1. what is love?
#BurningLove Project
https://www.burningloveproject.com/

2. This journey began
in August of 2016.

3. Even here, we met
lonely people who
were desperate to
connect, but didn’t
know how.

4. loneliness could
reach epidemic
proportions by 2030

5. #BurningLove Project is an immersive participatory
installation designed to help people feel, participate in,
and co-create the ritual of love through deep sensory
experiences - involving storytelling in virtual reality
(VR), activity participation, and co-design.
So, we created…

7. “The first step to take is to become aware that
love is an art, just as living is an art; if we want to
learn how to love, we must proceed in the same
way we have to proceed, if we want to learn any
other art.”
– Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving

8. • Love is a Practice enabled by structure of trust
and support to practice vulnerability
• Attune to present moment, bodily sensations,
personal actions and reactions of others
• Free from fear, but not from responsibility
• Create spaces where truth can be spoken
without judgement and without fear
FROM OUR RESEARCH

9. We came back in
2017 with
#BurningLove.

10. LOVE AS A PRACTICE

11. WHAT IS LOVE?

12. WHAT MATTERS MOST
Unconditional Acceptance
Reciprocity
Hope

13. “Love is that sensation, that place and time in
which that other makes you whole, because you
are accepted as you are. Period.”
“Love is everything, love can defeat negative
energy.”
“Love is the continued connection to the people
around you… which forms community, respect,
and compassion for everything around.”

14. Paramedic cuts
‘frequent callers’
emergency department
visits by
90%
simply by meeting
them for a coffee
and a chat

15. Paramedic cuts
‘frequent callers’
emergency department
visits by
90%“If you are armed with a high level
of emotional intelligence… and ask
people “what matters to them” you
can make a difference to people
who need a hand up in life.”
- Rhian Monteith

16. You try this!
Share your lollipop & lemon moments
with your loved ones for the next week
Lollipop is a positive moment Lemon is when something is not going well

17. Make sure to ask :
“Is there anything I can do to support
you? “ after they share their lemon moment
Lemon is when something is not going well

18. Love's capacity to nourish, heal and do good
is deeply wired into our biology, and into ways
of relating to others in communities - helping
to foster greater resilience.
Edmonton Awake Community

19. JOIN THE MOVEMENT –
www.burningloveproject.com
Ksenia Benifand & Joe Lang