Living Resiliency:
Embodying our True Nature through the Land, Community and Body-Mind Healing

In this current planetary moment, we are presented with an extraordinary opportunity to create truly regenerative earth and thriving human communities. To do so, it is essential that we find ways to support ourselves, individually and collectively, to be clear and effective instruments of change. Given all we are facing, and all that many of us live with in our day-to-day lives and circumstances, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Living Resiliency is designed to increase our innate resiliency, strengthen our ability to navigate change and build our capacity to stay present and available, to ourselves and each other. It is for those looking to support themselves as well as those looking to integrate reliable skills into the work they are already doing in their lives and communities.

On this retreat, Kerry Brady, founder and director of Ecology of Awakening, and Brad Kammer, somatic psychotherapist and teacher, bring together their years of resiliency teaching to explore tools and practices to support you in moving forward with renewed capacity and a greater ability to effect change. In order to do this vital work, we bring ourselves to the land, to immerse in the rhythms and cycles of nature, within and without. As farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka says, “we are nature working”. Just as ecosystems have the ability to self-regulate, we too have the capacity to bring our bodies and minds into balance by aligning with nature and the brilliance of our own biology. By composing with the innate, regenerative wisdom of our nervous systems, we support our overall physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

During our time we will draw on somatic therapies, relational practices, mindfulness, deep ecology and earth-based wisdom to deepen into our wholeness and remember our place within the larger unfolding web of life. You will experience and learn a set of skills and practices that draw on the self-healing nature of our nervous systems. As we learn to track and listen to our bodies – both individually and as a group - we become more adept at following the intuitive guidance available to each of us and to our communities. Our time will weave between didactic talks, community dialogue, experiential process, solo time on the land, listening meditation, council practice, ceremony and other time tested processes that support active engagement with life, inside and out. The retreat takes place at a stunning private reserve in the rolling coastal hills of Occidental, CA, marked by coastal prairie meadows, old growth Fir, Oak woodlands and a luscious waterfall and swimming hole. We will be nourished by the gift of community as well as local, organic meals by our fabulous chef, Nora, whose beaming presence is an ever-welcoming gift.

Note: This is an all-camping retreat. A limited number of special accommodations (with pre-set up, roomy tents with padded cots) are available, on a first come-first served basis for an extra $25/night for non-inclined campers or those with physical limitations. We seek to make this retreat available to all who are called: please note that you do not need to be in top physical shape to attend! We will provide a list of equipment upon enrollment and can assist you with where to buy or borrow equipment if needed. Our basecamp is within walking distance from cars.

Objectives

• Understand that our ability to develop resilience and capacity begins with a regulated nervous system
• Recognize when you are out of balance and learn gentle interventions to encourage a return to physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health
• Increase your capacity to stay present and available when faced with potentially overwhelming experiences
• Recognize our deepest identity as that of the universe, forever unfolding and intricately woven into the intelligence of the whole
• Explore what it is to be engaged, co-active participants in the living universe

Guides

Kerry Brady and Brad Kammer

Dates & Location

Friday, July 20, 12:00 PM - Sunday, July 22, 1:00 PM, 2018, Private Reserve, Occidental, CA

Group Size

Maximum Number: 16

Tuition: $895, *Scholarship Support

Tuition includes all course instruction, guide support, private reserve fees, basic tent camping, as well as local, organic breakfasts and dinners prepared by our fabulous chef, Nora. Participants are responsible for their own lunches, snacks and tea. There is a full outdoor kitchen available to aid with food preparation.

* Our programs are enriched by a diversity of participants. To this end, we are committed to offering scholarship support to those who feel called and are currently of limited financial means. Access to partial scholarships is contingent on the amount available, so best to inquire early. We take into account each individual circumstance and do our best to support each person’s needs in addition to our own. Scholarships are partial in that we expect you to pay what you can afford with the hope that we can make up the difference. Please note that scholarship money is for program tuition and does not cover travel or extra food costs. The scholarship fund exists due to the generosity of the larger Ecology of Awakening community, for which we are most grateful. To request scholarship support, please fill out the Scholarship Application Form.

Registration

The registration deadline is June 25! To reserve your space, please send us a $350 non-refundable deposit (or full payment) for the program. Your place will be secured once we receive your deposit as well as all completed forms (health questionnaire, cancellation agreement and waiver). Once you are registered, we will send you a welcome package with preparation information including suggested reading and helpful practices to engage in before we meet as a group. Please note that any remaining balance is due 30 days prior to the start of the program. 

Testimonials

During some challenging times, when Kerry has guided me in Resiliency work, I have felt a profound unveiling of deep truths. There is great wisdom that resides in my body, and this work assists me in accessing that authentic wisdom. As a result of our work, inner shifts are happening in subtle, gentle and powerful ways, and I am able to welcome that which is wanting to move through me rather than staying stuck in an old pattern of recoiling in fear. I don’t know how else to describe it other than that it is an experience of Deep Blessed Magic.

Brad is a magnificent teacher. His intelligence, eloquence, and passion come through clearly. The way he holds the container is artful. I am inspired by the content of the class and even more so by his expression of the connections between generational trauma and social justice. Exploring healing through the understanding of that connection is my passion and hearing him reflect that passion yesterday gives me a tremendous boost of encouragement.

This work is helping me to be more fully myself and to understand how to continue to show up in these chaotic changing times on the planet.

Kerry embodies the qualities my favorite teachers have had: humility, transparency, deep wisdom in her area of specialty, sensitivity to the group’s needs, a mastery of language to share her ideas, and an obvious passion and love for the work she does.

It was a great pleasure to learn from Brad. I have learned much and my life has been enhanced by what he has taught me. I apply the techniques I have learned from him in all areas of my life and predict this experience will have a lasting effect on my overall health, well-being, and professional work.