FAQ Section

Q: Why is this a year-long commitment?

A: The kinds of transformation we are interested in rarely happen quickly. Building healthy habits, cultivating new ways of relating, deepening our understanding of justice, healing from burnout, developing strategic capacity, and creating meaningful community all require time.

Community Rising is not simply a course. It is a community of practice.

Q: I have burnout right now. Will this collective feel like one more thing to do?

A: Community Rising welcomes people with exactly that concern. Joining with others to learn new rhythms that help you create a path out of burnout makes the path easier to walk.

While we invite commitment and participation, this is not a space built around performance, productivity, or perfection. It is a place to slow down, reconnect with your body, deepen your relationships, and develop practices that support long-term engagement in the work you care about.

Many participants find that the collective becomes less another obligation and more a source of nourishment, perspective, companionship, and renewal.

Is Community Rising a therapy group?

No.

Community Rising is an educational, relational, and practice-based community. We draw on trauma-informed approaches and nervous-system awareness, but this is not psychotherapy or clinical treatment.

Participants are encouraged to engage with practices according to their own needs and capacity.

Do I need to be an activist?

No.

You might be an organizer, faith leader, community leader, educator, volunteer, concerned citizen, or simply someone who cares deeply about what is happening in the world.

You do not need a particular title or level of experience.

Do I need to be Christian or religious?

No.

Community Rising welcomes people from different faith traditions as well as people who are spiritual but not religious and people who do not identify with a particular spiritual tradition.

Faith and spirituality may be part of our shared exploration, but no particular belief system is required.

Is this just self-care for activists?

No.

Self-care is one part of the picture.

We are also interested in collective care, community building, relationships, systems, power, strategy, and social transformation.

The question isn't simply:

"How can I take better care of myself so I can keep doing an unhealthy thing?"

It is also:

"How can we create healthier ways of being together so that the work itself becomes more sustainable?"

Will we talk about racism and white supremacy?

Yes.

Racial justice is an important part of Community Rising.

We believe meaningful community transformation requires us to understand how racism and white supremacy operate both structurally and relationally.

We also recognize that participants will come with different experiences, identities, histories, and levels of familiarity with this work.

Our intention is to create space for honest learning, accountability, curiosity, and growth—not perfection.

We may also explore political and social realities that affect our communities, particularly when they are relevant to questions of justice, democracy, immigration, racial equity, peacebuilding, or collective action.

Community Rising is not primarily a partisan political organization.

Our focus is on developing the capacity to understand our context, discern how we want to respond, and act in alignment with our values.

What can I expect to learn?

Through our shared learning and practice, you can grow your capacity to:

• listen to and tend your body and nervous system;

• recognize patterns of stress, burnout, and overwhelm;

• stay grounded during difficult conversations and challenging times;

• navigate conflict with greater skill, curiosity, and courage;

• cultivate sustainable rhythms of action and rest;

• build meaningful relationships rooted in trust and mutual care;

• practice collective care and shared leadership;

• understand systems of oppression and their embodied effects;

• imagine and embody alternatives to the status quo;

• connect your values with practical action;

• participate in community without losing yourself;

• contribute to movements and communities in ways that are sustainable over time;

• help create the kind of relationships, communities, and future you want to live in now.

What if I'm uncomfortable with conflict?

Most of us are.

Community Rising does not assume that conflict can or should be eliminated.

Instead, we explore how to become more skillful at recognizing, understanding, navigating, and transforming conflict.

We also distinguish between healthy conflict, disagreement, harm, and situations where boundaries or protection are necessary.

What does "collective capacity" mean?

Collective capacity is our ability to accomplish things together that we cannot accomplish alone.

It includes the health of our relationships, our ability to communicate and navigate conflict, our capacity to share leadership, our ability to care for one another, and our ability to adapt together.

We are interested in moving beyond models where one extraordinary person carries the vision, energy, and responsibility for everyone else.

Healthy communities distribute capacity.

Will there be meditation or contemplative practice?

Yes.

Contemplative practices can help us slow down, listen more deeply, notice what is happening within us, connect with one another, and cultivate discernment.

Practices may include meditation, silence, prayer, visualization, embodied awareness, or other forms of reflection.

Participants will be invited rather than required to participate in any particular practice.

What if I come from a different spiritual tradition?

You are welcome.

We ask participants to practice curiosity and respect toward one another's beliefs and experiences.

Community Rising is not about creating theological agreement.

It is about creating a community where different sources of meaning can coexist while we work together toward greater justice, peace, connection, and collective wellbeing.

Q: What if I don't live in the Pacific Northwest?

• • A: Our focus is rooted in PNW dynamics (specifically regarding the regional impacts of white supremacy, regional organizing networks, and immigration patterns, such as the local impacts of ICE). However, our core activities will be online, and if you feel drawn to join, we would love to have a conversation with you.

Success Metrics

• Q: What does "success" look like in this collective?

  • A: Success is a somatic, relational, and strategic shift:

    • Somatic: You move from chronic "go mode" and burnout into a state where you sleep well, understand your body's stress signals, and can ground yourself at will.

    • Relational: You step out of isolation, depression, and the fear of saying the wrong thing, finding yourself supported by a diverse, resilient network of peers.

    • Strategic: You no longer organize in a lonely silo. You understand regional dynamics, know how to honor long-term organizers, and can co-create sustainable, nonviolent initiatives that build healthy community alternatives.