Events for June 2010
June 11 - 13
Dreams and the Labyrinth
The Christian and Pagan labyrinth, Eastern mandalas, medicine wheels, all are traditions of the circle that create sacred, protected space. Carl Jung wrote that he came to understand the process of individuation when he began to study the medieval alchemists, who informed his theories of psychology. The labyrinth is the alchemical vas, the vessel where transformation takes place.
Like dreams, the labyrinth offers layer upon layer of meaning, endless potential for the experience of compassion and wholeness, and the ability to be adapted to secular, spiritual, healing, and therapeutic journeys. In this workshop, we will explore dreams and the labyrinth as complementary spiritual practices. We will learn the techniques of projective dreamwork, as we work our dreams together, and we will experience several facilitated labyrinth walks. The Peace Lake labyrinths will be available all weekend for individual exploration as well.
Facilitators: Theresa Gleason, D. Min., LICSW, Priscilla Denham, D. Min., Calen Rayne D. Min.
June 19 - 20
Creating Portable Labyrinths: An Ancient Path of Transformation
We are told in Jeremiah 6:16: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
Labyrinths provide one with just such an opportunity; to stand at the entrance, to look and ask for the ancient paths, and then walk in the good way. Labyrinths have appeared throughout history as a universal and essential symbol of integration, harmony, and transformation.The moral of pilgrimage is that you sometimes have to travel to find God; the moral of a portable labyrinth is that sometimes God comes to you. Early Buddhists refused to depict the Buddha's face or body, but instead revered images of his footprint. Don't revere the Seeker, these images suggest; instead, focus on the Path he walked, and then go about making your own footprints. Walk your own personal spiritual path with a mind and spirit resurrected to embrace and manifest compassion and loving kindness.
Course Description
In the Emerging Wisdom Culture it is imperative that we continually revision ourselves and the manner in which we hold our “story.” The world we inhabit requires that we move beyond the pairs of opposites that cripple the individual and the political and cultural environment of our planet.
Through work with portable labyrinths, we will weave a tapestry that speaks to core experiences of “cultural creatives.” The class will evoke and welcome our personal reflections on the emerging wisdom culture, using the arts as tools to create a methodology for centering ourselves when necessary. We must see ourselves more clearly so that our world will reflect more radiance and clarity.
Each class will commence with embodied labyrinth work, using sound to build the group container. From this nexus will emerge material that will then be explored with contemplative brush and creative writing. It is being offered in the spirit of the Dalai Lama when he said, “It is in the context of a calm mind that we may say that even the one careful stroke of a brush can speak.” We will create personal finger labyrinths containing personal reflections on our encounters with spirit.
Course Objectives
- Bring forth elements of each student’s personal narrative using labyrinths and sacred sound work.
- Explore various creative modes, including word and painting, so that the muses in us can each find expression.
- Create portable labyrinths with ink and word and intuition.
- Utilize the group as a vehicle for reflection and feedback, and transformation.
Workshop will be led by Rev. Dr. Calen Rayne.
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