Earth Emotions: Workshop, Ceremony, Film

“You have to love something before the motivation to protect it becomes paramount”  – Earth Emotions, Glenn Albrecht

“It is difficult to protect nature if one does not love it; it’s difficult to love nature if one is alienated from it; and it is difficult to avoid alienation if one is subjected to systems that reward alienated ways of knowing, thinking, and being.” – Learning to Thrive, Al Lim and Feroz Khan

Earth Emotions is an intentional gathering to contemplate our responsibility of stewardship of the earth – not only as our home, but as extensions of our bodies.

At the core of our modern ecological crisis is a destructive emotional disconnection to our ecological roots. Our capitalist systems view the earth as a mere resource to be exploited, rather than a relationally-living web of life in which we, too, function. We need urgently to pivot away from the myopia of economic profits, towards the longer arch of ecological benefit – and this requires that we confront our emotional attachment wounds to nature.

Together, we will engage with our eco-anxieties, ancestral amnesia and systemic dysfunctions on an embodied level. How can we navigate collective care amidst destruction? How do we find our place and take effective action in this ecological crisis?

This event will be held in a private home in the East, with spaces for 15 participants. There will be pockets of time built in between the workshop for grounding and reset; a calm room is provided for quiet rest, and the home is right across East Coast Park for those who would like time to integrate in nature.

5pm – 6pm: Workshop: Exploring Earth Emotions with Kavya

People around the world have been awakening to the fact that we are living through an unprecedented time of climate, ecological, and social crises. The emotional journey of confronting this reality can be intense, disturbing, and extremely painful. Together, we will explore feeling into our emotions on an embodied level, in relation to the Earth. How do we make sense of our personal stories with the living world, and how can we learn to support ourselves and each other through the reality of this current moment?

About Kavya

Kavya Gopal is a researcher, organizer, and regenerative cultures facilitator based out of Singapore. She stands for collective action, systemic change and justice.

6pm: Break: Nasi Ulam Wraps

Home-made local staple with a twist, nasi ulam served in vietnamese style wraps, along with complimentary small bites, and chai.

7pm: Transition: Agnihotra Fire Ceremony

Fire has a deeply purifying, sharpening and healing quality. In preparation for the film screening, we will participate in an Ayurvedic Agnihotra fire ceremony to energise and reset the space, and bring everyone into a centred state of heightened receptivity and awareness.

7:30pm: Film Screening: Seeds of Vandana Shiva

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva film tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva. It chronicles her rise to prominence as a force of resistance against the corporate Goliaths of industrial agriculture, inspiring an international crusade for change in the seed-saving and organic food movements.

Impactful and timely, the film prompts us to reflect on our place on this earth during this time of climate crisis. After the screening, we will have a collective conversation along with Vivian Lee (Living Soil) and Kavya Gopal (SG Climate Rally), hosted by Chloe (Body as Earth), for our conscious processing and integration.