Mutual Empathy Space for Change-Makers [Online Gatherings]

~ Supporting One Another in our Liberatory Work

Open to people of all and no faith traditions

Multiple dates Online on Zoom

You are invited to join us for these participative online gatherings, organised by Wisdom in Nature - Islamic Spirituality ~ Permaculture ~ Collaborative Leadership

“Your body — all of our bodies — are where changing the status quo must begin”
~Resmaa Menakem

“Your body has a right over you”
~ The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Dates of Upcoming Sessions (You may register for one, several, or all!). 

• Sunday 15th February 2026, 3.30pm-5pm UK time / 4.30pm-6pm CET / 10.30am-12pm Eastern Time Zone
• Thursday 2nd April 2026, 5.30pm-7pm UK time / 6.30pm-8pm CEST / 12.30pm-2pm Eastern Time Zone;
  includes a short talk titled "When conversations get painful: Moving from reactivity to connection" by Marc Pell
• Sunday 3rd May 2026, 3.30pm-5pm UK time / 4.30pm-6pm CEST / 10.30am-12pm Eastern Time Zone; 
  includes short talk: Title "How identifying 'Needs' is at the Heart of Conscious Communication and Relational Health", by Shumaisa Khan
• Sunday 7th June 2026, 5pm-6.30pm UK time / 6pm-7.30pm CEST / 12pm-1.30pm Eastern Time Zone; includes a short talk: "'Systemic patriarchy’ within our bodies: Composting, and cultivating a new story in our lives and groups", by Muzammal Hussain
  
  [More dates may be added for further in the future; Sign up to our newsletter so you can stay in the loop...]
  
  
  

Would you like to:

• Feel held: Connect with fellow change-makers in a conscious space
• Receive mutual care for your change-making work - help prevent burnout!
• Enhance your effectiveness in transformational change-making

If so, this may be for you...

Introduction:

We are living through intertwined social, ecological and spiritual crises fuelled by a system of patriarchy, capitalism, white supremacy and settler colonialism.

These forces shape both our world and our inner lives, and are often characterised by domination and individualism.

Within this dominant culture, both the other than human world and our bodily dimensions are marginalised. Yet, our bodily and emotional experiences carry wisdom that can help us navigate the outer world, including the systemic crises we face.

These aspects of ourselves also offer material for our own transformation and evolution into more integrated, whole human beings - Insan-i Kamil.

Tensions as a Gift: Our Lived Experiences

As change-makers we know that organising with fellow travellers for transformational change will involve moments of felt tension, moments where we become ‘activated’. In these moments we might fall into reactionary patterns of patriarchal systems, unconsciously trying to dominate, or we may be gripped by individualism.

• Is it possible to slow down and relate more maturely to these challenging experiences, without being taken over by reactionary habits?

• How can we become aware of our felt experiences, and engage with humility, vulnerability and courage, in ways that embody a more regenerative, relational paradigm?

• How can tensions be a gift that reveal wisdom we can draw on, so our individual and collective work is more authentic and meaningful?

Join us in this shared space of mutual care as we open to these questions with facilitator support

Issues participants my be involved with include:

Israel's genocide against Palestinians / Settler Colonialism;  Interfaith activism;  Increased intensity of racism and persecution of asylum seekers;  Direct Democracy;  Trump-ism / Authoritarianism;  Political party activism; Gender Justice;  Wealth and Power concentration / Cost of Living Crisis;  Permaculture;  Climate breakdown or Ecological collapse;  State oppression of protests; 
...Or anything else..

Approaches and Processes

In these gatherings, we aim to draw on approaches such as Nonviolent Communication, somatic practices and approaches for shared power in our groups.

The ‘Mutual Empathy Space’ calls us to work together in ways that heal, rather than reproduce patterns of harm perpetuated by the dominant paradigm.

In particular, we will explore the value of noticing and welcoming our felt bodily (or somatic) experiences, e.g. anxiety, anger, fear, paralysis, numbness, rage.

We may be invited into simple processes to help us notice inner contractions and emotions we may be holding in our body, perhaps without realising, enabling them to soften and be released.

Through working with our inner felt experiences, we may become aware of how the system holds power over us, and how our bodies are part of that narrative. Yet, as our inner tensions and patterns soften, we may discover the unfolding of wisdom and the embodiment of new choices as we move collectively on our shared journey of liberation.

Empathy Requests: How we might hold space for one another

Individuals who are willing may request to receive empathy at the gathering, in relation to a situation where they were activated, such as in their change-making work or within a group.

They would be guided through a process of receiving empathy at the gathering. This will open the possibility for transformation of any held tension, and more empowerment in terms of choices.

Those of us who witness such a process also tend to be positively affected, helping a gentle softening of our own patterns, and an overall shift in our shared cultures towards a more regenerative, relational paradigm

The function of the Mutual Empathy Space is to:

• Help overcome the oppressive mainstream cultural patterns we exist in

• Practise the communication of our needs and inner experiences

• Cultivate the co-creation of regenerative communities and ‘social glue’, through the composting of held tensions into more authentic relating patterns, individually and collectively

Principles of Self-Organising groups

During our coming together, we may also draw on principles of healthy self-organising teams and groups, to help support a vision for the grassroot regenerative communities of distributed power we know are possible.

Who? This online forum is open to anyone curious about how we can co-create a more just, regenerative world. It is for those willing to pause, reflect, listen deeply, feel discomfort and joy, as we heal and organise for collective action. Whether you are new or experienced in this work, you are welcome.

Format:

The Mutual Empathy Space sessions will include short introductory talks, empathy requests, facilitated dialogue, possible coaching, possible role-playing and breakout groups. Depending on how the session flows, we may adapt in ways that support the intention of the gathering.

We will begin with a simple grounding ritual that includes a moment of silence, and aim to close with care.

About WiN:

WiN’s work is rooted in a vision of conscious, just, autonomous and regenerative communities integrating land, people and economy. We draw on conscious group work and internal resilience practices within an Islamic spirituality, to help co-create the beautiful world we know is possible.

The Facilitation Team (We aim for at least two facilitators to be present at each gathering)

As facilitators we are also learners and co-learners in this ongoing experiment



Muzammal Hussain  (Facilitator, Wisdom In Nature)

Muzammal helps people safely process trauma through an essence based emotional healing therapy, and is also a medical doctor in the field of psychiatry, both for more than fifteen years. He is the author of 'Radical Healing, Wholeness and Islam'.

Muzammal has been involved with grassroots change-making for more than 25 years especially in the Muslim community, and is the lead trainer for WiN's Sacred Collaborative Leadership (SCL) programme.

Muzammal has supported teams (such as a Refugee Self-Support group, grassroot Cooperatives, and Faith groups) with collective decision-making, conflict processing or collaborative organising. He draws on liberatory approaches that support shared power, such as Sociocracy (which includes consent-based decision-making), Process Work, Non-Violent Communication (NVC) with a systemic lens and Social Permaculture. He emphasises presence and embodiment, and sees his role as both a trainer and a life-long student.

Shumaisa Khan (Facilitator, Wisdom In Nature)

Shumaisa has experienced shared power through co-founding and working in a soil care cooperative; involvement in Wisdom in Nature (WiN) for nearly two decades; and living in a co-housing community for two years.

She believes more liberatory futures rest on more skill in practicing shared power and enjoys ways to deepen these in community with others. Shumaisa had a support role on WiN's first Sacred Collaborative Leadership (SCL) Programme

Marc Pell (Guest Facilitator)

Marc has been living in rural Wales since 2017, drawn by a long-standing interest in countryside living. Their background weaves together environmental campaigning with NGOs and local groups, alongside sustained exploration of different forms of community organization and collaborative self-governance.

He has worked within collaboratively-organized structures, including one that specifically implemented Holacracy, and served as a director for a local organization supporting community initiatives - helping develop its own collaborative operating practices in the process.

Drawing on experience with somatic therapeutic approaches to healing in both individual and group contexts, he also brings familiarity with Non-Violent Communication (NVC) and similar frameworks for creating healthy, nourishing, and effective ways of being together.

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Key Background Information


Stay Updated: To hear about our future events, sign up for WiN’s occasional newsletter via our HOMEPAGE

Note: If you are unlikely to be able to stay til the end of the session, we would recommend holding back from registering for this particular event as spaces are limited, and our intention is to foster a deeper connection in an interactive space.

Arrival: Please aim to arrive on the call for the start time. To maintain coherence in the gathering, once we're 15 minutes into the session, entrance to the call may not be possible for anyone not already there.

Where: The call will be on zoom. Once you’ve registered, you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive the web-link for the zoom call in an email the day before the event, if not before.

Fee: These are ‘Gift What You are Willing’ gatherings, with several gifting options. This will work only if we are each willing to give generously, thus allowing this work to be sustained and for those who genuinely have very limited financial capacity to also be able to participate. Please note: we do not receive grants, and rely on donations and income from trainings & events such as this to keep going. The gatherings are automatically free for regular monthly WiN donors. If you would really like to come and cannot afford any of the gifting options, please contact us at least five days before the gathering, via the 'Contact event organiser' link at the bottom of the main event page as we have a couple of free places.

Become a Regular Donor to grow WiN's work: We are in need of individuals who wish to become regular donors to help grow our work. Please visit here for info about how we use your funds if this might interest you. This event is automatically free for monthly WiN donors!

Much Gratitude :)

Wisdom In Nature (WiN): Trainings: Islamic Spirituality ~ Permaculture ~ Collaborative Leadership; and a Five Strand Activism model. Website: www.wisdominnature.org

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