An online reading community exploring nature literature past and present, with a focus on writing that explores the healing of relationships between people, the living world and the sacred.

January read: These Wilds Beyond Our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity's Search for Home, Bayo Akomolafe
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34355617

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An online course by Advaya Initiative exploring the wild feminine.

Featuring guest teachers: Dr Sharon Blackie, Angharad Wynne, Lyla June Johnston, Anne Baring, Liz Childs Kelly, Lina Abirafeh, Max Dashu, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Nwando Achebe, Sarah Poet & 18 more

Hosted by Amrita Bhohi and Francesca Price

After centuries of suppression, the voice of the feminine in its diverse forms and expressions is demanding to be heard again.

This shift in consciousness from the dominant masculine to a balance between the two energies, as well as beyond that binary, has long been predicted as part of the solution to the chaos our planet currently faces.

Such a transformation will beckon a new paradigm where dominance over the natural world is replaced by a recognition of the connection of all living things, while at the same time recognising the importance of such qualities as instinct, trust, nurture, creativity, and other forms of power left out of wider cultural conversations.

Over 12 weeks you will hear from prominent authors and activists; amongst them inspirational matriarchs, Anne Baring and Jean Shinoda Bolen, indigenous leaders, Elizabeth Kerekere and Carmen Vicente, prominent healers, Yeye Luisah Teish and Susun Weed, and well-known workshop practitioners, Jewels Wingfield and Chloe Goodchild, among many other incredible speakers and teachers.

Each week, a new speaker will introduce us to a different aspect of the feminine and take us on a journey to hear more about the violent history that kept women silent for centuries, from the brutal takeover of Christianity to the horror of the witch-trials, to female infanticide and FGM, and finally to the violence that continues against both women and the feminine spirit today. We will also be collectively inquiring into contemporary issues around the feminine, in particular the ‘wild feminine’, and what we might mean when we say ‘the feminine’ in the context of gender liberation.

As well as a weekly 2 hour session, there will be the opportunity to work in smaller groups to discuss these ideas further, and to learn practical exercises that will help you connect to the feminine in your own way.

Featuring guest teachers David Abram, Kalyanee Mam & Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder

Join us for the second iteration of a Deep Dive into Spiritual Ecology. This four-part course invites participants to further explore the evolving philosophy of spiritual ecology and its core values of interconnectedness, reverence, service, and stewardship. As we begin to emerge from the crisis of the pandemic—and as we continue to face ecological, political, and societal uncertainty and upheaval—we are asking: What does this time ask of us? How are each of us called to be of service to the work of renewal? What will the interweaving of ecology, culture, and spirituality look like in a post-pandemic world?

Our first three sessions will feature guest teachers who will lead us in exploring a theme: “Land, Loss, and Reconnection” with filmmaker Kalyanee Mam; “Placemaking” with Emergence staff writer Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder; and “The Practice of Reciprocity” with cultural ecologist and author David Abram. Our final session will offer participants the opportunity to reflect, share, and think together about integrating the teachings into their lives and practices. Prior attendance of A Deep Dive into Spiritual Ecology, Part 1 is required. We will be offering another iteration of this course later in 2021.

Thursday, April 22, 10-12pm (PDT)
Thursday, April 29, 10-12pm (PDT)
Thursday, May 6, 10-12pm (PDT)
Thursday, May 13, 10-12pm (PDT)

This is a free online course.

Full details & booking

“When we dare to face the cruel social and ecological realities we have been accustomed to, courage is born and powers within us are liberated to reimagine and even, perhaps one day, rebuild a world.” –Joanna Macy, “Entering the Bardo”

The role of leadership in younger generations has never carried more weight than it does now. As the pace of planetary collapse accelerates—and as we increasingly recognize that the root cause of ecological destruction is a deep spiritual crisis—so, too, do we sense the possibility for radical renewal. Many young people are feeling called to take responsibility for our world, to relinquish old and destructive stories of unceasing progress and limitless growth, and to participate in the work of seeding new beginnings from deep within the understory.

As we witness the deep fracturing of our civilization, how can we seed the stories and foundations for a society to come? How can our leadership skills serve the work of reuniting people, the land, and the sacred?

This twelve-part leadership course offers emerging leaders working in social and environmental fields the opportunity to deepen their skills in building and co-creating spaces of renewal, reciprocity, and reverence. It offers an in-depth exploration of the emerging field of spiritual ecology: an evolving philosophy that is rooted in the understanding that ecological, cultural, and spiritual renewal are interdependent.

To learn more and apply, click the link below. The cost for this course is $650.00. The application deadline is February 1st, 2021.

Guest teachers:
brontë velez, David Abram, David G. Haskell, Dekila Chungyalpa, Jim Enote, Joanna Macy, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, and others.

Part 1: Origins: The Seeds of Our Beginnings
Sunday, March 7th & 14th, 10-12pm (PST)
Part 2: Transitions: Witnessing the End of an Era
Sunday, March 21st & 28th, 10-12pm (PDT)
Part 3: Principles: The Inner and Outer Work of Restoration
Sunday, April 4th & 11th, 10-12pm (PDT)
Part 4: Practices: Invitations to Belonging
Sunday, April 18th & 25th, 10-12pm (PDT)
Part 5: Leadership: Creating Spaces for Renewal
Sunday, May 2nd & 9th, 10-12pm (PDT)
Part 6: Project Application: Reuniting People, Land, and the Sacred
Sunday, May 16th & 23rd, 10-12pm (PDT)

Learn more & apply

Due to popular demand, Emergence Magazine are offering a second iteration of this workshop:

Part 1: Origins – Friday, November 20, 6:00 - 8:30pm (GMT)
Part 2: Principles – Friday, December 4, 6:00 - 8:30pm (PDT)
Part 3: Practices – Friday, December 11, 6:00 - 8:30pm (PDT)
Part 4: Project Application – Friday, December 18, 6 - 8:30pm (PST)

Full details and registration

Deep Adaptation is an invitation to face the radical changes climate change will bring within the next decade. This online weekend retreat will focus on the spiritual aspects: seeking purpose, healing, mutual care and resilience in the midst of a time of uncertainty and unravelling.  

Full details and registration

The fall of 2020 continues to be a year marked by uncertainty and transition: the pandemic continues with no end in sight, wildfires rage across the globe, and people have taken to the streets demanding an end to racial injustice. Change is inevitable. Something is coming to an end and something new is emerging. Amidst this current moment of ecological and societal instability, what seeds can we plant for the future? How can we put our values into service for both human and non-human life? What are the inner and outer dimensions to the work of reuniting people, the living world, and the sacred? How can the teachings of spiritual ecology enable us to participate in re-weaving these threads?

This four-part course offers a deep dive into the emerging field of spiritual ecology. Spiritual ecology and its values of interconnectedness, compassion, service, stewardship, and reverence for nature inspired the creation of Emergence.

Each week’s session will provide space for deep listening, reflective journaling, small group discussion, creative exercise, and contemplative practice. We’ll draw on stories from the publication to explore the teachings of spiritual ecology together in a global community.

Full details and registration