Coming Back to Life

pothole with reflectionComing Back to Life:
Gratitude, Grief & Wonder
in Wild Nature

April 23-24, 2022

Guided by Gene Dilworth and Lauren Golten

at Wild Tinaja Ridge
near Lyons, CO

Join us for this weekend of profound and powerful work as we journey together through the spiral of The Work that Reconnects — 

✦ coming from gratitude
✦ honoring our pain for the world
✦ seeing with new eyes
✦ and going forth with renewed energy and inspiration.

Together we turn courageously toward our pain, grief and despair for the world, while deeply grounded in connection with wild nature and a supportive human community. Allowing ourselves to be informed by such difficult – but utterly natural and necessary – emotional responses to challenging times, we can find our way to move forward in the world with renewed appreciation, interconnection, and inspiration.

Wisdom traditions from around the world teach us that in the very depths of our sorrow lie the seeds of new life. As we emerge from the depths of the pandemic into more active engagement with everyday life and one another, the time is ripe to gather together to collectively acknowledge the extraordinarily challenging times we are living in. In almost every realm of life, in every strata of society, we are experiencing multiple, sustained, systemic trauma and loss, including but not limited to our natural human grief response to ecological collapse and climate chaos, social and political division, conflict and war. 

Fortunately, there are some teachings, maps and practices that are especially helpful in such challenging times. One of the best we’ve experienced is the Work that Reconnects — a set of group practices (created by Joanna Macy and others) designed to support us to be with and move through our grief and despair to a place of embodied, active hope. We are privileged and grateful to offer these teachings and practices at Tinaja Ridge.

In order to see with new eyes, with gratitude and hope, and to move forward with empowered action, we must first pause and give our full presence and compassionate attention to the pain and difficulty we are experiencing in the world now. And just as essentially, we must turn our gaze toward the wonder of what is beautiful, what we are grateful for, and what we love.  In wild nature, in embodied relationship with a more-than-human world, we find ways to access the inner resources, resilience and inspiration we need to actively engage with an uncertain future — to come back to life.

“The Work that Reconnects helps people
discover and experience their innate connections
with each other and the self-healing powers of the web of life,
transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action.”
~from WTR website

 

Program details:

  • DATES: Saturday & Sunday, April 23-24
  • TIME: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm — two full days, all outdoors
  • LOCATION: Wild Tinaja Ridge, private land northwest of Lyons, CO (15 mins drive from Lyons; 35-40 mins from Boulder)
  • GROUP SIZE: Our group size will be limited to 10 people, including guides
  • OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE: We’ll be outdoors the entire time, rain or shine!  (Indoor bathroom facilities available.)
  • COVID PRECAUTIONS: We’ll be in compliance with current Covid-19 safety practices.

To keep this accessible to all,
we are offering a deep $50 discount
if you register by April 11

Group size is limited, so sign up today!

Scroll down for registration info.


Your guides:

Gene Dilworth photo fbGene 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 jan 2016 photoLauren 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, CO.


Coming Back to Life:
Gratitude, Grief & Wonder
in Wild Nature

Saturday & Sunday, April 23-24
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

EARLY REGISTRATION (by April 11): $197

Full price (after April 11): $247

We intend to make this work available to anyone who wants to participate, regardless of economic status.  If financial hardship is a barrier to your participation, and you really want to be here, please contact us to inquire about payment plans, sliding scale, or other options.


REGISTRATION

To register, please send a brief email to Lauren expressing your interest, and use one of the payment methods below.

If you have any questions or need more info, please contact us.