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Wilderness 2012 Dance Leaders
Spiritual Director
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.
Guest Dance Leaders
Malika Elena Salazar, age 42, is a native of
Colombia where she studied music in conservatory before
going to Mexico to seed the Dances. Now a resident
of NYC with her partner Rahman, she continues to focus
the Dances in Mexico and organizes an annual dance camp
in Guadalajara. Malika is known for her ethereal
voice and magic flute and has recorded three CD's of
sacred songs.
Maitreya Jon Stevens, age 28, brings a uniquely
heart-opening and deepening presence to the Dances
through his instrumentation, voice and love 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, Mendocino Sufi
Youth Camp and regional camps throughout the Northeast.
Dance Leader
Staff
Darvesha Victoria MacDonald 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 Dancesof 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 theygrow much of their own food.
http://darvesha.net
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 Zareen Delaney writes “I AM the children of the planet. Their future is literally my future; not
just 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.”
Narayan Eric Waldman has been inspiring and
delighting dance circles for two decades with his
trickster energy and vibrancy. He has been a
favorite leader at Whidbey retreats since the mid 1990s.
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