At a moment when so many ecological limits are being breached by a civilization largely oblivious to its own embedment within the biosphere, how can we swiftly catalyze a collective recognition of our thorough dependence upon the animate earth?

How to open a fresh and unshakeable solidarity between humankind and the other animals, plants and elemental forces that compose this breathing commonwealth?

It must begin with you and your resolute love. Of fellow humans, of place, of all of life. Many of us yearn for a closer relationship to each other and our fellow animate beings. This is a wondrous opportunity to foster deeper connections. We will be nurturing an exchange through perceptible experience, bounteous conversation, opening our animal senses, collective ponderings, learning to feel and speak the language of an endearing reciprocity, poetics, participatory sharing and telling stories.

“The telling of stories, like singing and praying, would seem to be an almost ceremonial act, an ancient and necessary mode of speech that tends the earthly rootedness of human language. For narrated events always happen somewhere. And for an oral culture, that location is never merely incidental to those occurrences. The events belong, as it were, to the place, and to tell the story of those events is to let the place itself speak through the telling.”
– David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

This gathering brings together the audacious environmental thinking of David Abram, the myth and magic of Leigh Melander/Spillian, the regenerative practice of 7group and you.

I attended a retreat of David’s in October 2015. That experience was truly transformational for me. It helped me to feel into what I do and who I am. It helped me to use all my senses, and bring my whole being into my life. Nothing is separate and I felt the people, mother earth, the waters, fish, plants, animals, trees, winds,  clouds, sun, moon and stars come together to teach us how to be with the great mystery of life. I  am exceedingly grateful for this experience. It aroused my heart and expanded my mind. I literally felt the love of the universe lift me up and carry me home.

I’m in need of continual reminders to continue on this path. This requires periodic disruptions to the everyday grind.

– Marcus Sheffer

Come join us for a jolt of reality with David Abram!

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