JULY 14-20, 2013

Program Description

We live in a time of rising oceans and epic storms, literally and figuratively. We live on the brink of catastrophic destruction that can only be mitigated by nearly incomprehensible change. We have come crashing into the reality that we are not separate from the earth. It is not a question of whether climate change is happening, but rather how we are going to respond to it. Individually and collectively, how do we face this situation? What are we going to do? How are we going to live? These are spiritual questions.

This week-long program puts the essential discussion of sustainability into the context of the sacredness of the earth through your choice of two different tracks. Each track explores different spiritual teachings on this sacredness, and how our relationship to the Earth affects our relationships to each other and to our community. It looks at how we can learn and engage in spirituality to build resiliency as we prepare to transition to a world without oil.

Both tracks will be grounded in embodiment. Participants will engage the mind in educational sessions:* the body in physical work, the spirit in meditation and ritual, and the heart in compassionate community. The questions of how all that we are learning and doing impacts the way we live day to day and the potential for a transformed future will drive the trajectory of the week. Participants will eat local, organic food, preparing their daily breakfast, together with their peers, in the living quarters on campus.

*Though participants will be enrolled in different educational tracks, they will engage in the embodiment aspects of the program as one large group.

Track A: This Sacred Earth
This Sacred Earth will explore the eco-theology of ancient and modern spiritual traditions. Participants will learn about indigenous, celtic, abrahamic, and postmodern understandings of the sacredness of earth and humanity's relationship and responsibility therein. They will learn about environmental activism rooted in these practices today.

Track B: Mindfulness, Sustainability, and Resilience
Mindfulness, Sustainability, and Resilience will explore the intersection of these three ideas. Participants will learn practices of meditation, mindfulness, and deep listening to develop greater environmental and communal awareness and compassion. They will learn about the Transition movement and ways in which people can integrate and build on spiritual practices to make practical changes on personal and community levels.