.
I felt and knew that I was being “baptized.” I was feeling a powerful Spiritual acknowledgment of my readiness to step into my own facilitation of the Work That Reconnects- I’d been well prepared by living for 30 years with despair as my constant companion. This energy was also an other-worldly permission to feel empowered and capable, to set my shyness and fear aside to do work for the greater good.
I was still in the “hot seat” at the center of the Truth Mandala. The energy was still pouring into and through me. I was on my knees and I could not stand up to walk out of the circle. I finally crawled out on my knees and elbows- I could not yet use my hands.
I crawled past the circles of beautiful humans, to the outer ring, where I eventually managed to stand up, and hold my arms outward in a gesture of holding space for others, hands still locked into fists, energy still throbbing through me.
By the time the Truth Mandala came to a close the energy had mostly dissipated and I could finally open my hands. In the break that followed I went out onto the land and found a bit of a pool in the flowing of a creek. I dunked myself into the cold, northwestern Massachusetts, end of September water.
I carried out an actual water baptism while responding to the Call I’d received, saying: “Yes, I am ready, and yes, I will.”
By early October I began facilitating Work That Reconnects workshops, and I haven’t stopped since.
The Work That Reconnects is an incredible gift that Joanna Macy contributed to this magnificent and ailing World- this World As Lover, World As Self. I feel honored to carry on her legacy in my own “life purpose” work. https://sacraltransformations.com/
Blessings and Courage,
Betti
Betti Rooted Lionheart (she/her) is passionate about working with Queer People, Teens, Healers, Activists, Change Makers, and anyone who feels despair for the Earth and Humanity. She is a Shamanic Healer, a Spiritual Empowerment Activist, a Fire Priestess, a Writer, a Facilitator of the Work That Reconnects, a Minister of the Church of Earth Healing, the Mother of two Sons, Queer, and the founder of Braided Root Waters Healing Sanctuary in Trumansburg, NY. Betti offers powerfully transformative one-to-one Shamanic Healing Sessions.
Published in “The Community Voice” Rohnert Park, CA