How We Work
We guide individuals, groups and organization to nurture and draw upon the roots that provide our lives and work with meaning and purpose, resulting in deepened awareness and grounded action.
Just as a tree's complex root system provides stability and carries nutrients from the soil to the limbs, leaves, flowers and fruit -- allowing the tree to grow, thrive and sustain -- so, too, do our roots as humans. Our roots nourish our own lives, but they can also nurture other life nearby and far.
We Believe in the Goodness of Humans
We root our work in the belief and experience that all of us, at our core, are good. This includes you. You are whole, that there is actually nothing wrong with you and you don't need fixing. We also are aware that there are larger forces that get in our way from being the good humans that we are. Maybe there are some things in your way, making it hard for you to be the powerful, courageous, brilliant, kind, just, loving, proud and present human being you were born to be? Maybe you have experienced these larger forces, and they have resulted in you feeling stuck, repeating the same patterns over and over and perhaps, hurting yourself or others? I know I have. It is this core belief in human goodness, and the support of community, that we believe provides the supportive foundation you and I both need to face hard truths and create the meaningful, sustainable change we desire. It is from this foundation of goodness that we can build somatic awareness, authentic connection, justice, love, compassion, courage, healing, vulnerability, collaboration, and liberation of all.
We Incorporate Embodied Practices and Joyful Engagement
We design activities to appeal to multiple senses, learning styles, cultural contexts, and more. Activities are hands-on, experiential, creative, and somatic in nature. We offer small, everyday actions and practices to deepen and support your change-making work, as well as larger, ongoing systemic approaches and projects to move you closer to your goals. We recognize our bodies are rich sources of information and inspiration. We pause to listen and notice what they are teaching us. We design our sessions to include reflection, rest, and fun. We invite groups to find joy in doing meaningful, and often serious and life changing work together. We provide opportunities for individuals and groups to practice deep listening and experience the power of being deeply listened to. We use an assets-based approach, recognizing that building on what is strong and working well, is as important as facing the gaps. We share our own stories of struggle and learning to illustrate concepts we are exploring and demonstrate we are on this journey with you.
We Make Space for Feelings and Mistakes
We intentionally make space for your feelings in our offerings. We offer you support for staying present with the vulnerability, discomfort and intense emotions that can accompany change making work. We support you to pause, feel, and utilize the information your feelings can offer. Rather than suppress them or get stuck in an emotion-dominant cycle, this movement with and through your feelings can free up your brilliant mind and clear thinking to be your guides for action. We model mistake making with compassion and accountability and extend this to you. Mistakes are how we learn. We all make them. Bringing these values of repair and learning from our mistakes into our relationships and our work is revolutionary.
We Ask Thought-Provoking Questions that Unearth Your Inner Wisdom
We ask thoughtful questions that guide you to uncover your own wisdom. Our questions support you to pause, unpack what is happening currently, and feel and understand it in a larger context that can bring expanded perspectives and deeper compassion. These questions help you explore how your own roots, values, purpose, vision, and what you care about most as powerful guide posts for navigating the challenges. With these questions come choice-points where you determine your own path for exploration, learning and growth.
We Honor and Build on Legacies
We believe this work is legacy work. We have been impacted by many, many people who have committed their lives creating a more just and loving world, many we never had the chance to meet but whose contributions shape how we understand ourselves, each other, our histories and everything around us. We are also deeply grateful for those who have mentored us and modeled what being rooted in this work and making it more loving, just, inclusive and whole, could look like. Many of them are listed on our Who We Are page. We call in the legacies of all our ancestors, and the complex lives they lead. We hold the belief they did the best they could, as they faced enormous challenges that often cost them their full humanity. We honor the original people of the land where Rooted Change Consulting is based, the Lisjan Ohlone people. They continue to live, lead and thrive here as well as face the effects of current and historic systemic injustice. We support the cultural and healing work of the Sogorea Te' Land Trust and the mak-'amham Ohlone Cafe.