“… what the human being will really give to the Earth is love,
a love which will evolve from the most sensuous to the most spiritualized form of love.
This is the mission of the Earth-evolution. The Earth is the cosmos of love.”
~ Rudolf Steiner
If it is true that the gift of the human being to the Earth is love, then we have a lot of work to do! I believe love is the answer. How about you? And what then are the questions? How can I walk with love through a world riddled with violence, injustice, and oppression? How can I not? How can I face and navigate the many obstacles to being a loving person? What helps me be more loving? What gets in the way? What loving seeds am I planting? Where are the sprouts of love in my life? What is blossoming? What am I weeding and pruning to be more loving? What questions arise for you? These are the kinds of questions that we will reflect on over the course of this series. Themes touch on forgiveness, appreciation, compassion, beloved community.
Let’s gather an intergenerational, diverse group of people who are deepening the capacity to love ourselves, our family and friends, our community, this world, and especially the Living Earth and her other beings. In this retreat, based on the work of Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, we work with trauma-informed practices of the Courage & Renewal® approach to create a sacred, confidential, courageous space in which to do our inner work in solitude and community. Together we practice listening generously and asking each other questions that often invite insight and widening possibilities.
This retreat includes Clearness Committees, a powerful discernment process from the Quaker tradition, where one person who wishes to think more deeply about an issue or question has an opportunity to be the “focus person” while a “committee” of four to six others listen and ask open, honest questions. Both focus person and committee members share a profound experience in this unique way of supporting another human being, one that feels a lot like love.
The Center for Courage & Renewal and its facilitators do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status.
