Becoming Human: The Four Shields Model of Nature-Based Therapeutics
“If there were a measure of ‘mental health’, it would involve the ability of individuals to grow into the fullness of each season – that is, the ability to fully become, or enact, the contents of each shield.” – Steven Foster and Meredith Little All that we do and teach at the School of Lost…
Read MoreHealing Ancestral Trauma through Nature, Ritual, and community
When we heal our roots, we open up new possibilities for our future. -Thomas Hubl This 7-day program provides an opportunity to witness, explore, and transform the ancestral energy we have inherited. We sit in a sea of intergenerational and collective influences that color how we react, what motivates us, and how much we trust…
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 MoreDiamond in the Rough: Wilderness and the Diamond Approach
Direct and intimate contact with the natural world is an ancient and profound
doorway to being. Our ancestors knew this, and we are rediscovering it. Curiosity,
experiential inquiry, mindfulness, simple ceremony, and group council open this
door wider and deepen this contact. This retreat is a chance to step outside your
familiar life, be nourished by nature, find the support of deep listening, and
discover renewal, guidance, and inspiration. Here, wilderness provides a
welcoming, accessible, and powerful way home.
The Four Directions of a Queer Man: Forgiveness, Apology & Reconciliation
Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation & prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us & which parts we’ve created to protect us. —Alexander Leon epigraph in Last Call, by…
Read MoreThe Elder’s Journey: The Four Shields of Elderhood for Women
Throughout the ages, elder women have enjoyed sitting in circle to weave the rich tapestries of their stories, stories that continued to warm and inspire people across time and culture.
What about us, now, in our time? As women in all stages of growing into our greater years, there is a growing passion and a commitment to tell our own stories
Read MoreBIPOC Diamond In the Rough (invite only)
The Four Shields of Dreams and Dreamwork
Dreams are like the mycelium of the psyche, birthed from an underground network of ancient interconnected patterns. Dreams come from nature; they are expressions of our oldest humanity, bodily responses, and our relationship with the more-than-human realm
Read MoreOpen Desert, Open Mind
During the first four days together, we will weave together a tapestry of inner and outer exploration. Mornings will be a mix of sitting practice and council time for stories about what is coming up while sitting, with each successive morning becoming more silent than those before. Afternoons will start with several hours alone on the land to invite clear open awareness, inside and out. Late afternoons and evening will again be a mix of sitting and council, including time to have our stories mirrored by others. The morning of the fifth day, participants will be smudged out for a 24-hour solo fast in the desert. After a day of reentry, we’ll then spend two full days hearing everyone’s story, inviting a mirror of each story from both the desert expanse and our three guides.
Read MoreThe Four Directions of a Queer Man: Forgiveness, Apology & Reconciliation
Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimise humiliation & prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us & which parts we’ve created to protect us. —Alexander Leon epigraph in Last Call, by…
Read More