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Spiritual Practices

This course includes many unique programs of engagement intended to help the participant gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of diverse spiritual practices. Each program can be experienced individually or comprehensively.

Living the Art of Detachment Series

*This series can be combined into a day-long program, or into another configuration based on needs and interests

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   We often attach ourselves—and our ability to be happy and free—on a desired outcome, only to find ourselves disappointed or stuck when that outcome doesn't happen. This can lead to feelings such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, hopelessness, sadness, or failure. Detachment from a particular outcome leads to freedom and joy regardless of how things turn out. 

   The practice of detachment being employed as a spiritual tool long precedes its popularity in the contemporary culture in which we find ourselves today. And, while ancient in its existence, the wisdom of its integration into our life journeys is timelessly appropriate. In modern parlance, it is often perceived as a state of mind in which a person overcomes his/her attachment to desire for the other (things, people, or concepts). Yet, when practiced on a spiritual level, attainment of a heightened perspective can be experienced alongside a richer, and perhaps more meaningful, liberation of one’s soul.

Join us for this four-part series as we unpack exactly what living spiritually with detachment can look like and how its incorporation as a nourishing practice can benefit you as a spiritual sojourner. During each hour-and-a-half session, we will consider a different body of teaching on detachment as it is embedded within a particular spiritual, religious, or philosophical perspective. Various media and techniques will be utilized to illustrate each perspective’s core beliefs and practices. Then, to become anchored and more deeply integrate each distinct teaching, participants will have time to discuss the information highlighted and experiment with its application during the remainder of the session through guided and creative exercises.

   Please bring along an open mind and heart and a journal for use during the program.

 

Week 1 – Buddhist Dharma                                                       

“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)

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Week 2 – Hindu Teachings

 “Your heart must become a sea of love. Your mind must become a river of detachment.” (Sri Chinmoy)

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Week 3 – Philosophy of Stoicism

 "Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions — not outside."  (Marcus Aurelius)

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Week 4 – Christian Precepts      

“Ignatian indifference (for our purposes, detachment) is the capacity to let go of what doesn’t help me to love God or love others—while staying engaged with what does.” (ignatianspirituality.com)  

Above the Clouds

“True detachment isn’t separation from life, but the absolute freedom within your mind to explore living.”  

 

~ Ron W. Rathbun

Mountains
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Exploring the shadow realm of our spiritual lives is integral to our fruitful development as spiritual beings on the human journey and cultivates a way of living authentically as both individuals and members of various communities. Shadow work specifically involves getting in touch with the parts of ourselves that have been culturally, societally, or personably repressed during our lifetime and subsequently has become referred to with frequency as the "dark side" of human beings. Yet, the tasks and exercises that comprise shadow work empower each person to dive into the unconscious “material” that shapes our thoughts, emotions, and expressions of identity.

 

Join us for this session on spiritual practices with the aim of understanding more integrally the value our shadows can provide us. Nourishing opportunities for meditation, journaling, and interpersonal
connection will be included as we consider notable, applicable teachings, the mythologies underpinning shadow work, itself, and strive to leave more grounded in the graces this practice offers us by creating harmonious balance between our bodies, minds, and souls. The height of Autumn is the perfect time and landscape to delve into the very shadows that dwell within our vessels of light.

Shadow Work as Spiritual Practice

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