Itinerary
Participants will be a small community and the relationships they establish will be addressed as a practical example of social ecology. They will present rituals and ceremonies for cultural regeneration in partnership with the ecology of the place and collectively design a ‘social ecology and the sacred' response to the place. To shift from outer work to inner work, participants will also spend solo time in the wilderness, work closely with a support pair partner, and work actively in small groups and intimately with the whole group.
Participants will camp for 10 days. We camp so that we are directly connected with the place and the elements. We camp too facilitate community development and attunement to basic surival needs.
The basic learning method will be through the use of the naturescape, group activities and individual review and assessment tasks to generate reflexivity about the challenges of social and sacred ecology. This will be achieved through workshops, small group discussion, paired exercises, and through spending solo time in nature.
The following illustrates some of the ways by which we work with nature as teacher.
Moreton Island — Aug, 2007
We are sitting in the huge green army tent, huddled in a small circle with a lantern suspended on the central pole. This is our first night and the five of us have been driven along the beach in the dark; rain and wind is blowing trees, tent poles and bending into submission our whole campsite. A few of the tents have collapsed; tonight we will bunk down together in a remaining upright large tent. The sounds of rain and wind permeate and surround us, bringing our minds and attention into sharp focus of our immediate environment.
This is our first immediate nature experience and the elements are turbulent and unpredictable. This concept of turbulence, its role in nature and the analogy in our own lives is something I wish to bring to the group. We touch on the subject and the initial understanding is only an externally referenced experience through nature and a willingness to consider the possibility of a role for turbulence in the cycle of our own lives. We discuss the value of unknown factors that can disrupt habits and cause upheaval in our lives. I encourage contemplation on specific instances that indicate an understanding of this process.
We move around our camp and time settles into a pattern of food preparing, group time, solo time and trips to naturescapes of great beauty. We become “small” and nature becomes the dominant force we move in response to each day. Humility and awe find their way back into the looking, hearing and touching of natures daily, sensory nourishment. At night the campfire provides further opportunity to engage in meaningful and sincere conversation; watching the fire consume wood and provide us with warmth and light seems to settle the senses and allow for more authentic communication with each other. A level of respect comes with having the time to listen and learn from our mutuality and communal time.
There is a basic structure to each day- this will vary in the beginning and at the end and when in solo time and due to changed circumstances.
Draft Daily Program
8.00am
Ritual-4 directions, solo time
8.30-9.30am
Breakfast
9.30-10-30am
Community meeting – what are we doing and how are we going?
10.30—11.00am
Drinks
11.00-12 00am
Thoughts/readings for the day
12.00-1.00pm
Personal life in action stories
1.00-2.00pm
Lunch
2.00-4-pm
Community working/playing with the landscape
-eg art, fishing, weeding, swimming, walking, ritual planning
4-6pm
Exploration of country- focus on an aspect
5-6pm
Personal time-eg journal writing, reading, meditation
6-7pm
Dinner
7-9pm
Fire circle- stories, personal sharing, honouring, and rituals
9pm
Music, singing, drumming
A draft rhythm of the 10 days
In addition to the daily patterns there will be an evolving rhythm of the intensive. The focus is on being in country rather than moving through it. There will be short journeys into various habitats of the island and observation and exploration of the sea especially through snorkelling.
Day 1
Journey and camp establishment
Day 2
Settling in-attunement to country
Day 3
Journey to aboriginal connections
Day 4
White impacts and making a contribution
Day 5
Social and sacred landscape ecology
Day 6
Social and sacred ecology
Day 7
Preparations for solo time; afternoon and night solo time
Day 8
Solo time—lunch break- debrief- teamwork
Day 9
Sharing and deepening the experience -ritual presentation
Day 10
Coming home
Solo time begins after lunch and ends with lunch the next day. The morning before will be about orientation and the afternoon will be in reflection.
Preparation
Before the trip there will be a face to face meeting for participants based in Melbourne and virutal communication for others. Participants will also receveive background literature exploring a range of theoretical questions from social, ecological and spiritual discourses about wilderness and the human condition. In addition, participants will be provided with information about the the aims, methods and the tools needed for the experience to assist in the preparation for the experience.
Re-entry
The issue of re-entry into everyday life is a critical issue that needs to be addressed (Greenway, 1995). As a result, there will be re-entry and debriefing explorations to examine the implications of what the experience may mean for the way participants live and work. Participatants will be encouraged to explore ways to stay in touch once the workshop is finished.