Tag: amsterdam

The Great Turning Towards Life – Summer Solstice Gathering on 20th June

The Great Turning is the name for the essential adventure of our time : moving away from an Industrial Growth Society that is incompatible with life on this planet to a Life-sustaining Society. This shift is happening and gaining momentum through the actions of countless individuals and groups around the world.

photo credits : Noah Buscher

We invite you to join us and celebrate this turning towards Life together at this special moment of the year. During the Summer Solstice, Life is at its peak and nature is abundant. Our own projects may be showing signs of blossoming or perhaps our motivation to create, serve and take action is rising substantially.
During this evening we’ll hold a nurturing space in which you can explore where you are called to in this Great Turning, honouring your unique longings & gifts and deepening your contributions. This vibrant time of year invites us to rise fully into who we are, who we are becoming and what wants to be born through us.

Our intention during this evening is to offer a space for support, celebration & inspiration as well as community sharing to nourish and empower us as we move forth into the Great Turning.
We (Marjorie and Suzanne) have connected through this beautiful course we are both following at the moment “The Great Turning Experiment” from the Findhorn community. The Great Turning Experiment. All the precious learnings and community received there have energised and inspired us to host this evening together, share our own journey and insights from the course.

Marjorie draws her inspiration mainly from the work of Joanna Macy (The Work that Reconnects) and Suzanne from the teachings of Michaël Derkse (pioneer and expert in transformation, founder of Pulsar Visie). We’ll be weaving some foundational practices from these sources into our evening together whilst bringing our own unique flavour to these.

You can expect an empowering and inspiring evening with:
• Deeper insight into your own journey and contributions to The Great Turning
• Celebrating the Summer Solstice and abundance of life and light
• Space to explore as a community our grief and concern for the world. Moving through these feelings opens up the door to deep connection and creativity.
• Connection & community as you navigate through this Great Turning.

“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying our world – we’ve actually been on that way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millenia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other. This awakening makes the Great Turning possible.” – Joanna Macy, Coming Back to Life

Practical Details
Registrations : send an email to marjorie@experiencemindfulness.nl
Date: 20 June 2022
Time: 17h30 – 22h (including a potluck dinner, everyone brings something)

Location: Embodied Empowerment, Christoffel Plantijngracht 6,
1065 DA Amsterdam Nieuw-West

In the spirit of conscious contribution, as well as openness through hopefully accommodating diverse social groups, we are offering this evening on a sliding scale.

• €90 support fee (enabling us to offer student/low income fee)
• €60 standard fee
• €30 student / low income fee,-.

Spring Equinox Spiral – The Work that Reconnects

Note : This workshop is offered in English language. Both facilitators also speak Dutch if occasional translation is needed or you are more comfortable expressing yourself in Dutch.

What will we do

To celebrate the Spring Equinox and the transition into Spring, we will immerse in a full day journey of the Work that Reconnects.

This work is based on the vision and teachings of Joanna Macy and supports us to develop our well-being & vitality, our inner resources and community in the face of uncertainty around social and ecological transition. The Work that Reconnects offers a rich variety of profound psychological and spiritual practices inspiring a shift in consciousness and transforming our denial or helplessness into empowered, creative and collaborative action. These practices are interwoven in a dynamic Spiral structure across the following 4 stages:

1) Coming from Gratitude,

2) Honouring Our Pain for the World,

3) Seeing with New and Ancient Eyes,

4) Going Forth.

During our day together we will propose a series of practices that are an invitation to explore these four steps through our imagination, intuition, emotions and creativity. This will help us to restore our sense of belonging to nature so we can find the strength and clarity to better define the role we can and wish to play in a social and ecological transition.

Benefits

Join us for a day of deep connection with self, others and Nature, which will leave you feeling resourced, energised and inspired to live in a balanced and harmonious way with all of Life.

For whom

For everyone who is concerned with the current state of the world and wishes to put their energy towards the creation of a life-sustaining society.

Everyone is welcome, whether you are familiar or new to this work, engaged with social and ecological work, aspiring to engage, or simply craving some time for yourself to recharge your batteries.

Facilitators Marjorie Lumet & Annette Wijbrans

This work was passed on to both of us during a Work that Reconnects facilitator training in the fall of 2021 by Roseaux Dansants & Transalquimia; two organizations that continue the Work in the same line as its root teacher, Joanna Macy.

Marjorie Lumet

I’ve been facilitating mindfulness trainings for 8 years, guiding others to awaken to the fullness of each moment. As a nature lover who feels rising concern around the ecological crisis, I was however missing a more engaged form of mindfulness. I also became well aware how much being outdoors in a mindful way was so essential to our vitality & well-being.

The Work that Reconnects is a deep work that encompasses all these dimensions of mindfulness, nature connection, meaningful community as well as engagement in service of Life. It is a real honour to be able to share this beautiful body of work around me.

Annette Wijbrans

I’m a member of the scouting association ‘les Eclaireurs de la Nature’, in Grenoble, France, where I live and organize nature outings and summer camps for children and young people, with the goal of helping them find a way to live comfortably in Nature, find their place in the world and to learn mindfulness.

I’m also a student in the realm of medicinal and edible plants, which for me is a way to profoundly connect to the natural world, through reciprocity and gratitude. Practicing the teachings of Joanna Macy in daily life helps me find the strength to sustain the gaze of the suffering in our world and helps me to strive for a more life-sustaining direction of our society.

Practicalities & Price

In the spirit of conscious contribution, as well as openness through hopefully accommodating diverse social groups, there is no fixed price tag for this event. Decide for yourself if you are able to pay 30, 60, 90 euros for this full day event. Part of your contribution will go towards Voedsel Park Amsterdam to support organic local food, local nature and biodiversity, check it out here Home – Voedselpark Amsterdam, more information will be shared on the day.

There will be some snacks on offer but please bring your own lunch and anything you wish to share with the group.

Holding Space for the New Mother – ‘Closing the Bones’ ritual

The Closing of the Bones is a way to honour and celebrate a new mother. This ritual acknowledges the huge transformation she has undergone in pregnancy and childbirth. It makes space for the enormous shift that she has experienced physically, mentally and emotionally.

Physically, it guides her back into her own body, brings the bones back into place, helps her pelvic organs shift and blood flow. Women who are honoured in this way experience a sense of calm and grounding, re-establishing her sense of self.

A safe space is created for this ceremony, in a warm & quiet room. We start with some time to share where the new mother is at, how she is feeling now, looking back on the birth, anything that needs to be heard. She then lies on a mat on the floor and I guide her through a special meditation to honour her journey.

With the help of a rebozo (Mexican scarf), the hips of the woman that have widened and open to accommodate the growing baby and to give birth are gently rocked and pulled back into place. The gentle rocking movement has a soothing effect.

Some warm oil is applied and a gentle massage of head & feet begins. We also massage the belly, lovingly taking care of this area where a baby grew. Both giver and receiver acknowledge this great achievement.

For the last part of the ritual, a woman’s body is tightly wrapped using 5 rebozos. We wrap and honour different parts of her body—feet, knees, hips, shoulders, head. The woman is then left to rest as we hold space for her. Some short closing meditation can be done to bring her back to center, balance her energy and relax her.