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The Seven Stones Blog

Parenting from Sufficiency: Confession of a Guilty Mom

Shea Adelson

My friend said it well – “Guilty Moms are a dime a dozen” – but I really had no idea all the ways in which I was feeling guilty (one of the top Weapons of Scarcity I use on myself regularly) until I started looking around my life. Take the trip we are going on that involves a six-hour drive one way. I am anxious for my three year old to be in the car for so long. Though I was given lots of advice about ideas to entertain her, I was loath to deal with the preparation. Find a DVD player to borrow, collect some DVDs, go to Target’s $1 area for cheap and new-to-her toys, and make some puppets and other home made activities. I had a deadline this week and wasn’t willing to spend my downtime making stuff. I didn’t want to spend the money; didn’t want to have TV in the car. I just didn’t want to deal.

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Consumption as Scarcity or Abundance?

Shea Adelson

More is Better, the unexamined cultural assumption that drives our economy and makes me feel special in a new pair of boots. But I am also afraid. I am afraid of energy descension (Peak Oil). I am afraid of climate change. Of higher and higher food prices. Of health care insurance and health care costs. I am afraid of what I am hearing and reading (Depletion and Abundance by Sharon Astyk, Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn) and I am afraid that so few of us are listening, including myself much of the time.

Consuming stuff makes me feel part of the world and it dulls my senses. Some experts are talking about the fact that the response loop to our actions is delayed in the earth’s response. So we can’t see it. Sitting still and listening, reading what the experts are actually saying, is frightening. At the moment I am strung between scarcity and abundance, fear and yearning. Sufficiency is the way out, the exit off the continuum of scarcity and abundance. If I could just get by the boots…

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Appreciating What is Enough, Appreciating Democracy

Shea Adelson

I get it. There’s a lot that isn’t working. A lot that is broken. A lot that needs fixing. The list is long and I get scared. I feel that scarcity a lot – that we will run out of time, money, love for each other. But yesterday, on a day I got to vote, I feel grateful. I am appreciating what does work, what we do have, what we do share. What is clean and what is safe. And I remember this moment of sufficiency, because it is always there. Because those voting booths are waiting for me each election, because I get to participate.

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Social Fabric: Initiation

Shea Adelson

In our work to usher in the truth and promise of sufficiency into the world, attending to social fabric will be a key focus. I don’t yet know what it will take to restore the social fabric of my own life, never mind the culture at large. For now, I am guessing it takes one relationship at a time. Starting with those around us first, family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, municipalities… small systems of connection that will web out from sheer strength and fortitude.

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Beyond Green: Permaculture (Part 3 of 3)

Shea Adelson

As we at Seven Stones consider what it means to build a business, make a living and be of service – all inside of sufficiency, we are turning inward to our own listening and to the deep listening of our advisers. One Seven Stones adviser, Roger Burton, has brought the wisdom of permaculture to our awareness. Permaculture is “consciously designed landscapes that mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of local needs.” (from Permaculture Principals & Pathways Beyond Sustainability, 2002) In its broadest sense, permaculture is attending to the reality of energy descent, or the diminishing availability of cheap fossil fuels, and though permaculture principals are largely used in reforestation projects and in farming (aka food growing), I am interested in permaculture for how it can inform our evolving business “landscape.” (from same source)

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The Green in Sufficiency (Part 1 of 3)

Shea Adelson

One of the expressions of Sufficiency is living by the principals of sustainability. Most simply, this is using no more than you need of energy, food, water, and things in general, and producing no or very little waste. There are many ways to join the sustainability movement and practice this form of sufficiency.

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cancer journals #4

Jen Cohen

I noticed this once on a long meditation retreat and I notice it again so clearly during this time in my life.  In each moment sufficiency is present. In each

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Seven Stones is a leadership journeys company founded in 2009 by Gina LaRoche and Jennifer Cohen. Our learning programs, coaching practice, organizational consulting engagements and groundbreaking thought leadership work are all designed to help bring about a world that is loving, courageous and just. 9 Damon Mill Square, Suite 2H | Concord, MA 01742 [email protected] | (617) 531-3548 ©2023 Seven Stones  Leadership Group Website by Avenue 4 Design Collage artwork by Gina LaRoche
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4 Virtual Learning Sessions plus 6-month Racial Affinity Group Experience

For this learning path, you will participate in the 4 virtual learning sessions and be enrolled in one of three Racial Affinity Groups:

1) People who identify as People of Color (Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic)

2) People who identify as Bi-Racial or Multi-Racial

3) People who identify as White

*More specific affinity groups may be formed upon the completion of course registration

We believe that it is important to do our own work with people with similar racial experiences to build capacity for cross-race dialogue that supports authentic relationships and deep belonging for everyone. We will ask you to self-select into the group that best aligns with your racial identity. We recognize that for some this is not a simple choice and we are available to have a conversation with you to support your selection.

Together we will:

  • Reflect personally and collectively on the impact of embodied trauma, separation, scarcity and disconnection.
  • Work in learning partners and/or small groups for the sake of holding each other accountable and deepening our learning through multiple disciplines.
  • Engage in embodied practices for unwinding from the impact of racism in order to build stamina, capacity, and resilience.


Where: Online Zoom Sessions

Time: 11am-12:30pm ET/8am PT/4pm GMT*

When: 5-Sessions scheduled between Sept 28, 2023 – Jan 26, 2024 (see below)

*All sessions will run from 11am-12:30pm ET.

Racial Affinity Group Schedule
Thurs, September 28, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET Kick-off/ Authentic Communication
Thurs, November 2, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET Unpacking Our Racial Autobiographies
Friday, November 17, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET Self-Compassion
Thurs, December 7, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET What is Sustainable Abundance?
Thurs, January 25, 2024 — 11am-12:30pm ET Inclusive Leadership

Course Registration

Upon registration, you will be directed to our online community space, where all aspects of your program will live, including: pre-work, event links, and a space to connect with fellow participants.

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4 Virtual Learning Sessions Only

These four learning sessions will provide you with a new view and innovative framing of the problem as we see it. Below is a brief description of what will take place in each session:

  • Learning Session 1: Why Context Matters
    In session one, we look at our individualist narratives and the impact of not understanding the context in which we exist. 
  • Learning Session 2: Unpacking Trauma
    In session two, we discuss individual and collective trauma. We define trauma and look together about our current systems of inequality and how they evoke trauma-like responses in so many of us.
  • Learning Session 3: Global Anti-Black Racism: A History Lesson
    In session three, we get a history lesson like none other: we explore the global slave trade as the foundation for our current economic model.
  • Learning Session 4: Understanding Power
    In our last session, we examine power; power structures, our relationships with personal power; the importance of learning a healthy relationship with power when so many of us have had power abuse in our lives.


Where: Online Zoom Learning Sessions

Time: 11am-1pm ET/8am PT/4pm GMT*

When: 4-sessions scheduled between Sept 21, 2023 – Jan 18, 2024 (see details below)

*All sessions will run from 11am-1pm ET.

Learning Session Schedule
Thurs, September 21, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ETWhy Context Matters
Thurs, October 26, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ET Unpacking Trauma
Thurs, November 16, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ET Global Anti-Black Racism: A History Lesson
Thurs, January 18, 2024 — 11 - 1pm ET Understanding Power

Course Registration

Upon registration, you will be directed to our online community space, where all aspects of your modular program will live, including: pre-work, event links, and a space to connect with fellow participants.

Learn More