NATURE AND EROS: INTIMATE ENGAGEMENT WITH A LIVING UNIVERSE
Kerry Brady, Brian Swimme, Cathryn Couch
May 5 - 10, 2009 Amidst the roaming hills and valleys of Half Moon Bay

Dwell as near as possible
to the channel
in which your life flows.
~Thoreau

We live in an extraordinary time. Western industrialized culture has conditioned us into the assumption that we are separate selves living upon the earth. Yet across disciplines we are awakening to the knowledge that we are living organisms intricately woven into the ever-evolving vibrant web of life. Coming to understand and, most importantly, to live from this knowing requires a profound shift in our perception of the larger web as well as a recognition of our deepest identity as an inextricable part of the cosmic unfolding that brought us forth.

Beginning with explorations into the wonders of the cosmological story itself, Nature and Eros aims to initiate and support this shift in consciousness - a shift that encourages the movement from alienation to intimate connection; from striving to active surrender. Through mutually reflective encounters with the larger Earth community, with our own rich interiors and with each other, we will begin to dissolve our borders and discover our deepest belonging, both to ourselves and to the larger whole. Rather than being passive, the invitation is to a deeply embodied and sensual way of listening to the world and its constant beckoning.

Our time will organically weave between dialogue about the fundamental nature of the universe and gleanings from the quantum world, solo time on the land, and group time designed to deepen our individual experiences. Through intentional wanderings in the exquisite valley and sun-laden hills of Tunitas Creek Ranch, we will open to the cry of the red-tail hawk and brilliance of the late spring full moon. Together, we will engage in nature-based practices, ceremony, soul-oriented dreamwork, council, movement and other processes designed to lift the veil between our everyday self and the larger mysteries that permeate us. By opening to the more-than-human world while simultaneously drawing from the mysteries within the quantum realm, we will be mirrored and reflected in our own deepest nature and drawn toward the fertile meeting ground between our unique creative expression and the universal unfolding from which it is sourced. Ultimately, our aim is to explore what it is to shift from "trying to move through the world" to "allowing the world to move through us"!

A few unique aspects to Nature and Eros include:

• The intimacy of working within a small group of 15
• A 24 hour solo immersion to support you in further discovering your doorway to your own becoming and to a more intimate engagement with all life
• Nourishment through local organic food as a conscious means of exploring how the larger earth community supports us
• A co-creative process informed by each participant, the group unfolding, and the land that holds and guides us; thereby mirroring what it is to give way to the movement of the world itself

Place and Accommodations: Tunitas Creek Ranch, Half Moon Bay, CA. Accommodations at Tunitas are simple: tent camping with showers and outhouses nearby. A few dorm room beds are available for an additional fee for those who would like a bed.

Course Fee: $1,095 includes basic tent camping and all meals from dinner on the 5th through lunch on the 10th.

Begins at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 5th and ends at 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 10th.

To Register or for more information:
Contact natureanderos@unfoldings.com or (707) 827 3713 or go to www.unfoldings.com

Priority enrollment for first time participants. Brief application required.

INSTRUCTORS

Kerry Brady, M.A. has worked in the fields of psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing trauma work, depth astrology, nature based retreats and vision quests for two decades. Through a unique blend of practices she mentors others in letting go of the safe shores of the known into a direct experience of their own creative emergence. Kerry works with individuals as well as groups and has served as faculty at Animas Valley Institute and as guest speaker at the Foundation for Global Community. As adjunct faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she and Brian Swimme co-teach courses that explore what it is to live in participatory engagement within a living universe and in more authentic alignment with the cultural and ecological shift of our time. Kerry's primary intention is to support the movement from a static, thus separate, sense of self into the recognition that our deepest identity is an inextricable part of the larger unfolding and ever evolving web of life. Her work focuses on an immediate and intimate engagement with all that seeks to awaken us and to a more inherent self guidance as we give way to the unique movement of what seeks to express through each of us. More information on Kerry and her work can be found at http://www.unfoldings.com.

Brian Swimme is a professor of cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He received his Ph.D. (1978) from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oregon for work in gravitational dynamics. In his books and courses he explores a meaningful interpretation of the human within an evolutionary universe. His publications include The Universe Is a Green Dragon (1984), The Universe Story (1992), a collaboration with cultural historian Thomas Berry, and The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos (1996). Brian produced the twelve-part DVD series, Canticle to the Cosmos (1990), and, most recently, the series The Powers of the Universe (2005). He has presented his cosmological ideas at conferences sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the United Nations, and the American Teilhard Association. Please see www.brianswimme.org for more information on Brian and his work.

Cathryn Couch, M.B.A. is a professional chef, evolutionary astrologer and activist who is passionate about changing our relationship with food as a vehicle for discovering a deeper relationship both with one’s Self and with the larger universe. She has worked in the corporate and not-for-profit worlds, including four years as Director of Communications for The Hunger Project-U.S., an educational organization focused on changing our understanding of the causes of and solutions to hunger in the world. In 2006, Cathryn founded The Ceres Community Project to bring together teens in Sonoma County to prepare meals for families dealing with health challenges. She is also writing a book about food, Cooking is a Radical Act. Her work with individuals focuses on empowering people to step into the fullness of who they are by connecting them more deeply to their own wisdom and by supporting them in discovering the unique meaning and purpose of their lives. She can be reached via her website at cathryn@kitchencosmology.com.