Deep Belonging In The Great Turning

A 6-week experience for people hearing the call to cultivate their ecospirituality, deepen their uncolonial journey, and practice belonging to place and purpose as we intentionally meet this collective initiation of intersecting ecological/social crises and opportunities.

“What each of us practices at the scale of our individual lives is what is then possible for us at a large scale. I’m a microcosm of all the possible liberation, justice, pleasure and honesty in the universe, and I act accordingly.” – adrienne maree brown

It’s no secret we are living through seismic cultural and ecological shifts, a time of both vast uncertainty and radical possibility. It has been called The Great Turning/Great Unraveling and has about it the feel of a grand Rite-of-Passage. It is a Collective Initiation calling us to deepen our belonging to the other-than-human world, compost old oppressive forms and ways of being, and inhabit our niche in the ecosystem of healing and justice.

The next round of Deep Belonging in the Great Turning begins in October and I’m excited to anchor the course in additional eco-spiritual and decolonial imaginings, to deepen our capacity for the monumental griefs and surprising joys on our doorstep, to weave in trickster values, and to explore Composting and Emergence as guiding dynamic metaphors. I’m calling in a group of curious hearts hearing the call to tend their ecospirituality and willing to interrogate inherited coordinates and wonder what belonging can mean as we step awkwardly yet intentionally across the threshold.

Over 6 weeks, we’ll explore through conversation in circle, sense and somatic practices, soul work and integration activities, embodied action, poetry, 1:1 consultations, and a private online group. A core component of this course is the opportunity for a supported solo night or extended day quest on-the-land ceremony through the framework of wilderness rite-of-passage.

WHEN: 6 Thursdays, OCT-12-NOV. 16 (ONLINE PROGRAM)
5:30PM-7:30PM Pacific Time

INVESTMENT: $199
Other Options: $149-$249 (See justice pricing note below)

**10% of the course’s proceeds will go to front-line indigenous water and earth protectors.
*Scholarships available for BIPOC & LGBTQ2+

Message me with questions: ryan@wildnatureheart.com

COURSE PILLARS:

Deepening Our Ecospirituality:
- Sacred Pause and Deep Listening
- Honoring the Season and Living the Cycles
- Exploring Deep Time and Uncolonizing TIme
- Belonging to Place: Befriending Your Watershed and More-Than-Human Kin
- Expanding Ecosensuality
Sacred Grief and Pleasure as Portals to Liberation
Rite-of-Passage and Self-Generated Ceremonies
Returning to Our Wild Purpose
Trickster Values in the Great Composting

REGISTER HERE FOR ONLINE PROGRAM

REGISTER HERE FOR IN-PERSON HUMBOLDT PROGRAM
(We are still building critical mass for the local Humboldt in-person class. Please email me to be added to interested list)

THE PROGRAM INCLUDES

Six 2 hours group Zoom calls with a small group of peers
Sense-based and soul-expanding practices and invitations that help you re-connect to inner and outer wild nature, drop deeper into your body and senses to build embodied capacity; and reclaim aspects of your wholeness and wild purpose.
Prompts and practices to deepen your uncolonial commitment and journey
1:1 consultations on program material and solo nature ceremony experience
Private Online group to connect, share, learn, and ask questions between calls
A copy of Re-Membering: Poems of Earth and Soul
Additional decolonial/uncolonial and mythopoetic resources
Discount on future Wild Nature Heart Courses and Wilderness Programs
Invitation to the Annual Wild Nature Heart Gathering

*Note: Maximum of 12 participants and 6 participants minimum to run.

A Note on Justice Pricing Structure:
I wish all the offerings could be free for everyone! I hope to work towards that reality. In the meantime, I am offering this course experience on a system of sliding-scale justice pricing to make it as accessible for as many folks who want to join us as possible.

Acknowledging historic and on-going structural harms for certain people, in particular black, indigenous, and communities of color, I support leveraging economic and white-bodied privilege to support others in our community, and ask that you pay on the scale according to your ability, in order to support access, and engage in co-liberatory interdependence-in -action.

The practice of choosing a rate that is both affordable and heartfelt is a mindfulness and liberation-seeking practice. I will not question your self-determined rate.

This helps make offerings accessible to more people and allows portions of the course proceeds to be given to BIPOC-led organizations and campaigns.

RECENT TESTIMONIALS:

“Thank you for your dedication to this work and for modeling new/old ways of being in leadership and community! I gained a sense of companionship on the journey of exploring some of life and death’s biggest questions. The community formed in the group gave me a glimpse into how we can come together to unlearn, deconstruct, remember, and create more natural and balanced ways of being and relating. One of my biggest take-aways is understanding belonging as something inherent rather than “found” or “earned”. Being witnessed and witnessing others after our solo time on the land was very powerful and deeply meaningful to me on my/our journey.” —Leslie Hammer, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“Ryan is an amazing human being and teacher. This course will nurture your soul, challenge you, and open up new ways of seeing yourself and our wonderous planet. I will definitely be signing up for another Wild Nature Heart experience!” —Rob Daroff, MD, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“I loved this course! This is the second course I’ve taken with Ryan and both times I felt affirmed and supported as he led us on a journey delving into themes of belonging, being, grieving, healing, and growing. Ryan encouraged us to engage with the more-than-human-world on an intimate level of discovery and connection thus cultivating a more earth-centered life. I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking a deeper connection with self and with the natural world.” —Cecelia Futch, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“I find myself repeatedly touched by the depth of your caring for Earth and all her beings and by your dedication to practice and evolving new pathways of relationship and culture. I am moved by the presence that you bring to deep listening and your willingness to explore different perspectives. Your ability to express through poetry and action what’s in your heart and your desire for healthy relationship among all beings is a source of inspiration for me.” —Marianne B. Rowe, MS, LMFT, Summer 2022 Level 3 Ecotherapy Training, Earthbody Institute

“Ryan was FANTASTIC. He was knowledgeable and most importantly, a great listener and guide. I greatly admired his mirroring skills, which have clearly been learned from Mother Nature herself. I have learned so much from Ryan and look forward to incorporating his techniques into my practice as well.” — Participant in Spring 2021 Ecotherapy Certificate Course

“Ryan’s well-designed course on Deep Belonging was just what I needed at a stressful time in life. The facilitation, knowledge and materials shared were generous and truly a gift to enhance my nature connection and learn about myself. This course also provided support for a solo experience which was rich and rewarding. I appreciated being in a group and connecting with other like-minded people.” —Lezlie Scaliatine, Psy.D, Deep Belonging for the Great Turning Course Participant (Fall 2020)

“Ryan is a very thoughtful and sensitive instructor. His background in teaching and poetry, along with his ability to effectively “mirror” our stories about our journeys make him an excellent facilitator. Ryan helped us to organize our thoughts and feelings in this politically and environmentally challenging time, gave us hope, and guided us towards developing a personal plan for coping with the future of our planet.”
— Nan S., California, Deep Belonging for the Great Turning Course Participant (Fall 2020)

“This course is a deep-dive across 6 weeks. Ryan’s skill and generosity of spirit has guided me through a variety of themes and practices that have been both thought-provoking and empowering. I’ve valued this time immensely, and the abundant materials provided will keep me moving through this journey for a long time to come. I’ve developed a richer relationship with my Urban Wild environment in very unexpected ways, and for that I am so very grateful.” —Claire, United Kingdom, Course Participant (Fall 2019)

“Thank you again Ryan for your mentorship prior to this quest of mine. You empowered me to trust in myself, in the wild, and in the ceremony and it seemed so fitting to receive these gifts of yours just prior to a descent. I love and am sincerely grateful for your poem. It certainly helped give me courage to unflinchingly make those leaps over trees and off every known cliff and will continue to do so. I feel super motivated to continue on this path of mine and stay open to all the wild mysteries that present themselves within myself and within this more-than human world of ours. And to taking the next steps in unfurling my own gifts and presenting them to the world.”
— Brady W., Wisconsin, 1:1 Ecotherapy Client and Course Participant (Fall 2019)

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