Posts by Tess Howell
NM Women’s Vision Fast
A woman’s journey is both vigorous and introspective as she covers ground outwardly, so she ventures deep within herself. Stirred by nature’s calling to be creative and complete, and beckoned by an irresistible urge to cross personal boundaries, she travels the path of her unique destiny. Her passions and gifts are her map. Psyche is her guide. Dreams are her nourishment, the land her friend….
Read MoreTHE YOUNG ADULT RITE OF PASSAGE
This Rite of Passage is a ceremonial and utterly real opportunity to define yourself and be thoroughly welcomed into adulthood for exactly who you are. You are our next generation of world leaders and stewards, our next generation of teachers and care-givers, of artists and scientists, land tenders and culture curators. You will inherit a…
Read MoreCA Summer Vision Fast
Life changes us again and again- through puberty, illness, love, success, loss, commitment, trauma, labor…… We are intrinsically tied to the natural cycles of transformation- from birth, through death, both individually and collectively. How do we stay oriented to who we are, or fully let go into the disorientation and discomfort of the unknown, and trust who we are becoming?
Read MoreCO Summer Vision Fast
In your bones you hear the singing of your sacred ancestors. You follow in their footsteps. You go alone, with an empty belly and a bare minimum of equipment, into the heart of the wilderness, for four days and nights. There you live with yourself in solitude. You surrender to the mirror of your wild environment, and to memory, the looks-within-place. You enter the mansions of nature’s soul. You ponder the questions: “Who am I?” “Who are my people?” and “What is my intent?”
Read MoreSam Balka
Sam is a life-long dancer, a cultural explorer, and an outdoor adventurer. He originated in the creek beds and urban daydreams of Eastern Pennsylvania before moving out West and re-meeting the land. He has been a wilderness guide since 2017, a rites of passage guide a la School of Lost Borders since 2020, and a Somatic…
Read MoreCO June Queer Quest
For over the last decade at the Queer Quest, groups of people from every part of the queer community have gathered on the land to celebrate our stories and step into the fullness of our queer bodies and selves. This healing space has been a refuge and a reminder to all that being queer is…
Read MoreFour Seasons of Storytelling
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
. . . Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
excerpt from William Stafford’s “The Way It Is”
Read MoreYoung Adults Nature Based Rite of Passage
You are a young person in this world, with childhood behind you, no longer a teenager, you have aged into the phase of young adulthood. Are you an adult? How? When? Why? What does being an adult mean to you? Who are you at your core? What are your gifts, your callings, your contributions to…
Read MoreWalking Into That Good Night: Exploring Our Relationship With Dying & Death
Physical death is the ultimate rite of passage that we are preparing for on some level throughout
our life. Sometimes this “preparing” looks like denial; sometimes sudden illness or life-threats
surprise us into looking squarely at the inevitable truth. The more consciously we can turn our
attention to our mortality, the more able we are to turn our life’s focus toward that which truly
matters to us during this one precious lifetime.
CO Women’s Fast
Since time immemorial, women have gathered to celebrate, honor and support life. In doing so we form a sisterhood deeply rooted in our own authentic nature.
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