Global Programs and Community

The School of Lost Borders holds the intent and the promise that one day meaningful Rites of Passage will once again be available to all people. With the present state of our world and the incredible challenges each individual faces it is very heartening to witness this ancient rite re-emerging globally. The School of Lost Borders is committed to supporting the continuation of this movement and to supporting and empowering  guides and colleagues around the world.

In the spirit of this intent we list, a schedule of some international program offerings, and some of the organizations offering rites of passage globally. 

Global Programs

  • In the Life Lodge: Forgiveness, Apology, and Reconciliation

    Date: 
    May 15th, 2012 - May 20th, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little
    Web Address: 
    Aruna Institute
    Contact: 
    aruna.info@t-online.de

    Germany

    If only there were evil people somewhere else insidiously committing evil deeds,

    and it were simply necessary to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. 

    But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.   

    And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

    —Alexander Sozhenitsyn

  • The East Shield of Human Nature: The power of the wild and unexpected

    Date: 
    May 23rd, 2012 - May 28th, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little with Susann Belz, Franz Redl, and Claudia Pichl
    Web Address: 
    Shambhala Wilderness School
    Contact: 
    franz.redl@wilderness.at, women-and-earth@bluewin.ch

    Tirol near Mittersill, Austria

    “In the spring shield of human nature, death and birth, mortal and divine, nature and spirit, are inseparable one. The trickster knows this, and does not know it, and all the while is inexorably drawn to the light”.
     
    -- Steven Foster, The Four Shields of Human Nature
     
     

  • The Fire of Passion: Shamanism and the Medicine Wheel

    Date: 
    Aug 31st, 2012 - Sep 4th, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little, Susann Belz
    Web Address: 
    Women and Earth
    Contact: 
    women-and-earth@bluewin.ch

    Switzerland

    …. There is no end,
    believe me! to the inventions of summer,
    to the happiness your body
    is willing to bear.
                   --  Mary Oliver, “Roses”
     
     

  • The Psychodynamics of Mirroring and Empowerment: Advanced Training

    Date: 
    Sep 8th, 2012 - Sep 13th, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little
    Web Address: 
    Eschwege Institute
    Contact: 
    info@eschwege-institut.de
    Telling one’s own story is an ancient art. Nowadays, we have forgotten how to listen and how to tell. Yet the very survival of our species depends on our ability to communicate with each other in such ways as to be mutually enriched by the telling and the listening. If we cannot tell with expression, our life is mute. If we cannot listen like a mirror, we cannot reflect back the wholeness of body, soul, mind and spirit of the teller.
     

  • 5th Intercontinental Gathering of Wilderness Guides

    Date: 
    Sep 17th, 2012 - Sep 23rd, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Organizers: Katerina Babenko and Georgiy Kushnir
    Contact: 
    istoki-center@mail.ru

    Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine

  • Mentoring Day (Council)

    Date: 
    Oct 25th, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Gigi Coyle and Marlow Hotchkiss
    Contact: 
    han@delissen.nu

    Natuurvriendenhuis De Bosbeek, Bennekom, The Netherlands

    We, Marlow Hotchkiss and Gigi Coyle, will meet with devoted practitioners of council, those
    who are already on the path of Council Trainer. We will, in particular, spend time focused on
    anyone being confirmed as a trainer and do some preparations for that ceremony to be held
    in the ECN meeting. You must listen and decide if this is a meeting for you. We, as guides
    and mentors, will accept dana/ a donation for the time spent together. We offer 2 sessions,

  • European Council Network Meeting in the Netherlands

    Date: 
    Oct 25th, 2012 - Oct 28th, 2012
    Contact: 
    han@delissen.nu

    Natuurvriendenhuis De Bosbeek, Bennekom, The Netherlands

  • Council: Deepening the Practice

    Date: 
    Oct 29th, 2012 - Nov 1st, 2012
    Instructors: 
    Gigi Coyle and Marlow Hotchkiss
    Contact: 
    han@delissen.nu

    Where: Natuurvriendenhuis De Bosbeek, Bennekom, The Netherlands

    When: This workshop begins at 6 PM on Monday October 29th, and will finish at 4 PM on Thursday November 1st.

    Cost:  Expected costs: sliding scale  € 310,– — 400,  plus board and lodging (about € 40,– per day).

  • The Psychodynamics of Mirroring and Empowerment: The Art of Deep Listening and Story Telling

    Date: 
    Apr 27th, 2013 - May 1st, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little and Educo staff
    Web Address: 
    Educo Africa
    Contact: 
    contact@educo.org.za

    Seminar house Oatlands: http://www.oatlands.co.za/, near Cape Town, South Africa

    Telling one’s own story is an ancient art. Nowadays, we have forgotten how to listen and how to tell. Yet the very survival of our species depends on our ability to communicate with each other in such ways as to be mutually enriched by the telling and the listening. If we cannot tell with expression, our life is mute. If we cannot listen like a mirror, we cannot reflect back the wholeness of body, soul, mind and spirit of the teller. The best stories are about human-nature: that is, the human of us which is, after all, nature,

  • The Psychodynamics of Mirroring and Empowerment: The Art of Deep Listening and Story Telling

    Date: 
    May 3rd, 2013 - May 7th, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little and Educo staff
    Web Address: 
    Educo Africa
    Contact: 
    contact@educo.org.za

    Seminar house Oatlands: http://www.oatlands.co.za/, near Cape Town, South Africa

    Telling one’s own story is an ancient art. Nowadays, we have forgotten how to listen and how to tell. Yet the very survival of our species depends on our ability to communicate with each other in such ways as to be mutually enriched by the telling and the listening. If we cannot tell with expression, our life is mute. If we cannot listen like a mirror, we cannot reflect back the wholeness of body, soul, mind and spirit of the teller. The best stories are about human-nature: that is, the human of us which is, after all,

  • Dying as a Rite of Passage: The Practice of Living and Dying

    Date: 
    May 11th, 2013 - May 16th, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little and Educo staff
    Web Address: 
    Educo Africa
    Contact: 
    contact@educo.org.za

    Groot Winterhoek Reserve, South Africa

    For millennia indigenous people everywhere have known "how to die." Their teacher was the natural world and, over many years and many generations, they learned their lessons well. Cycles of dying and rebirth were seen everywhere: the setting and rising of the sun, the turning of the seasons, the death of the elderly alongside the birth of a new generation. Ceremonial rites of passage emerged pan-culturally as a means of supporting, guiding and witnessing this natural process. These rites supported individuals as they let go of one stage of life—the “little deaths”—and were “reborn” into the next. And these rites supported people as they prepared for the final transition, the big Death that awaits us all.

  • Dying as a Rite of Passage: The Practice of Living and Dying

    Date: 
    Sep 13th, 2013 - Sep 19th, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little, with Georgiy Kushnir and Kateryna Babenko
    Web Address: 
    istoki-center
    Contact: 
    istoki-center@mail.ru

    Ukraine, more details to follow

     

  • Title and theme to be announced Fall, 2012

    Date: 
    Sep 24th, 2013 - Sep 29th, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little
    Web Address: 
    Eschwege Institute
    Contact: 
    info@eschwege-institut.de

    Eschwege, Germany

  • The Four Shields of Leadership

    Date: 
    Oct 3rd, 2013 - Oct 8th, 2013
    Instructors: 
    Meredith Little, Susann Belz
    Web Address: 
    Women and Earth
    Contact: 
    info@womenandearth.ch

    Germany, details to follow

International Community Links

Australia

  • Beyond the Threshold
    Beyond the Threshold: Glenis Taylor and Gary Williams
    http://www.beyondthethreshold.net/

    Perth, Western Australia

    Beyond the Threshold was born from a cry of the wilderness heart. It is a rite of passage partnership based in Perth, Western Australia where we run two to three vision fasts (max 8 places per quest) from April through to October.

    Both Glenis Taylor and Gary Williams are experienced fast guides who have done their training and solo times with Rite of Passage Inc and the School of Lost Borders respectively.

    For more information and fast times, email: guides@beyondthethreshold.net '

    "Lose yourself over the dreamtime threshold, downunder"

     

Austria

  • Shambhala Wilderness School
    http://www.wilderness.at/

    Austria

    The school was founded 1997 by Claudia R. Pichl, Franz P. Redl and Peter Wetzler (Austria). Our focus is on rites of passage work in various different settings: Vision Quest, 4 Shields and Medicine Wheel, Ceremonies of the 4 Shields, Mirroring, Sweatlodge, and a year-long group 'Spiraling to your Self'. We also train people in a very individual way to become Vision Quest guides (2 to 4 years). We offer seminars in: Austria, Italy, Sinai/ Egypt, Sahara / Libya and Southern Africa. We are teaching in the spirit of the "School of Lost Borders" and our own way of the heart and with the background of our long experience. We have sponsored Steven and Meredith, and now sponsor Meredith and Scott in Central Europe (Mirroring and Empowerment, and The Practice of Living and Dying).

  • CHRISTIAN KIRCHMAIR
    http://www.christian-kirchmair.at

    Christian Kirchmair
    Porzellangasse 49/2/2
    A-1090 Wien · Österreich

    Born 1956 in Vienna/Austria/Europe, father of three adults, 20 years self-employed, since 2005 vision-quest-guide and seminar facilitator in Vienna, Austria

    Training
    Seminars at Aruna Institute in Germany 2003 to 2006
    Vision-quest-guide training at School of Lost Borders in USA 2004 & 2005
    Grief counselor training at a hospice in Vienna, Austria 2005

    Since 2005, he leads and organizes vision-quests and seminars for youth and adults as a self-employed seminar facilitator and in co-operation with other international institutes. Themes and groups specific for men are a major focus of his work.

    Several journeys through Africa, India and Nepal led up to the foundation of a non-profit organization “people-together”, which organizes charity projects in different countries

Europe

  • The European Council Network (ECN)
    http://www.council-network.eu/

    The European Council Network (ECN) connects people all over Europe, Israel and the Middle East as a whole, who practice council in their work and their life.

    We want to expand and strengthen the field for council in Europe and help to bring council in groups, organisations, institutions, relationships, etc.

    This Website is a place where one can find local trainers and a schedule of events for each European community.

     

Germany

  • Sylvia Koch-Weser
    http://www.sylvia-koch-weser.de

    Nuernberg, Germany

    Sylvia is a biologist, and a Vision-Quest guide since 1999 with 4-5 Vision-Quest a year in the region of Sinai-desert, Croatia, Austrian Alpes and Canary Islands.  She supports people in their inner growth and in working with nature as a mirror of the soul.  Sylvia also offers trainings for Vision-Quest guides, and is co-author of the german book: "Vision-Quest: Alone in the Wilderness on the Way to Yourself".

  • The Eschwege Institut
    http://www.eschwege-institut.de/

    The Eschwege Institut was founded by Holger & Gesa Heiten. Beside our own workshops and Vision Quests in the spirit of the School of Lost Borders, we offer training programs, team development and coaching in this spirit.  Our aim is to introduce “rites of passage work” to places where therapists, social workers and teachers work with others in transition crisis on a daily basis.

    In this context we have seen the need for modern Mentors to guide others through the process of transition. Therefore we have created a special two year training program to explore the themes of mentoring and the diverse forms of rites of passage and the vision quest.  For this training we offer seminars that address special fields of this work, cooperating with a faculty of international teachers. We feel honored to sponsor staff from the School of Lost Borders.
     

  • European Guides Council
    http://www.visionssuche.net/index.php

    This is a good resource for exploring organizations offering Rites of Passage and trainings.

Republic of South Africa

  • Educo Africa
    http://www.educo.org.za

    7 Dalegarth Rd.
    Plumstead 7800
    Republic of South Africa

    Educo Africa makes use of the wildness found in deep mountains to encourage the growth of young people who are challenged by poverty and various social ills such as AIDS.  The mountains provide a reframing experience oftentimes moving the young person from cycles of despair to one of hope and aspiration.  The work of Educo Africa has particular emphasis on a concern for the environment, community building and cross cultural cooperation, while at the same time promoting the spirit of Ubuntu.

South Africa

  • Renaissance Business Associates
    http://www.rbanet.co.za/

    Judy Bekker and Valerie Morris have been guiding vision fasts in the Cape, South Africa since 1993. Their eleven day programs begin and end next to the Indian Ocean and the solo fast is set in a huge tract of private wilderness three hours out of Cape Town. The land is beautiful and generous and filled with the art of the bushman people who once roamed and hunted there. Judy and Valerie run up to four programs a year in the summer months between October and March.

Switzerland

  • Women and Earth
    http://www.womenandearth.ch/

    Women and Earth was founded in 1996 by Susann Belz. With a circle of different teachers from around the world, we offer many programs.  All the training's are earth-based teachings and have many different settings: Weekend Groups, Vision Fasts, week-long trainings in healing ways, and Rituals for the 8 Seasons.

    The School is a place for women. Together we learn and grow, always in mind to what serves Mother Earth and all her beings who are a part of this great family.  A very important ingredient of the learning is living together during these seminars in a beautiful house just on the border of Switzerland and France - a chance to deal with our own borders and boundaries.

Ukraine

  • Georgiy Kushnir and Kateryna Babenko
    Center "Istoki"
    http://www.istoki-center.org.ua

    The word "istoki" means sources, beginnings.  Beginnings of life, knowledge, forces and spirit.  We invite people to find their answers and celebrate their changes iwth the help of the sources - wild nature, and ancient traditions.  Georgiy Kushnir and Kateryna Babenko, the leaders of Istoki and pioneers of rites of passage work in Ukraine, have been invited and supported by Keith Kilburn and School of Lost Borders.  Since 2005 they develop practices of rites of passage in Ukraine and Russia.

    Istoki provides Vision Quest programs, sweat lodges, educational programs for future guides, workshops devoted to different rites of passage.  Istoki invites guides from different countries to lead seminars in Ukraine and to introduce this work to our people.

USA- and the World

Internal strength is an absorption of the external landscape. We are informed by beauty, raw and sensual.

Terry Tempest Williams