Root & Rise

Have you been feeling overwhelmed with concern about the state of the world, not sure how best to respond?
Me too.
Please join me for a powerful weekend of community gathering and potent guided process, seeded with the intention to aid in healing ourselves, our culture, and nature, guided by the principles of Embodied Life, inspired by the Healing Spiral outlined by Joanna Macy and her pioneering Work That Reconnects, which I’ve been deep in studying over the past year.
I’m thrilled for the opportunity to come together as a community
to dive into the nourishing process of growing active hope together.
“Active Hope is not wishful thinking.
Active Hope is not waiting to be rescued by some savior.
Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life
on whose behalf we can act.
We belong to this world.
The web of life is calling us forth at this time.
We’ve come a long way and are here to play our part.
With Active Hope we realize that there are adventures in store,
strengths to discover, and comrades to link arms with.
Active Hope is a readiness to discover the strengths
in ourselves and in others;
a readiness to discover the reasons for hope
and the occasions for love.
A readiness to discover the size and strength of our hearts,
our quickness of mind, our steadiness of purpose,
our own authority, our love for life,
the liveliness of our curiosity,
the unsuspected deep well of patience and diligence,
the keenness of our senses, and our capacity to lead.
None of these can be discovered in an armchair or without risk.”
― Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone

 

“What do you do when it feels like the sky is falling?
When everything that you love is suddenly threatened by an insanity that licks its lips in relishment of coal and fracking, of steroid pumped economic growth and uncapped environmental desecration – when we’re about to turn full throttle towards a future that finally wipes away any illusion of safety, sanity, climate stability or food security…
YOU RISE.
You feel into the heartbreak and you let it burn. You feel that burn and you let its flames throw you up against the walls of your fear, and then you let it blaze through them.
You cry, you roar, you bellow – you let it rip through and unclog your brilliance.
You beg to be unleashed, and you mastermind your own unleashing. You let your soul take over – you allow the dismantling of your conditioned collusion with the world views that manage and minimize your magnificence.
You refuse to follow the crowd – unless that crowd are screamingly alive and activated on behalf of the life that lives us. You find every gaze that meets you with “I know I’m awake – I’m here – and I’m ready” and you say YES.
You demand only your deepest authenticity – the kind that electrifies, illuminates, lays waste to pretense, walks permission, cries loudly, renders shame irrelevant – chooses total, naked truth.
You recognize with every cell of your being that we are being called out of apathy and slumber – to remember and rediscover who and what we really are – living breathing elements of this Earth, fully woven into an intelligence that has evolved for billions of years – with access to that intelligence – with limitless potency if only we could turn inside and reconnect.
You say YES to the gauntlet laid down.
You prepare to astonish yourself.
And then you rise
And then you rise
And then you rise
And then we rise. ”

– This amazing piece is by one of my sheroes, Clare Dubois, founder of the wonderful organization TREESISTERS.

Please join me for a weekend of doing exactly this in Salt Lake City this summer.

Friends, we are called to come together. 
We are being called to slow down. Way down.
We are being called to listen deeply. To our deep heart and gut knowing, to each other, to Life.
We are being called to speak in courageous ways that don’t diminish our deepest knowing.
We are being called to invite each other out of our habits of amnesia and anesthesia and into awake, embodied presence.
We are being called to be courageous. To be wholehearted. To show up. To stand up for life.
We are being called to be faithful, wholehearted witnesses to the beauty and tragedies of our times.
We are being called to share our overwhelming gratitude and love for the beauty of the world, to praise life.
We are being called to courageously share our deep grief for what ails us and for what ails our world.
We are being called to think outside the box of “that’s just the way it is”
and we are being called to envision a bright and life-giving future for ourselves and for the generations who come after us.
We are being called into a new identity, one that invites us to step over all the fears and smaller versions of ourselves.
We are being called to revive harmonious ways of being on the earth and with each other.
We are being called to share our stories and our deep dreams.
When we come together, so much more becomes possible.
I believe we need the support of a warm-hearted community to do this deep work of witnessing, of honoring our gratitude and grief, of daring to vision a life-giving future, of daring to speak our visions aloud, and going forth to act on our wisest impulses with the full support of our community.
Are we going to do it perfectly? Of course not.
Does that mean we should not try? Of course not.
This is a nonjudgmental, supportive community circle to support you in finding YOUR way to respond to our times.
As Francis Weller writes,
“This is the solitary work we cannot do alone.”
We need each other.
We are called.
I’m honored to facilitate this weekend gathering which is inspired by my training in the brilliant models of Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects, plus my 25 years experience as an Embodiment Mentor. To get a taste of the spiral of The Work That Reconnects, please read Joanna’s beautiful reflections (below) on Gratitude, Grief, Visioning, Getting Involved, and “Acting Your Age.”

 

Over the weekend of August 23-25th, we’ll gather to make our way through this healing spiral with embodied practices and community support.

Our time together will include:
  • embodied practices, including gentle movement and guided relaxation
  • inner reflection/embodied listening
  • community sharing
  • inspiring poetry
  • time for writing
  • silent time in nature
  • sitting meditation
  • community gratitude and grief ritual
  • and so much more!
  • No experience is necessary
  • All genders are welcome

 

 

“Personal Guidelines for the Great Turning – by Joanna Macy

Come from Gratitude
To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe–to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it–is a wonder beyond words. Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. Furthermore, it is a privilege to be alive in this time when we can choose to take part in the self-healing of our world.

Don’t be Afraid of the Dark
This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, for these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings. To suffer with is the literal meaning of compassion.

Dare to Vision
Out of this darkness a new world can arise, not to be constructed by our minds so much as to emerge from our dreams. Even though we cannot see clearly how it’s going to turn out, we are still called to let the future into our imagination. We will never be able to build what we have not first cherished in our hearts.
Roll up your Sleeves
Many people don’t get involved in the Great Turning because there are so many different issues, which seem to compete with each other. Shall I save the whales or help battered children? The truth is that all aspects of the current crisis reflect the same mistake, setting ourselves apart and using others for our gain. So to heal one aspect helps the others to heal as well. Just find what you love to work on and take joy in that. Never try to do it alone. Link up with others; you’ll spark each others’ ideas and sustain each others’ energy.
Act your Age
Since every particle in your body goes back to the first flaring forth of space and time, you’re really as old as the universe. So when you are lobbying at your congressperson’s office, or visiting your local utility, or testifying at a hearing on nuclear waste, or standing up to protect an old grove of redwoods, you are doing that not out of some personal whim, but in the full authority of your 15 billion years.”

Clearing by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worthy of rescue.

 

Please join me to create a clearing in the dense forests of our lives, and to allow the blessings and benefits of our powerful time together to ripple out into our world. 

Schedule:

Friday, August 23 6:30-9pm at Vitalize

Saturday, August 24 10am-12 pm session, 12-2 lunch break, 2-6pm session

Sunday, August 25 10am-12 pm session, 12-2 lunch break, 2-6pm session

We’ll gather at Vitalize from 6:30-9pm on Friday evening to get to know one another and to set the stage for our beautiful weekend together.

On Saturday, we’ll meet at an outdoor location in a local canyon (to be disclosed once you register) from 10-12.

We’ll take a 2-hour lunch break, then reconvene at Vitalize from 2-6pm on Saturday. On Sunday we’ll again gather in our outdoor location from 10-12, take a 2-hour lunch break, and reconvene at Vitalize for our final session from 2-6pm.

 

Please note:

No partial attendance is allowed.

To support the coherence of the weekend, we need you there for the whole spiral.

Tuition is offered on a life-giving pricing scale. The truth is that I wish I could give the work away for free, but I need an income. I’ve continued to invest a lot of funds in my own continuing education. I’ve offered 3 pricing options below.  If you are strongly drawn to come and cannot afford the available tuition, please be in touch – I’d love to find a creative way to make it work if I’m able. One of the options is for folks who can afford it to donate to a need-based scholarship fund. If you’re interested in being on a list of potential scholarship recipients, please let me know.

(Please read my cancellation policy before you register.) 


Life-Giving Pricing