Heaven on Earth    

An Invitation to Wilderness Dance Camp from Darvesha

Many young adults I talk to today have a passionate interest in sustainability… understandably…since they may be the first to reach the cliff for which we seem to be inevitably heading!  But many of us, no matter what our age, look longingly toward ways of living naturally and sustainably, not out of fear, but out of love and gratitude for this magnificent, sacred nature that is the fabric of our lives, the display of God, our scripture, guide and teacher.

At the same time we are hopelessly entwined in world systems and find ourselves caught in incongruent actions like putting environmental stickers on the bumpers of our SUVs and recycling plastic bags instead of simply not using them.  It is difficult for most of us to imagine a way to disengage from this modern entanglement.  

Today the word ‘sustainable’ is so dishonestly used by corporations and governments that it has become a mockery: giving cosmetic lip service by using labels like ‘green’, while all the time encouraging us to worship the idols of consumption, shopping malls, cars, technology, “growthism”, power and money. Actually realizing sustainability would require far more.  John E. Carroll in his book Sustainability and Spirituality says it would require ‘a conversion experience” in the depth of our being.  That is to say, it requires a spiritual realization: a knowing that gives us faith in what is greater than ourselves - in mystery and nature, in the cosmos and the gods.

Today there are (and have been throughout modern history) living models of sustainability:  residential, spiritual communities where the emphasis is on being, becoming, presence and awareness rather than ‘having’ and production, and where freedom is found “in” work (rather than “from” work) in the practice of “work as devotional prayer”. Here we can see practitioners living the values promoted in the classical scripture of all spiritual traditions, exchanging modern ‘needs’ for pooled resources, joyful simplicity, companionship, rest, physical work, silence, and communal practice.

When we come together at Wilderness we ourselves get a taste of this kind of lifestyle:  living simply in nature for a week and sharing spiritual practices. This year, as we take up temporary residence in spiritual community, let us look at the spiritual values common to all major traditions (what Hazrat Inayat Khan calls the Unity of Spiritual Ideals) to see how they point us toward sustainability and simplicity, and how such values can help us to reshape attitudes that keep us from moving in this direction.

It seems like a ripe time for younger generations and those of us who were courageous innovators in the 60’s and are part of a what Morris Berman calls the new monastic society (those of us who do not live in community but who do not ‘buy into’ mainstream values), to join hands and hearts in looking for ways to create a more reasonable world.  Those who have the most to gain from moving in a sustainable direction, may also have the most to share…so we have invited 3 young dance leaders in their 20’s and 30’s  to share the leading at Wilderness this year. 

We hope you will also join us! And please enjoy this palindrome “Lost Generation”. (A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward, but the meaning is the exact opposite when read backwards.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=42E2fAWM6rA

And this video “Next Generation”

http://www.commondreams.org/video/2010/09/29-2

"The proving ground of spiritual practice is everyday life." - Pir Moineddin Jablonski

Spiritual Director

Darvesha says it was her love of nature that led her in the early 80’s to the Himalaya, where she magically encountered the 

Buddha Dharma and received teachings on Interdependence.  Since then, she has dedicated her life to helping others realize

we are interconnected and inseparable; that as the Whole flourishes, so do we as individuals; and that a life dedicated to the

service of this realization is what makes us happy.  She is a Sheikha for the Sufi Ruhaniat International, Chair of the Dances

of Universal Peace Guidance Council, a Ziraat Experienced Farmer, and guides groups in the Buddhist meditation practice of

Mindfulness. She and her partner use water catchment and solar systems in their off-the-grid straw bale house where they

grow much of their own food.

http://darvesha.net  

Guest Dance Leaders

Jorge (“Mono”) Calero, 32, is founder of Atlantida Ecovillage in Colombia.  He writes, “This is a community where the dream of sharing a life of Love, Harmony and Beauty between people and nature has become a reality.” Jorge understands that sustainability cannot be separated from spirituality.  Sharing Indigenous, Sufi and Dance practices creates cohesiveness in his community that Jorge says has sometimes been missing in the other South American ecovillages. Every year Jorge invites residents from these other villages to Atlantida for a gathering, and gradually the spiritual nature of the programs have ‘caught’ so that the other ecovillages have now also begun including spiritual practice and Dances in their communal living.   

http://picasaweb.google.com/ecoatlantida/EntrenamientoEnDanzasPazUniversal2010#

http://world-changers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=178&Itemid=91&lang=en

Maitreya Jon Stevens, 28, says exploring the world of sound and rhythm is a core passion of his life.  He brings a uniquely heart-opening and deepening presence to the Dances through his instrumentation, voice and love of the Dances as a community practice.  A mureed of the Ruhaniat lineage, he leads monthly dances throughout New England and the Hudson Valley region of New York State. Maitreya has presented dances at Wilderness in 2007 and 2008, at the Sufi Sesshin in California, and regional camps throughout in the Northeast.

Sára Rain, 34, is a Spiritual Mentor, Minister, Dance of Universal Peace and Zikr leader from Fort Collins, Colorado. She organizes community gatherings for Solstices, Equinoxes and cross-quarter celebrations, leads inter-faith chant circles, Sufi practices, and facilitates rituals.
www.trigoddess.org

Vayu Brian Jameson has been a favorite dance leader in Montana for over 20 years. He was drawn into the Dances because of the full experience of Heart Energy, connectedness, depth, music, movement, World Spirituality, and intention for World Peace. He has always lived simply and finds that deeply satisfying. He writes, “To me, Spirituality, Sustainability, and Simplicity are beautifully intertwined practices.  Together they describe a complete lifestyle.”

 Dance Leader Staff

Munir Peter Reynolds and his wife Johara live in a passive-solar strawbale house and grow most of their own vegetables

and fruit, using winter cold houses, and eat locally for the rest. “Sustainability is on our radar and we look for ways of living

that are light on the earth. The fruits of spiritual inquiry and practice - which include humility, effacement and wisdom - are

applied in the choices we make about how we shall live. Living simply, close to the land, food, water, and the fecundity of

nature, seems the most loving and natural response to the gift of life.” Munir is a Sheikh in the Sufi Ruhaniat International,

Director of the Dances of Universal Peace organization, and a member of the Guidance Council

. http://meadowlarkflowers.com.

Bernie Heideman writes “We talk a lot about how we could live more sustainably. We donate money to plant trees at Gaviotas in Columbia to offset our carbon use.  Our son Aaron has been intensely studying Permaculture design for the last few years and has started to plant lots of trees on part of our property.  We have a big garden and this year are growing about 1 acre of millet to see if we can grow grain to eat and feed our chickens.  We have built a Sunny John and two smaller sawdust toilets to compost our waste.”  Bernie is a certified dance leader and mentor who has been leading dances for 18 years, loves to lead and loves to learn new material.

Connie Delaney writes “I AM the children of the planet. Their future is literally my future; notjust of my DNA, but of my

thoughts, loves and creations. At this point in the evolution of the universe the most rapidly evolving structure is the field of 

culture through which we think, feel, learn and be. It is the consciousness between us all. This is the structure of miracles that

we influence through dance and movement. I see it as a future, fully conscious, being that we create with our hearts and

tongues. Every action that we take today contributes to a fully awakened global consciousness that is capable of united 

action to nourish our garden planet. Let us dance and love ourselves into that world.”

Guest Presenters

Jamilla Nur Carla Hannaford Ph.D. has worked extensively through movement, music, and art to explore the unseen worlds that affect our creation and our creative potential. She will lead an afternoon experiential session which incorporates current scientific and spiritual understanding, interaction, songs and dance.

Murad Phil Notermann, M.A., MSW:  begins by suggesting that we are co-creating a future nobody wants.  But our participation in the creation of our reality is invisible to us.  We will explore the source of our creative power via methods that have resulted in profound transformations ranging from individual to large scale organizations.  Together with his wife of 39 years, Murad has lived in community for two decades, consulting and working as a transpersonal therapist.

Adrian Heidenreich, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, Montana State University taught courses in Native American Studies and Anthropology for almost 40 years and is an adopted member of the Big Day family in the Crow Tribe.  He will offer us an afternoon session likening our present day situation to the heroic action of Indigenous Indian tribes who, despite all odds, maintained radical hope.