Registration is Open! Heal Collective Trauma & Embody Anti-Racism – click here for more information

The Seven Stones Blog

cleaning house: why wait? (part 2)

Shea Adelson

Why did I wait? I waited out of fear and avoidance, distraction and disillusion. I was scared. I was in scarcity-thinking. These are some of the powerhouse weapons of scarcity I use most. I think now I can claim that when something piles up and hangs around in my space, that it’s an indication I am relating to it in scarcity, not like it’s wrong or bad, but that it might be starting to suck my energy and drain some attention from what I care about.

keep reading >

Random Acts of Violence

Gina LaRoche

I woke up this morning thinking about suffering. Partly because I am reading This Is Not The Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness by Laura Munson.

keep reading >

learning from a louse

Shea Adelson

I am a louse. Not the Elizabethan insult Shakespeare invented. But the bug. That is what I am thinking as I comb through my daughter’s hair looking for eggs. That’s

keep reading >

Social fabric: stuck between 2 contexts

Shea Adelson

Then I saw it. That is how it all works. I have to have one of everything and you have to have one of everything because we don’t have a clear social contract about the norms. Or I guess you could say the social contract we do have is about each person for him/herself so I am going against that contract by even making such a request. I could see the whole territory I have to traverse just to borrow one tool, one lousy tool. And I could see how I would rather have my own tool than confront this relatively simple set of transactions. So how then will I get the courage to have conversations about matters much closer to the heart? How will I get the courage up to break down some much larger barrier erected by this culture of separation? How will I find what I need to re-weave that social fabric so my sharing with my neighbor is more relevant than all of the noise I find in the context of separation?

keep reading >

Responsibility and Leadership

Shea Adelson

Friend and colleague Scott Noelle wrote about “Two Kinds of Responsibility” in his daily reader, in-box delivery. He’s a parenting coach, and his thinking keeps me thinking, about parenting, and

keep reading >

Seems

Gina LaRoche

It seems like:                I am female and you are other                I am black and you are not                I am middle-aged and you have passed it by or

keep reading >

The Love Paradigm Has Arrived

Shea Adelson

In our punitive, righteous culture, where there must always be a loser and the game is Zero Sum, her act of love is radical. Impossible for some of us who could not imagine having the clarity and sense of self – or the tools and knowing – to pull it off.

And what did she pull off? They stay together and the family of four moves forward, together. He gets to be gotten and known in the ugliest of times and loved anyway. (How healing is that?) The kids get to keep their childhoods intact. She gets her best friend and lover back, and a published book. We get to be inspired. The end of suffering is possible. Love is the way.

keep reading >
Learning Journeys
About Seven Stones
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
Join The Conversation
Twitter facebook [#176]Created with Sketch.

Join the Conversation (Footer)

  • Note: We never share your information. View our privacy policy
    Get a brief daily reminder to pause and invite peace and clarity into your day.
    Periodically read thought leadership articles. Plus, links to free tools, invites to courses and events, and updates on products, services and media coverage.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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.

Learn More

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