Ecodharma workshop-retreat

(Lama Foundation Meditation hall)

Contemplative Environmental Practice (Eco-dharma) Workshop-retreat
A seven day residential workshop/retreat for environmental teachers and activists 
July 28- August 3, 2017
Lama Foundation, San Cristobal, New Mexico

How can we best live at this moment of ecological crisis without becoming overwhelmed?

We are delighted to invite activists, environmental scholars and eco-spirituality warriors this summer for a 7 day residential retreat at the Lama Foundation in New Mexico. I will be joining Dr. Paul Wapner and meditation teacher Jeff Warren as faculty for this annual workshop-retreat to deepen our exploration of the role of contemplative practice in our pedagogical and activist efforts. Through daily meditation, journal writing, nature walks, and other reflective exercises as well as scholarly discussion, we will probe the depths of the environmental crisis and develop resources to work and teach on behalf of global sustainability (No prior experience in meditation is necessary).

As we know, environmental issues are not simply political, technological, or economic dilemmas but also existential challenges that require us to reflect upon the meaning of our individual and collective lives. Furthermore, the scale and pace of environmental degradation call on us to allow spiritual and cultural transformation and enhance our skills as educators, activists, and ordinary citizens like never before. This workshop offers the opportunity to deepen such efforts by facilitating meaningful dialogue between activists and academicians, probing the interface between our personal and professional lives, and introducing contemplative practices tailored specifically for use in the classroom and in political organizing. Part seminar and part retreat, the workshop provides the chance to step back from our frenetic lives and, in the midst of stunning beauty and a supportive community, integrate our deepest spiritual yearnings with our professional and personal commitments to protect the earth.

Lama Foundation is a beautiful, off-grid retreat center committed to sustainable and mindful living. Ram Dass wrote “Be Here Now” under Lama’s tall ponderosa pines in 1971 and it continues to provide an ideal setting for reflection and engagement with contemplative environmental issues. We will begin each morning with meditation instruction and practice, and weave in art exercises and other reflective practices into substantive discussions throughout each day. There will be time to deepen one’s personal practice, speak with teachers, hike, participate in Lama community activities, or simply be. More information about schedule, cost, scholarhsips and venue available here. To submit your application, please click here.  This year’s workshop leaders include:

Kritee (Kanko) is a Zen teacher (Sensei), activist, and scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). She helps link small-scale farmers with markets in ways that promote climate mitigation, accelerate poverty alleviation, and strengthen adaptation to the effects of climate change. Kritee co-directs Boundless in Motion, an environmentally and socially engaged Rinzai Zen meditation community in Boulder, Colorado, and is co-founder of Eco–Dharma Sangha, a group of meditation practitioners of different traditions who are seeking ways to bring the fruits of practice to climate and other ecological challenges. 

Paul Wapner is professor of Global Environmental Politics in the School of International Service at American University. His books include Living Through the End of Nature, Environmental Activism and World Civic Politics, Principled World Politics, Global Environmental Politics: From Person to Planet (co-edited with Simon Nicholson) and, most recently, Reimagining Climate Change (co-edited with Hilal Elver). Paul’s current work focuses on the lived experience of climate suffering among the most vulnerable and the challenges of environmental ethics.

Jeff Warren is a writer and meditation instructor. His primary subject is the mind – mostly neuroscience and contemplative philosophy – made fun and accessible. He is a former producer for CBC Radio’s The Current and Ideas and has written for The New York Times, The New Scientist,Discover, and The Globe and Mail among others. He currently writes a regular column about the shifting experience of consciousness for Psychology Tomorrow, and has won awards for his writing on whales and psychedelics, which are never to be mixed, for obvious reasons. In 2010, Jeff founded The Consciousness Explorers Club, a pan-contemplative adventure group in downtown Toronto whose mission is to rescue spiritual and meditation practice from dour fundamentalists of all persuasions.