Rewilding the Soul: Finding Refuge in an Earth Based Lineage – A Year-Long Online Series (with Council)
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What does it mean to be human in these times, when the sky, wind, air, rivers, oceans, soil, rains, trees, plants and animals seem to be asking us to remember? When our bodies are asking? If you have sensed this call, if your heart is troubled by the state of our planet, if you feel overwhelmed with a sense of urgency, if you are seeking a way for these times, you are not alone.
Lama Willa Blythe Baker and Lama Liz Monson, in collaboration with the Council on the Uncertain Human Future, invite you to join us for Rewilding the Soul, an interactive series of gatherings in which we explore the deepest promise of our practice. This promise is not to soothe anxiety, nor to help ourselves find calm in the eye of the storm. The deepest promise of our practice is to attend and transform our collective trauma and to encounter the truth of non-separation— that we have never been separate from what we wish to protect, or from the ones who have failed to protect it.
Rewilding the soul is inner work that helps us attune to the wisdom and love that are always flowing around and through us, the non-conceptual voices of the natural world that seek to draw us home to our deepest being, our core of deep compassion, kindness, and availability to extend ourselves to each other and the wider world.
Beginning with the Spring Equinox, we will gather online to reflect, meditate and engage in the practice of council. Emphasis will be on developing a deep practice of wakeful awareness, fostering intimacy with the natural world, and building compassionate community together… an ecosattva path alive to possibilities emerging from deep presence.
What to Expect
This series centers around two practices of non-dual awareness: the practice of meditation in wild spaces and the practice of council. The first is attentional and embodied, the second relational. Guided by our inner wisdom, we find our way into conversation with the natural world, our own non-conceptual field and one another as we listen for signals as to what it means to grow into an awakened planet at this time.
Attendance of this online series is limited to 140 people, so we encourage you to register early.
Participation in this series includes
- Seasonal gatherings (1.5 hours) four times per year with the entire Rewilding Sangha on the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. These gatherings include teachings with Lama Willa and Lama Liz, collective ritual, song, dance and sharing.
- Membership in a Home Council Circle (approximately 10 people) that meet once a month in the months between the seasonal gatherings to deepen into emergent collective wisdom (see dates below; 1.5 hours on Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm ET). Monthly Home Council Circle begins with a pre-recorded 15 minute guided meditation practice offered by Lama Willa or Lama Liz, followed by Council.
- Discounted Live Online Access to the annual Green Dharma Retreat (June 26-30) at a 30% discount. In person attendance is possible and encouraged (registration not included), but space is limited.
Home Council Circles
Full Series registration will join you with a Home Council Circle so that you may connect, build relationships, and continue dialogue with a consistent group. The Council is an intentional practice of listening and speaking from the heart that builds community and trust, and provides a context for collective wisdom to emerge.
Circles will be led by trained conveners and based on questions raised in the Council on the Uncertain Human Future, yet developed and emerging specifically for this series. Participants are encouraged to commit to regular attendance to receive the full benefits of council practice.
| Equinox/Solstice Dates | Council Dates |
| Spring Equinox — Tuesday, March 19 Summer Solstice — Thursday, June 20 Fall Equinox — Sunday, Sept. 22 Winter Solstice — Saturday, December 21 |
Council 1 — Thursday April 18 Council 2 — Thursday May 16 Council 3 — Thursday July 18 Council 4 — Thursday Aug 22 Council 5 — Thursday October 17 Council 6 — Thursday November 14 |
With special thanks to the BESS Family Foundation for their support!
Resources
Full Series registration will also include access to Solstice/Equinox recordings conveniently in one place (there are not recordings of the councils). Materials such as Council Practice Guidelines and Agreements will be included, along with references for any other resources discussed during the Series.
Program Cost
It is Natural Dharma Fellowship’s aspiration that no one be turned away from our teachings and retreats because they are unable to pay the full price. In order make our offerings affordable for all who wish to attend, we offer a three-level fee structure:
- May All Beings Benefit! – supporting access for all and assisting with the care and maintenance of Wonderwell Mountain Refuge
- A Middle Way – covering the base cost
- Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting
Our pricing options are based primarily on the length and type of an event and are intended to give you an idea of the costs involved. The amounts listed are suggestions. You may write in any amount that fits your financial situation. Any amount offered above the Middle Way level will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing.
Zoom Link
Please read carefully! The seasonal gatherings and the Council sessions will have different Zoom links:
- Links to the seasonal gatherings will be emailed several days before each session.
- The Zoom link for the Home Council Circles sessions will be emailed before the first session. The same Zoom link will be used for each session, so you may want to save it in your calendar so that it is easily accessible. It will also be available in the dashboard of your user account once it is uploaded to your resources.
If you can’t find the Zoom link or need help logging in, please contact . That email address is monitored beginning 15 minutes before the session begins.
If you don’t see an email from Natural Dharma Registrar or Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in your inbox, it may have mistakenly gone to your spam/junk folder or Promotions or Update categories in Gmail. Please put this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:
Access to Recordings
NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are accessed in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.
Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.
Wonderwell Mountain Refuge Full Calendar
