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2008, Living Mandala
creative services by: 360 Degrees
Hosting Organization
Guided By:
James Stark
Kerry Brady
“And was there not one moment in time
when our liberated adventure
might have felt himself to be
a new unique form of life on earth
Was there not one moment when he felt
a quivering a wavering vibe
between himself and all breathing beings
and a deep ineffable delight
engulfing him
as if he were not a man separate and apart
from the rest of creation
but a part of pure nature
without the hubris to destroy it—”
~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Course Inspiration
For thousands of years, our ancestors lived wholly immersed in the wonder of a living universe, intuitively guided and held by their nature based village cultures. Now amidst the pressure and pace of the modern industrial agenda, we’ve lost contact with our instinctive knowing and deeper sense of belonging, alienated not only from the natural world but from our own deepest nature. However, people in all walks of life are waking to the fact that we are not simply skin encapsulated egos, separate from nature, but are beings in process, evolving in tandem with the rhythms and cycles of the rest of life.
Course Description
The Ecology of Awakening is an invitation to remember our natural inheritance as an intricate part of the larger unfolding web of life. The opportunity is to begin to shift our center of gravity: out of what is conditioned and separate into what is ever becoming and connected to all life. Through intimate and conscious encounters – with each other, our own inner impulses and with the larger earth community that awaits – we will learn to listen and respond to the way life continually evokes us forward. By re-remembering our place within the unfolding fabric, we support our ability to live in a more conscious and mutually enhancing way with all life.
The opportunity of this yearlong program is to support the sustained and embodied shift necessary to meet this extraordinary moment of planetary transformation. Through the strong container of an intimate village, set within a variety of spectacular California ecosystems – including rolling coastal hills, rugged canyons, oak woodlands, redwood groves and desert landscapes – we will create a vibrant ecology that inspires and enhances both individual and group unfoldment. Weaving group process and deep nature immersion, each experience will inform and guide the next, supporting us in staying attuned to the unique movement that seeks to express through each of us.
The Journey
We will come together seasonally beginning with two five day sessions in the spring and summer, a week long journey in the fall – that includes three days and nights of solo time in the vast and mysterious landscape of the Mojave desert – and a final five days in the winter. Between meetings, you will be invited to ground and deepen all that is unfolding by creating and working with core routines and practices, as well as through regular check-ins with a buddy and group mentoring calls. Individual mentoring is also available and encouraged.
Some of the elements we’ll explore together include:
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•Deep Nature Connection
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•Listening Meditation
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•Bird Language
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•Sit Spots
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•Council
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•Dream work
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•Ceremony
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•Solo Time
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•And Much More
A Few Unique Aspects to This Program Include:
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•The intimacy of working within a small group of 15-20
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•A three day solo immersion in the Joshua tree forests and mesa tops of the Mojave National Preserve to support you in discovering the doorway to your own becoming and to a more intimate engagement with all life
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•Local, seasonal and organic meals as a way of exploring a more conscious relationship with food in connection to the larger earth community
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•A co-creative village process informed by each participant, the group unfolding, and the land that holds and guides us
The Ecology of Awakening
A Yearlong Journey of
Remembering & Living Our Essential Nature
Beginning October, 2013
California, U.S. - Various Locations
Free Introductory Conference Calls
Join James & Kerry for a free introductory conference call
to learn more about the program on the following dates from 7:00-8:30 pm PST:
Click the date above to register for the call.
Dates and Locations:
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•October 4 - 8, 2013:
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-EarthWays at Ocean Song, Occidental, CA
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•January 23 - 27, 2014:
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-Ecological Preserve, Maricopa CA
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•April 25 - May 2, 2014:
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-Mojave National Preserve, CA
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•July 2 - 6, 2013:
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-Ecological Preserve, Maricopa CA
The Ecology of Awakening is For Those Who:
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• Sense the possibility of a deeper freedom and long to remember your place amidst the unfolding fabric of life
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• Yearn to align with the cultural and planetary shift of these times and to live in a way that is life enhancing rather than life destroying
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• Have awakened or are in the process of awakening to your inherent nature and are learning to live from this place in a more consistent and sustained way
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• Wish to respond more fully to the way life constantly whispers to you
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• Have you completed a permaculture course and are ready to support and apply what you learned from a new perspective
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• Are ready to shift from trying to move through the world to allowing the world to move through you
Program Tuition
$3,950 is the total cost – which includes basic tent camping and all meals. Shared housing and/or local hotel rooms are available for additional cost for spring, summer and winter sessions in Occidental. Please note that the spring session is a 7-day journey into the backcountry so you will be expected to to be able to carry all you need for that time in your own backpack. We will help you figure out all you need once you’ve registered.
How to Apply
The first step is to fill out the online application form.
We recommend applying early, as program enrollment is limited. Applications will be accepted through September 8th. Applicants will then be contacted and interviewed to ensure that the program is a good fit for their needs.
How to Register
Once you have been approved for the program, a registration form must be completed by September 15th, including full payment of the program fee. However, an approved applicant may secure their enrollment before September 15th with a $500 non-refundable deposit.
Course Cancellation Policy
Cancellation policy is outlined in the Financial Agreement document included in the online registration form.
Facilitators
James Stark
James Stark, M.A., F.E.S., is the co-director of the Regenerative Design Institute (RDI). He co-founded and co-directs the Ecology of Leadership program and is a senior trainer in the 3-year, full-time Regenerative Design and Nature Awareness training program, preparing young global community leaders for the “Great Turning” of our era. James has committed his life to exploring how we – ourselves, our communities, and our species – might move as quickly as possible back into harmony with who we are and the natural world. He considers the programs at RDI a nursery for growing visions of the new era, and providing skills and tools to bring the visions to life. For decades, James dedicated himself to community visioning and organizing in West Marin – during which he co-founded the following organizations, among others: * West Marin Growers Group (WMGG), which was created to ensure food security in Marin County. WMGG grew into the 5013c, Marin Organic, which introduced the Marin Organic Food Label and hosts the West Marin Farmers Market.* Waste Free Now, which is committed to West Marin becoming waste free and hosts the innovative annual Recycle Circus including a "Stuff Exchange" for people to redistribute community resources.* KWMR "Watershed Radio", which is a licensed 501c3 community radio station in the tenth year of providing a voice for West Marin residences and heard around the world live through web casting. * CLAM - Community Land Trust Association of Marin, an affordable ecological housing land trust (5013c) created to provide affordable housing in the face of increasing gentrification. James’ years working with visioning led him to an interest in exploring the inner world and to earn a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. Like the natural systems and patterns that guide permaculture, his work now is to help others explore the inner patterns that affect how visions become reality. He believes that creating a loving, peaceful inner world provides the soil for the seeds of our world visions to grow.
Kerry Brady
Hosting Organization
