THE MISSION STATEMENT OF GROWING HUMANKINDNESS
Growing Humankindness is here to bring presence, compassion, and curiosity to our inner worlds to nurture connection in our relationships with ourselves and with each other.
We merge the insights of relational science (including interpersonal neurobiology, developmental psychology, and attachment theory) with self compassion, soul, and contemplative practices to nurture healing from the inside, out.
We offer resources to soften judgment, shame and criticism for the self protections we’ve erected in the face of trauma and loss. These offerings are rooted in our yearning for interconnectedness – to soften the separation we feel within ourselves, with others, with Spirit, and with our living world.
We offer these resources and our own healing journeys not for ourselves alone, but on behalf of our shared world, to deepen our compassion for others as we deepen our compassion for ourselves, and to nurture a gentler world.
This image is a collage of ‘yearnings for healing’ that I made during the 2022 Listen class.
We’re guided by these core values:
- Simplicity and joy – we yearn to live simply on the earth and to embrace the joys of daily life
- Hospitality – we yearn to create a space of welcome for ourselves and others
- Humility – we honor the gifts of not knowing, of asking for help, and imperfection. We yearn to offer ourselves and others the safety and compassion to make mistakes, repair, and weave together a stronger whole.
- Interbeing – we honor our interconnectedness, the ways all living beings are contingent and interdependent, and the power we have to nurture and support life.
- Soulful listening – we go down to honor our richness, to embody our wholeness
- Courage and village mindedness – we long to express our yearnings, gifts, medicine, and love more deeply in the world, for the good and care of all
- Wonder and gratitude – above all, we remain in awe of the human heart, and the gift of life
Spiritual connection and inner connection are one whole
Spiritual connection – nurturing our connection to something beyond ourselves – and connection with others is the lifeblood that sustains us biologically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is vital, our food.
As polyvagal theory founder Stephen Porges says, “Connection is a biological imperative.” The Buddha said it this way: “Our fear is great. Greater still is the truth of our connectedness.”
Interpersonal neurobiology and our wisdom traditions are pointing to and speaking from the same well of truth.
Sometimes we put these needs into an either/or – where we seek spiritual healing or psychological healing, or prize one over the other. But we see these as parts of an interdependent and interrelated whole: two streams of the same river. We need both to thrive.
These connections interweave, influence, and nurture each other. Because we are one being, when we heal one area of connection – our connections with ourselves, our connections with others, or our connection with something higher – the others are also positively impacted.
Therapy, healing and inner ‘work’ help us connect with others in healthier and more nourishing ways. And spirituality – connecting with something greater, however you define that – also assists that inner healing journey. Likewise, as our human relationships and as our inner selves heal, we experience healing in our relationship with Spirit, with source, and our sense of belonging to the web of life.
Our offerings and our work honors this whole, this great stream of healing – whether we are listening inward, outwards, around or upwards. We yearn for healing in all areas of connection – with ourselves, with others, with the living world, with soul, and with Spirit.
May your heart be nourished here.
With warmth, Karly and the Growing Humankindness team