Date of Award
2023
Advisor(s)
Ryun Anderson
Heather Laine Talley, Ph.D.
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This Capstone project was born from a desire to increase my capacity to move in alignment with intentions to create conditions for all life to thrive, particularly in moments of perceived stress, tension, or discomfort. In the months leading up to this project, I became more aware of a misalignment between how I longed to show up in these moments–rooted in love, embodying my power responsibly–and how I actually showed up in these moments–coming from a place of fear, abdicating my power in ways that support and perpetuate systems of domination. I sensed that my own relationship with belonging shaped my ways of being in these moments, and, rooted in the teachings of somatics, I longed to cultivate new embodied patterns within myself so I could inhabit my power in ways that support systemic transformation. My methods of embodied practice, exploring my lineages of belonging and power, truthspeaking, and paying rigorous attention to my life and relationships revealed the centrality of shame in my embodied patterns. Over a six-month period, I witnessed and became familiar with my conditioning of shame and the ways it supports qualities of systems of domination such as binary thinking and individualism. In bringing awareness to this pattern and committing to create conditions of belonging within myself, I began to grow my capacity to hold complexity, receive feedback, and relate from a place of authenticity and humanity–capacities that are integral to my practice as a leader who desires to inhabit my power responsibly.
Recommended Citation
Franko, Emily, "Master's Project: Moving Toward Responsible Power: Cultivating Belonging, Meeting Shame, and Returning to Presence as a Process of Realignment" (2023). Rubenstein School Masters Project Publications. 31.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/rsmpp/31