We are delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for our

Wild Earth ~ Wild Soul
Practice Group

April – December, 2023

a 9-month experience of soul-centered human community
in a more-than-human world

Registration now open, with a deeply discounted price for early registration.

Scroll down for more information & detailed schedule

Living through these times of unprecedented challenge, we find ourselves at a precarious moment in Earth’s story. Ecological, social and economic systems are at the breaking point. Things seem to be falling apart. The living world is being dismembered. It would seem we are in the midst of a Great Unravelling.

And yet, there is always opportunity in crisis.  In these times, we are being called to both re-member and re-imagine. To practice new ways of understanding ourselves, new ways of relating to each other, and new ways of inhabiting this living world. We are being called to do our part in what Joanna Macy calls the “Great Turning”, and to move closer to creating what Charles Eisenstein calls “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”.

In the face of such uncertainty and opportunity — with eyes and hearts wide open, knowing our individual lives are finite, and believing that the way we show up matters — the essential question remains: “How, then, shall we live?”

In order to build our capacity to meet these times with resilience, hope and inspiration, the Wild Earth ~ Wild Soul Practice Group aims to explore, support and cultivate the following essential dimensions of the human experience:

• Community: Learning to live well together – as embodied, relational human beings in community with others.  We practice meeting and supporting each other with authenticity, vulnerability, compassion, and maturity.  What might emerge from this kind of holding?

• Nature: Learning to live in deeply meaningful and reciprocal relationship with the living world.  As humans we are just one expression of life in a more-than-human world. We aspire to both recognize the gifts and accept the responsibilities of being an integral and powerful part of the earth community.  Who might we become, as we engage intentionally with an animate world, as if every being were alive, intelligent, and suffused with soul, imagination and purpose?

• Soul & Spirit: Inquiring into the deep mystery of who we really are, and why we are here – discovering our deeper calling and more fully embodying a soul-centered life of meaning and purpose. As the poet Mary Oliver asks, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”

Our base for this profound work is the wild and beautiful land of Tinaja Ridge — a hidden jewel of wildness in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Lyons, CO.  We practice engaging in sustained, meaningful and reciprocal relationship — with each other and the living, animate world.  And through a variety of practices of deep nature-based and soul-centered inquiry, we continually explore the mystery of who we are, who we are becoming, and how we can live more fully, courageously and soulfully in these times of radical change and renewal.

Our 2023 Wild Earth ~ Wild Soul Practice Group includes:

• 8 daylong immersion experiences: One Saturday each month, April through December, all outdoors in our home ground here at Tinaja Ridge (in the foothills near Lyons).  Each of these full-day experiences will include opportunities for deepening into community with the support of group sharing and interconnection practices; intentional solo wandering and connecting with wild nature; and engaging in a variety of nature-based mindfulness, embodiment and ceremonial practices.

• 1 full weekend (2-day) intensive:  In early September, we gather for a 2-day intensive, with the option of overnight camping. This weekend will be a time for deeper ceremony, deeper connection and extended solo time in the land.

• 8 mid-month evening gatherings: These will be held on a weekday evening, roughly mid-way between our monthly day-long immersions, in either Boulder or Lyons. We will adjust the exact day, time and place according to the groups’ availability, to the best of our ability. (We’re tentatively planning on Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:00 pm)

• 1 personal mentoring session: Meeting 1:1 with one of the guides, either in person or by Zoom. One session is included, with the option of additional 1:1 mentoring throughout the year at a reduced fee. 

• Suggested readings and nature-based practices to work with on your own each month between our group gatherings

• Engaging with a practice partner each month to support deepening into your ongoing nature-based practice

• Opportunities for half- or full-day solo experiences at Tinaja Ridge, supported by Gene and/or Lauren, during the 9 months

Wild Earth ~ Wild Soul Practice Group Application Form

Group size is limited to 10 participants.

Your guides:

Gene Dilworth, MA: Gene is dedicated to the project of rewilding the human spirit as an essential dimension of being fully alive and fully human in these challenging times. By nurturing meaningful relationship with the more-than-human world and facilitating deep inquiry into the mystery of one’s true nature, he supports individuals to discover, re-member and live from the center of their soul-rooted sense of belonging to the world. With degrees in ecology and ecopsychology, Gene has been teaching and guiding groups and mentoring individuals in transformative nature-based experiences for over 30 years. He currently guides wilderness retreats for Animas Valley Institute and is founder of the Wild Heart Center for Nature & Psyche.

Lauren Golten MS, MA: Lauren is a nature-based therapist and a group facilitator drawing upon her extensive training and experience with the Wild Mind model of Animas Valley Institute, the Work That Reconnects, and Matrix Leadership Institute. She holds masters degrees in Field Biology and Wilderness Therapy. Lauren’s 20-year practice and study of meditation and mindfulness, and her life-long love of the natural world, are core to her work as a therapist and facilitator. She sees clients and leads nature-based programs at her home-place of Wild Tinaja Ridge near Lyons, Colorado.

2023 Schedule and Registration:

Monthly daylong immersions:

• Saturdays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• April 22, May 6, June 3, July 8, August 5, October 7, November 4, December 2

Full weekend intensive:

• September 2-3  (Two full days, with option of overnight camping)

Monthly evening council gatherings:

• Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:00 pm
  (Specific dates and location TBD; tentatively planning May 23, June 20, July 18, Aug 15, Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 14, Dec 12)

Financial commitment:  

• To ensure this program is accessible to people of all income levels, we offer deep discounts for early registration.  A monthly payment plan is available at no extra charge.
  • Full price:   $2475

• A non-refundable $250 deposit is required upon registration to hold your spot.

• If you want to join us and make the commitment, and the only barrier to your participation is financial, please contact us and we’ll do our best to find creative ways to make it possible for you!

• Payment can be accepted via:
  • Venmo to @Gene-Dilworth (preferred)
  • PayPal to genedilworth@gmail.com
  • Check (contact us for mailing address)

Wild Earth ~ Wild Soul Practice Group Application Form

We hope you’ll consider joining us this year!  We are really looking forward to creating another rich and meaningful experience with a small group of whole-hearted humans in deep relationship with the natural world.

Feel free to contact us if you are interested and have some questions you’d like to discuss.

And if you are feeling a YES!, please fill out this short application form. We will then set up a brief (15-30 min) call to discuss your interest, answer all your questions, and ensure this group is a good fit for you at this time.