Our default setting out of the womb is one of survival. We develop many protective strategies to make sure that we can simply stay alive and are cared for by our families and communities. This survival orientation is inherently fear-based, which makes us particularly susceptible to enacting forms of power-over others in order to feel safe within ourselves. When driven by fear, we tend to look to gain safety, status, and power for ourselves with little regard for the impact on those around us. Ironically, fear-based orientations tend to lead to social loneliness, shaming behavior, and fragility. 

Of course, that’s not the full picture. As humans, we also have the innate capacity for love, joy, and connection. We are born deeply dependent on others and in need of social connection for our nervous systems to feel regulated. We need one another to survive and to live fulfilling lives.

The Ripple Deck is intended to help facilitate the transition from a fear-based orientation to one of safety, connection, and healing. Enhancing our capacity for love and connection, including for ourselves, has an innate healing power. As we reclaim and cultivate these forms of power, we develop more awareness and a greater sense of inner stability, calm, and well-being. 

But our power can be hard to see on our own.

The Ripple Deck is a tool to help you reflect and deepen your understanding of the power you already have and grow the forms of power that you want to develop. We encourage you to use it with friends, colleagues, and family so that you can mirror and enhance these forms of power with one another. 

By reshaping the concept of power to include both our individual well-being and our social context, we hope to reclaim our power for a more equitable and just world where everyone can thrive. May it have a positive ripple effect in your life, your community, and in our world.