EARTH AWAKENING Transforming personal
relationship with Earth
“The
great
work of our time is to become
integral
with
the
entire
family
of
life.”
(Thomas
Berry
from
The Great Work)
Awaken
your heart. Return to your essential core kinship with the Earth.
Immerse yourself in solitary time on the quiet land using unique
practices, and begin to create a more intimate, personal, reverent
relationship with all of nature. Individual heart-felt relationship
with the Earth may be the most essential ingredient for healing the
planet at this time in history.
In ancient times,
people
lived
as
an
integral
part
of
nature. They were stewards of the
land, taking responsibility for its ecological and spiritual health
because they depended upon it. They were attuned to the Earth and acted
as its guardians in the deepest sense. As well, these ancient ones
communed directly with Spirit during solitary retreats in the
“temple of the wild”, as a way of understanding what it
meant to be human, reaffirming their place within the vast web of life.
Because of this “right relationship” with Earth, people
possessed a profound sense of belonging and reciprocity with the Earth.
Earth Awakening
answers the call
to recapture this innate spiritual connection to all of nature. All the
elements and beings in nature can be our teachers, mirroring our inner
nature for us. At first, as we enter deep communion with the Earth, we
find it deeply nourishing and healing; it provides vital chi, beauty,
wonder, insights and unconditional love to help us remove obstructions
to living within our fullest potential. We also begin to sense a strong
interconnectedness. We then discover what our elders knew: the Earth is
also a wellspring of all the highest spiritual qualities. These include
empathy, compassion, clarity, still mind, an ego that functions in
service of the heart, and unity.
It is time to awaken
our hearts....
and activate the vital force of our love and compassion for all of
nature. Humans have a powerful and unique role to play in the healing
of the planet. We can bring ourselves reverently, each of us, to this
“temple of the wild”. Love is not a feeling; it is a way of
being mindfully present with other living things. By practicing a fresh
kind of relationship with the Earth, our awareness shifts. Instead of
viewing nature as something to control, we can begin to see it as our
family. This helps us find our true place again within the web of all
life. Our values begin to change. We can see how to bring respect and
harmony to our troubled communities and planet. Most importantly,
awakening the heart heals humanity’s historically abusive
relationship toward Earth.
The key is
to bring to each moment of contact with nature, a mindful presence and
an attitude of reverence, humility and gratefulness.
About Earth Awakening Retreats
Imagine yourself
alone, deep in
beautiful nature.
No
distractions,
nothing
to
disturb
the
tranquility.
Alone.
All
One. (John P. Milton, Way of Nature)
Rekindle a profoundly reverent
relationship with the Earth. Come and…
Activate your heart –
empathy, compassion, unity with all beings
Renew a sense of
reverence for, and interconnectedness with, all life
Learn unique ancient
practices to generate vital life force, deep joy, and gratitude
Open to a hopeful,
helpful new role with Gaia
Bring more sacredness
into your everyday life
An Earth Awakening Retreat is a transformational immersion experience
whose foundation is solitary time in nature. The focus is changing our
relationship with Earth to a respectful and humble one, while also
inviting personal healing, insights and deep interconnection with the
web of life. The retreat is a mixture of discussion and group
instruction to prepare you for your solo; focused practices during solo
to cultivate presence; and reflection/integration afterwards.
Each retreat builds on the last
one for an integrated, ongoing,
deepening exploration.
Learn simple, powerful practices from the ancient Earth wisdom
traditions of China, Tibet and indigenous America.* They include
meditations designed to open the heart, still the mind and commune
directly with nature; relaxation and deep appreciation exercises;
Chinese qi gong; the use of visualization and breath to move energy;
presence practices; and individual ceremony, the language of the
sacred.
Use all these to move beyond yourself
and merge with nature, opening more and more to a deep sense of
interconnectedness. Illuminate your own path by exploring the seven
spiritual landscape archetypes and bringing deep awareness to where
your heart leads you within the landscape. The depth of your Earth
Awakening experience depends on your degree of attention and intention
with the personal practices on solo. At first these practices help you
open, relax, center and heal. With continued use they can awaken to
true Earth spirituality and a profound shift in life values.
Earth Awakening Retreats are held at various beautiful retreat centers.
They are currently one day in length with a one-hour or three-hour
solo. In 2010, two-day overnight retreats will be introduced to extend
the solo experience to 12 hours.
*The ancient practices come from The Way
of Nature teachings of John P. Milton - shaman, elder, ecologist and
environmentalist. John has compiled universal spiritual practices from
many earth-connected traditions; he offers them in his Sacred Passage
programs, for the purpose of creating sacred relationship between
humans and the Earth. See www.SacredPassage.com.
I am indebted to John
Milton and Sacred Passage for these life-changing practices and for
inspiring me to create Earth Awakening.
Earth
Awakening
Retreats
Transforming personal relationship with Earth
GREENING A Sacred
Earth Art Retreat for Women
April 24, 2010 9-5pm
Celebrate the burgeoning
beauty of spring! Open to the fresh, bright, clear energies of the
Earth at this glorious time of year....and reconnect your radiant open
heart with the verdant planet. Your soul is a garden filled with
intentions to be cultivated with reverence and joy.
We will spend several hours
in solitude on the greening land, exploring for personal power spots
and creating celebratory ceremonies in honor of the Earth. Through fine
attunement to Earth energies, we will open deeply to sacred space and
the
enlivening life force that flows through all of nature. Shamanic
meditations help us reciprocate by focusing energy powerfully for the
healing and
"greening" of Gaia.
Learn about the seven
spiritual landscape archetypes and how
they inform and invite the new landscape/garden of the soul as it
emerges this
spring. Create a sacred
outdoor altar, using the Expressive Arts of color, sculpture, song and
ritual to give voice to everything new your soul is bringing forth in
this inward garden. As you gratefully co-create with the Earth, her
fresh chi imbues your "soul altar" with ongoing energy, beauty and
love.
Come and play!
EVENT INFORMATION Held at the BodyMindArt Center on
sacred land near Morris, NY Directions
Tuition and Materials: $96 (Payment plans welcome)
Out-of-town travelers welcome; motel and inn list provided on request
To Register: contact Sarah@RadiantAlignment.com or 607-353-9833
SACRED
EARTH
ART
RETREATS Touchstones for the Spirit
Deepen
into
the
Earth
and
the
sacred,
and come back to your center.
In each retreat we create a space for inner stillness, opening to the
self that is deeply guided by nature, spirit and soul. Through solitary
time on the quiet land we open to Earth’s wisdom and healing energies.
We give voice to new insights using expressive writing, art, movement
and ritual. We come away with fresh clarity in our natural, open
hearts… new reverence for the Earth… and
profound practices for ongoing nourishment back home. Gratefully, we
come back to our essential selves, more whole…focused…and clear.
We will...
* Renew our intimate, reverent connection with the Earth and illuminate
our spiritual path, through solitary time on the land. Using
meditations, qi gong and communion practices from ancient
Earth-reverent cultures, and exploring the seven spiritual landscape
archetypes, our true essence is deeply nourished. We learn to cultivate
our inner garden with nature’s ready wellspring of all the spiritual
qualities we seek.
* Create an expressive-arts item that embodies the insights from our
“solo” and expresses the needs of the sacred inner self in that
particular season. Through circle dialog, movement, ritual, writing and
art, we bring the inner stirrings of our soul into our consciousness as
a guiding light for life back home.
Let the Sacred Earth Art Retreats be your touchstone as you walk
through the seasons.
RETREAT SCHEDULE for
2010 ~ Sacred Earth Art
June
12,
9-5pm
Blossoming
Deepen your innate spiritual relationship with the
Earth, and let your true nature open and blossom. Spend extended
solitary time outdoors in contemplation using unique ancient indigenous
practices that profoundly open the heart. Let a bit of Expressive Arts
capture the essence of your new connections.
September 11,
9-5pm Gathering
Prepare to go inward for the winter, gathering all
your gifts and longings from the year. Let the Earth and the Expressive
Arts help you voice how you wish to move into the darker days when you
tend your own inner hearth
ABOUT THE
FACILITATORS.... Jay Cardinale
is an Artist, Bodyworker and Body Mind Art Educator who integrates art,
counseling and bodywork to facilitate
personal
and
spiritual
growth.
Jay
has
trained as a Hellerwork Structural Bodyworker
and a
Person Centered Expressive Art Educator.
Currently she is in private
practice in NYC and Morris NY, and has
facilitated Expressive Arts and
Women's Ritual Groups since 1984. Jay is committed to
assisting
women in creating safe sacred healing space, where trust and honesty
are practiced as an ideal for growth and healing.
Sarah Root is an Energy
Worker, Spiritual Wellness
Educator and Earth Educator whose passion is connecting
people to
sacred inner and outer nature. The creator of Earth Awakening
workshops, Sarah's training with two shamans, John P. Milton and Brooke
Medicine Eagle, adds to her lifelong nature focus as biologist,
environmental educator and adventure educator. A gifted facilitator of
transformational experiences, Sarah has designed and led hundreds of
self-discovery and spiritual retreats since 1984.
Deepen
into
the
Earth
and
the
sacred,
and come back to your center. 
facilitate
personal
and
spiritual
growth.
Jay
has
trained as a Hellerwork Structural Bodyworker
and a
Person Centered Expressive Art Educator.
Currently she is in private
practice in NYC and Morris NY, and has
facilitated Expressive Arts and
Women's Ritual Groups since 1984. Jay is committed to
assisting
women in creating safe sacred healing space, where trust and honesty
are practiced as an ideal for growth and healing.