| This thesis presents the use of story as an approach for building what Macy and Brown (1998) calls a life-sustaining society which involves "a fundamental shift in worldview and values" (p. 17). Narratives have been shared throughout history to entertain, preserve culture, and instill morals. They can help us understand context, develop a sense of place, and provide insight into different ways of seeing. Given our current trajectory towards ecological crisis, resulting from the degradation of the Earth's life systems, a shift towards ecological consciousness is needed to protect biodiversity, water, and land. This research explores the possibility of engaging the individual experience of story to support a shift in consciousness. The Phenomenological Research Method was used as a framework to understand the individual experience of deep ecology workshops. The method involved organizing, analyzing, and synthesizing data from five interviews with individuals who had exposure to Macy's Work that Reconnects. |
