Within the soft woods of ancient mountains, touching deeply the streams, trees, air, and wet-earth of autumn, we discover an open and grounded setting and perhaps an opportunity for coming into intention and expanding mindfully into the soft breath of the shifting season--an invitation into the exploration of our reciprocity with the natural world.

About :

The setting for the immersion is a camping site at the base of Mount Mitchell and along the South Toe River in NC. We will come together here, nestled into the silhouette of the Pisgah Mountains, and invite Psyche/Spirit into a sacred ceremony with the Earth. We will Immerse into deep contact with the wilderness of the heart as a vessel for consciously engaging with the wilderness of the natural world.

Connecting to the wilderness of the natural world is reciprocal to connecting to the wilderness of our being.

We will rendezvous at 11:00 AM on October 24th at the South Toe River entrance. Our 5 days & 4 nights together will be taken up with weaving the four shields of human nature & ecopsychology as the foundation for engaging in group council, nature-explorations, medicine walks, practices that yield toward heart and nature coherence (ex: yoga asana, pranayama, music & chanting, soundwalking, meditation, art), and exploring how to live and be in a state of aliveness with the wilderness. During this time participants will also be invited to participate in a 24 hour solo in nature.

Group Council - The practice and wisdom of Council is rooted in our ancestral lineage. Many ancient and indigenous communities gathered in the form of a Council circle to engage in dialogue for the sake of authentically connection, problem solving, sharing, and strengthening communities. The circle symbolizes the open, nonhierarchal, safe field for wholeness. The practice of Council offers intention, heartfelt sharing, and agenda-less dialogue with the intent of connecting each member in reciprocity to the circle. Council is a guide and compass that grounds an interweaving of heart, stories, and voices. (for more information about a practice of council, visit www.ojaifoundation.org)

Nature-Explorations / Medicine Walks - Using ecopsychology and the four shields of human nature as a compass to understand our human psyche/Spirit admist transitions. Grounded in this way, this compass also encourages a clear navigation to understand our psychological & physiological connections to, with, and in the intricate web that is our earth ecosystem. (For more on The Four Shields of Human Nature, see Little & Foster @ www.schooloflostborders.org; Bill Plotkin @ www.animasvalley.org)

Just as the butterfly must face the dark night of a cocoon, we too must begin our transformation. Greenway (1995) suggests that our culture is only four days deep (p. 129)---meaning that our culture is only four days removed from nature. The reason he suggests this has to do with the speed with which dreams shift during wilderness incursions--usually within three to four days (Greenway, 1995, p. 129).

Guides & Assistants :

Colleen Jones, MA (aka Collfeatherz) is a devout practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, teaches many styles, and shares a deeply felt-sense connection to life-force. She is a graduate alumni of Naropa University with an MA in Transpersonal Ecopsychology. She has participated and is trained in facilitating Council, Mirroring the Four Shields, Transitions & Rites of Passage work, and the Nature of Council. Colleen feels a deep calling to be in authentic communion and dialogue with all beings, and in embodying what it means to be alive. She feels at home when she is living from an open heart, and is at home within the community of pulsating hearts of her partner T, their fury-kins, human and more than human community, and an abundance of natural wilderness beauty, aspen trees, pines, sacred land, river valleys, and high mountains within the Western Slope Region of Colorado.

Thompson Bishop, MA (aka tbird) grew up in the hills of East Tennessee and the mountains of Colorado. From an early age, tbird began his study of music and a deep connection to the natural world. Trained in classical piano and voice, he received double undergraduate degrees in Music and Recording Arts. Deeply touched by the ecological struggles of the earth in human hands, tbird returned to graduate studies in Animal Policy and Advocacy and then into Transpersonal Ecopsychology (MA) at Naropa University. tbird has a deep affinity for the Ragged Mountains and the Crystal Valley, and now finds sanctuary and home with his partner Colleen and their loving fury-kins just outside of Redstone, CO. tbird loves trail running, hiking, mountain biking, yoga, and all things contemplative. He is an active part of three boards, including the Advisory Board for the Prairie Dog Coalition and is the Vice President for the American Society of Acoustic Ecology.

Stevie Goggans, ERYT500 - assistant guide Stevie is a lover of sunshine, exploring the world, and sharing yoga. She is an ERYT 500-hr Yoga Alliance Certified Facilitator with an emphasis in the Shamanic Compass of Yoga. Her journey toward yoga began in Myrtle Beach, SC and she has since been teaching & sharing the medicine of her earthen roots around the world.