The Heart of Sacred Activism - Redwood Reider & Inna Alex

How do we engage with what's going down on this wondrous planet we share? When we consider the effects of our industrial society, it's easy to slip into despair or try to shut out the "bad news" in denial. Working to nurture and protect life in the fact of destruction and oppression around us is not always easy, but it is vital..

- and it can be a transformative journey if we approach it that way.

This session will guide us each to develop our understanding of what it means personally for us to be a "sacred activist" - one whose essence is spiritually committed to actively cocreating a more just and thriving world. ("Activism" in this sense is broadly defined; it isn't limited to signing petitions or locking yourself to stuff.) Poetry, guided meditation and interactive exercises, nature connection and sharing will help us attune to what is happening and our own place in it. We will explore how to open our hearts without breaking, tap into the spirit of nature, and acknowledge both fragmentation and unity, so that we can live in wholeness and work for change in the world in our own way, from a place of centeredness.

You may wish to bring pen and paper if you have them, to record your own insights from the journey.

Adults only

Redwood Reider: Professionally trained as an environmentalist, I have been involved in various eco-activist ventures over the years, including working to protect old growth forests in my native U.S.; supporting Latin American indigenous peoples' struggles for land-based sovereignty; and trying to stop 1080 poison drops here in New Zealand. I've also spent the last 12 years studying and engaging in Buddhist and shamanic practices, looking for ways to keep myself sane in the process. Increasingly, I have come to see these spiritual and political paths not as separate or even complementary, but as an integrated whole. I will bring all of these experiences together to guide this workshop. Being a poet has been central to this journey for me as well, so I will share some of my own poetry as part of it.
www.redwoodreider.org

Inna Alex is originally from Germany and has a masters in Env Management  
and Landscape Planning. Living in intentional community at Tui, Inna  
works as a yoga teacher as well as in environmental & permaculture  
education with Earthcare Education Aotearoa. Inna studied Deep Ecology  
with Joanna Macy in Findhorn, Scotland in 2009.