August 2 - 6, 2012
Turning Toward a Breaking World with Animas Valley Institute,
In Albion Basin, near Salt Lake City, Utah

In these times when oceans are dying, ice caps are melting, war is ravaging the people, and our hearts are falling toward despair, we find exquisite secrets and unfathomable beauty in turning toward all that is breaking, in facing all that is troubling our hearts. While so many people are ignoring the excruciating truths of our deteriorating biosphere and numbing themselves to the heart-wrenching extinction of species, we invite you to join us in turning and directly facing what is horrific in our times. We do this to break open our hearts all the more and thereby further empower our unique ways of gifting our world.

In this intensive, we will gather in beautiful, heartbreaking council and in ceremony, bringing to the center of our consciousness the current devastations in our world. We will walk on the land in full awareness of the wounds the planet is suffering, endeavoring to listen deeply to the voices of wild nature. We will courageously seek the piercing places where our personal wounding meets the wounding of the world. Some of our practices will be drawn from the well-honed work of Earth elder Joanna Macy, such as The Truth Mandala and dyadic exercises for accessing a deep time awareness that embraces both the voices of our ancestors and those of future generations. We will call upon the dreammaker to show us what is hidden in our collective unconscious, gathering in the mornings to share dream images and from there moving out to encounter the holy wild in the rocky crags and wildflowered meadows of the Wasatch Mountains. Returning, we'll sit in council, our field of awareness enriched with the unexpected encounters with the invisible mystery. Together with our ancestors, we will walk with questions, tune our ears to the encouragement and council of the future beings, and enact blessing ceremonies.

Through the nourishment derived from mindful time in wild places and from carrying immense questions, we gather strength to respond to dying worlds with open eyes and open hearts, with vivid imagination and potent means. By breaking open, our love flourishes and our patiently waiting soul feels the ego’s response at last. Despair is replaced with an enhanced desire and ability to embody our soulful selves as inspired visionary artisans of cultural change. In these times, when our personal gifts seem so small in the face of overwhelming odds, we courageously gather together to turn toward our world in its pain and need: to listen, to bear witness, and to respond in ways particular to our own quiet, sprouting, and soulful yearnings.

Please refer to the Animas Valley website for a full description to this seminar and location, and others. www.animas.org or call 800-451-6327

Costs
Guides: Annie Bloom and Jade Sherer.

Guide Fee : $595

Location/Camping Info: Set among the pine and aspen trees at an elevation of 8300 feet, Redman Campground is 14 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The Canyon offer several soaring peaks, pristine hidden lakes, rivers and streams. The canyon is known for its spectacular show of wildflowers in late summer and painting of bright autumn colors in the fall.

Camping fee: $45 includes the cost of group permit. Lunches, snacks, and tea are the responsibility of each participant. Breakfasts & dinners will be divided amongst the group and each participant will be responsible for a group meal. Please contact the Animas office for more information.

Arrival Info: TBA.

Or Contact Jade for more information about this expedition.

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