Soul, Community and Social Change


Book Description

At a time when inequalities are growing globally, when the pace of socio-economic transitions is rapid, and when traditional ties of community are under threat of dissolving, 'soul' offers a new way of thinking imaginatively about how people might respond both individually and collectively in social change work. In exploring ideas such as soul, soulful, 'soul of the world' and soul-force, Peter Westoby invites readers to disrupt their taken-for-granted assumptions about community practice and to foreground ethics, quality, being and the aesthetic. Drawing on work of people such as James Hillman, Thomas Moore and 'Bifo' Beradi, he insists on the need to bring more depth into practice, eschewing contemporary trends of soulless analysis, measuring, and technique. Written in dialogue with eight practitioner-scholars from around the world, the book suggests a fresh terrain for community work and social change theorising. Illustrated by images of Australian cartoonist-prophet Michael Leunig, the book also promises to unlock new imaginative spaces for dreaming. A soul perspective will resonate with people searching for both a robust socio-political response to the world and an imaginative, poetic and mindful centring of self, 'other' and the planet to their practice.




Soul, Community and Social Change


Book Description

At a time when inequalities are growing globally, when the pace of socio-economic transitions is rapid, and when traditional ties of community are under threat of dissolving, ‘soul’ offers a new way of thinking imaginatively about how people might respond both individually and collectively in social change work. In exploring ideas such as soul, soulful, ‘soul of the world’ and soul-force, Peter Westoby invites readers to disrupt their taken-for-granted assumptions about community practice and to foreground ethics, quality, being and the aesthetic. Drawing on work of people such as James Hillman, Thomas Moore and “Bifo” Beradi, he insists on the need to bring more depth into practice, eschewing contemporary trends of soulless analysis, measuring, and technique. Written in dialogue with eight practitioner-scholars from around the world, the book suggests a fresh terrain for community work and social change theorising. Illustrated by images of Australian cartoonist-prophet Michael Leunig, the book also promises to unlock new imaginative spaces for dreaming. A soul perspective will resonate with people searching for both a robust socio-political response to the world and an imaginative, poetic and mindful centring of self, ‘other’ and the planet to their practice.




Creating Us


Book Description

If community is to build the lives of people, then lasting, significant community change processes need to engage people's deep longings, hopes, myths and visions. Seasoned community work thinker and practitioner, Peter Westoby, explores the role of soul within community work, as a methodology that can contribute to social change. He connects his deep, challenging idea framework with a set of practices that can introduce soul into the context of community and social change.




Soul Consciousness


Book Description

“This book, these people—these lives—come together to form a loving tribute to all of us in search of deeper meaning, deeper connection, and a deeper sense of wonder. If you read it closely, it will change you.” “Soul Consciousness is a book that will remind you, in this era of political fecklessness and amorality, where our most potent power as a people truly resides.” -Sam Chaltain, Author, “Our School”, Washington DC “Real leadership is transformational! In Soul Consciousness, Vick tells the story of transformational leaders who have learned how to bridge their own soul journeys with the sacred work of empowering others. He shows why we must all be connected to an energy greater than ourselves, and how that energy can help to fuel the brighter world so many of us seek. This book holds the keys to a deeper, more inclusive, and more vibrant world.” -Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, Author, The War on Neighborhoods “This remarkable book offers a blueprint for harnessing the power of community members to enact community change. While many residents, young and old, bend under the weight of deep-seated structural problems, Stephen Vick argues that the answers lie within. Through stories and interviews this book inspires as much as it instructs. A treatise on community empowerment, Soul Consciousness should be required reading for youth workers, community organizers, policy makers, elected officials, and anyone who cares about families and communities.” -Roberto G. Gonzales, Professor of Education, Harvard University and author of Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America.




The Soul of Activism


Book Description

In The Soul of Activism, author and activist Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, gives a unique re-examination of the power of interfaith spirituality to fuel the fires of progressive activism. 'Religion' in the public sphere has been claimed by far-right ideologues while progressives, turned off by the hypocrisy of the religious influence on contemporary policy, have lost out on the experience of religious community. As a result, progressives are losing control of political discourse because they neither grasp nor trust the universal and invigorating language and practice of religion when expressed productively for social justice. Progressive activists must find these missing spiritual tools, cultivate compassion, and lead affirmative change in their communities.




Soul Force


Book Description

How can we harness the energy for change that lives in each of us?In Soul Force, nonprofit leaders Reesheda Graham-Washington and Shawn Casselberry offer seven pivots that unleash the creative energy within us toward courage, community, and change. Building on Gandhi and Martin Luther King’s concept of a power mightier than ourselves, Soul Force moves us from barriers to bridge-building, self-centeredness to solidarity, consuming to creating, and maintenance to movement. Packed with stories from the authors’ work with Communities First Association, L!VE Café, and Mission Year, Soul Force invites readers on a journey from the societal shackles that bind to the Spirit who frees. From those working at the grassroots to those leading at the grass tips, Soul Force offers a compelling and practical model for personal and collective transformation.




The Heart of Racial Justice


Book Description

The racial divide is one of the most pervasive problems the church faces. Why won't this problem just go away? BECAUSE IT IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE. The problem of racism must be solved through both internal change and community transformation. In this book the authors make the crucial connection between the role of healing prayer and spiritual warf...




Transformative Social Change in Organizations and Institutions: A DEI Perspective


Book Description

Due to the unfortunate events of 2020, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become trendy without the public truly understanding the systemic and structural impacts that the discipline is intended to interrupt. DEI impacts myriad institutions. DEI is not a checkbox; it is soul work, and until we interrogate the ills and wills of our souls, the individual "I" will never transform the institution. Transformative Social Change in Organizations and Institutions: A DEI Perspective focuses on the transformative social change that DEI is meant to have within organizations and institutions. Covering topics such as DEI strategy, performance vs. impact, and workplace dynamics, this reference work is ideal for government officials, faith communities, doctoral students, educational agencies, researchers, and students.




Soil, Soul, Society


Book Description

In the first US edition of Satish Kumar's classic book, we rediscover how our spiritual and social well-being connects to that of our planet. Internationally-respected peace and environment activist Satish Kumar has been gently setting the agenda for change for over 50 years. As 350.org founder Bill McKibben says, "There is no one on the planet better-equipped to make you think and rethink how you're living and how you might change." The age of sustainability is grounded on the knowledge that we ourselves are very much part of nature; that what we do to nature we in fact do to ourselves; and that the earth has a soul, which we share. Drawing on the example of Rabindranath Tagore, Kumar advocates living with awareness that our personal choices have political and poetic resonance. In this book, he inspires readers with the knowledge we are all leaders and can create change in our structures and mindsets for lasting peace and a sustainable culture and society. Celebrating an emerging global consciousness that reveres nature, the book explores how, as a global society, we need to embrace diversity and be aware of our role as pilgrims on this earth. Joyful and heart-centered, Satish Kumar reminds us that to bring about change in the world, we must embody the change we wish to see.




Soul, Self, and Society


Book Description

Morality is not declining in the modern world. Instead, a new morality is replacing the previous one. Centered on individual self-fulfillment, and linked to administrative government, it permits things the old morality forbid, like sex for pleasure, but forbids things the old morality allowed, like intolerance and equality of opportunity.