Learn the art of Sustainability from Within, Saturday April 14, 2:00-5:30 pm, United Church of Christ, 825 Middlefield Drive Petaluma.
The World Federation of Scientists has identifed 63 “planetary emergencies” threatening our earth’s life-support systems. With issues such as soil erosion, deforestation, ocean acidification, and increasing concentrations of industrial chemicals in all of our bodies, environmental protection and restoration is the immediate and personal requirement of our every significant individual, and it cannot wait for tomorrow.
In the face of this great need, how do we maintain our balance, sustaining our own lives as we work on behalf of the life we hold in common? You may be writing letters to Congress and the EPA, organizing an action group, setting up a green committee at your work place, or leading a large organization. Whatever your field of action, you need deep inner reserves to continue the work with energy, confidence, and effectiveness.
Sustainability from Within is designed to give you the skills you need to start the day with grace, renew and recharge yourself throughout the day, and let go of stress at will. Stuart Moody, certified yoga teacher and President of Green Sangha, will share a treasury of simple, rejuvenating exercises for tension release and settling into silence for deep meditation. To complement these practices, we will also explore the technique of Passage Meditation as taught by Eknath Easwaran, and the use of a mantram for calming the mind and deepening awareness.
“Sustainability from Within” means taking care of yourself, practicing the same personal stewardship that we all need to practice in regard to our common body, the earth.
At the deepest level, practicing sustainability from within not only sets a standard for material well-being, it also opens the door for spiritual progress — the restoration of our sense of oneness and expansion of the qualities of the heart. Friendliness, compassion, happiness, and impartiality are the fruits of inner development, and are the fundamental interpersonal qualities at the basis of a culture of cooperation and peace. In this way, mindful practice lays the groundwork for a new earth community.
Program: The workshop will focus on the following ideas and skills fundamental to awakened activism:
Somatic awareness
- Greeting the day with energy and alertness
- Simple movements for releasing tension and improving posture
- Moving into stillness
Spiritual development
- Calming the inner chatter
- Concentrating the mind
- Passing the time with purpose
Price: $30 (Green Sangha members: $20)
To Register: Stuart@greensangha.org
Instructor: Stuart Moody, MA
Saturday, April 14, 2012, 2–5:30 pm. United Church of Christ, 825 Middlefield Drive, Petaluma, CA 94952
“This is a gift to yourself. Leaders feel such heavy burdens with so much to accomplish and with such little time and money to do vital work. Mindfulness for leaders helps us go to our strong and calm center and let go of the burden. It nourishes the soul and frees the spirit.” Maureen Parton, County Supervisor’s aide