These litanies can be used anywhere in a workshop that a centering ritual is needed, for example, before or following intense practices in Honoring Our Pain, or transitioning to Seeing With New Eyes. They are often done as responsive readings, with the guide reading the major sections and the rest of the group responding at key moments, according to the script.
We Have Forgotten Who We Are
The following reading from the UN Environmental Sabbath can be done as a responsive reading, or by passing it around the group, with everyone reading the next sentence as it comes to them. A meditation bell might be rung after each “We have forgotten who we are.”
We have forgotten who we are
We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos
We have become estranged from the movements of the earth
We have turned our backs on the cycles of life.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security
We have exploited simply for our own ends
We have distorted our knowledge
We have abused our power
We have forgotten who we are.
Now the land is barren
And the waters are poisoned
And the air is polluted.
We have forgotten who we are.
Now the forests are dying
And the creatures are disappearing
And humans are despairing.
We have forgotten who we are.
We ask forgiveness
We ask for the gift of remembering
We ask for the strength to change
We have forgotten who we are.
We Journey Together
The universe unfolds through a continuous process of breakdown, chaos, and spontaneous eruptions into new levels of order and meaning. This process occurs in every manifestation of life: the stars, the planets, earth, the continents, the oceans, plants, animals, humans.
In our human world, the old forms are breaking down and chaos threatens to annihilate everything. But, like the universe, we too will erupt into new levels of order and meaning. Consciousness is our unique reflection of the universe: we are the universe in a conscious mode. We participate most intimately in the great unfolding. We journey together.
Leader/Response
In the face of growing darkness
We journey together
In the face of ecological decline
We journey together
In the face of social upheaval
We journey together
In the face of growing uncertainty
We journey together
All: In the face of growing darkness, we journey together toward the light.
Leader/Response
As we search for glimpses of truth
We journey together
As we search for signs of possibility
We journey together
As we search for heralds of a new era
We journey together
As we search for angels of hope
We journey together
All: As we search for glimpses of truth, we journey together toward new levels of meaning.
Leader/Response
As we build our world out of chaos
We journey together
As we build our world out of shatter illusions of superiority
We journey together
As we build our world out of our inadequate Institutions
We journey together
As we build our world out of our unfair sharing of resources
We journey together
All: As we build our world out of chaos, we journey together toward a new era of justice.
Leader/Response
As the universe unfolds
We journey together
As the universe unfolds through spontaneous communion
We journey together
As the universe unfolds through new levels of meaning
We journey together
As the universe unfolds through new forms of life
We journey together
All: As the universe unfolds, we journey together in God’s great becoming.
[Here you may want to omit “God”, or use Gaia or “the Great Turning” instead.]
I’ve made these Google slides to help facilitate We Journey Together for online groups – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D74AxbiN0rD1MyVKLY0vH9UACEFD6QMipSNm4JmUCAU/edit?usp=sharing. These could also be helpful in larger workshops if you are using a large display or projector.