We Are Nature: Remembering Our Sacred Connection to Earth
with Sebene Selassie, DaRa Williams and Lin Gordon
Saturday, November 23rd, 2019 | 10:00am to 5:00pm
Many of us speak of nature as if it is something external, having nothing to do with us except when we “visit it”. Nature is “out there” or in “the wilderness.” Dharma, which is often referred to as truth or teachings, can be translated as nature. Dharma as nature is everywhere, in and around us. Whether we are aware of it or not, We are always in connection to this truth, that we are this sacred earth.
In this daylong program, we will take time to reconnect to our bodies, hearts and minds remembering that we are nature. Centering land and ancestors, we will cultivate meditative awareness to sense the sacred connection to earth that is always present when we open to it. We will explore how this understanding can support us in our lives, in relationship/connection, our work, and especially in our response to our current planetary crisis. We will use the elements (earth, fire, water, air), movement, music, poetry and relational practices to support healing our wounds of separation.
Drawing on the indigenous wisdom of the Buddhadharma as well as from other traditions, participants will be invited to share their innate and ancestral ways of knowing the truth of our undeniable interconnection.
At this daylong, we will co-create a shared altar to honor our sacred connection to the earth. Please bring one or two special objects, a photo, or other token to place on the altar. This could be something that expresses any grief or sorrow and/or joy or celebration you feel in connection to our current planetary conditions. It could also be something that might represent your intention for this daylong or a being/place you wish to hold in the group heart.
Registration:
Please register at the highest level that your generosity offers.
Explanations of levels follow below.
Registration Fees include Teacher Support
New York Insight Meditation Center has streamlined the registration fee levels. Members of our Circle of Friends are eligible to receive 20% off of the Sustaining Rate via a code provided in the email confirming membership, which you can enter after clicking the Sustaining Level registration.
*Benefactor Level: Supports NYI’s ability to offer the Subsidized Base.
**Sustaining Level: This level reflects the actual costs to support this program. Circle of Friends members eligible for 20% discount with code. Click here to join.
***Subsidized Base: Made possible by the generosity of Benefactor Level above and other donations to ensure participation by those requiring financial assistance.
If you have questions about your registration (cancellation policy, membership discount, email confirmation, etc.), please read our FAQs. If your question is not addressed in the FAQs, please email registration@nyimc.org.
If you are unable to pay the Subsidized Base Fee, you can learn about volunteering to offer work exchange and letting us know how much you are able to pay for this program by emailing registration@nyimc.org.
Teacher(s)
Sebene Selassie
Sebene Selassie is a teacher, author and speaker who explores the themes of belonging and identity through meditation, creativity and spirituality. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Washington DC, Sebene began studying Buddhism 30 years ago as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. She has an MA from the New School where she focused on race and cultural studies. For over 20 years Sebene worked with children, youth, and families nationally and internationally for small and large not-for-profits. She has been teaching classes, workshops and retreats for the past decade. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV breast cancer. Her first book is You Belong: A Call for Connection (HarperOne).
DaRa Williams
DaRa Williams is a trainer, meditation teacher and psychotherapist. DaRa has been a meditator for the past 25 years and is a practitioner of both Vipassana and Ascension meditation. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program and is currently a Guiding Teacher at IMS. She is the Program Manager and a core teacher in the current IMS Teacher Training. DaRa has been a clinician and administrator in the field of Mental Health for over 25 years and currently maintains a private practice in Manhattan. She is a certified trainer and practitioner of Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy and Complex Trauma. DaRa integrates these skills, understandings and world views in her intention for contributing to the ending of suffering for all beings.
“Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.” The Buddha
Lin Wang Gordon
Lin has studied insight meditation under the guidance of Jonathan Foust, Mark Coleman, and Sebene Selassie in the past decade.
In the last few years, Lin was particularly moved by the power of nature meditation to connect with a deep sense of well-being, love, wonder, resilience, and interconnection with all beings. Lin was inspired to share nature meditation and ecodharma as a doorway for personal transformation as well as a form of environmental activism.
She graduated from Mark Coleman’s Awake in the Wild Nature Meditation Teacher Training in 2017 and has been learning to lead ecodharma retreats from Johann Robbins and David Loy since 2018. She has taught at New York Insight Meditation Center and around the country. She is enrolled in the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders Program (CDL6). linwanggordon.com