Becoming the Ground (in a world of chaos)

Key Ideas

We grow in direct proportion to the amount of chaos we can sustain and dissipate.  ~ Ilya Prigogine

We are living in times of increasing chaos. However stable our immediate life may seem, society at large has become widely dysregulated. Things we used to take for granted – a stable government, a reliable media, a sane economy, a healthy environment, a sense that leaders are competent – are now iffy at best. Increasingly this global situation is being called the metacrisis.

We are all affected. When so much is unsettled, it’s hard to maintain calm and clarity! But how we are affected is within our power. We are not in charge, yet we are also not powerless. Amidst the upheaval is a sense of possibility about finding another way.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor Frankl

Choosing our response to the metacrisis assumes a certain agency. We have choice, but it doesn’t come easily. It takes work. To move more fully into choice calls us to cultivate deeper capacities within ourselves. This is the core of Becoming the Ground: gaining self-mastery and embracing our power to be a healing force in the world.

There is some urgency to this! Cultivating and acting from our deeper capacities is needed now to create a positive future. Fortunately, we are likely to find aliveness and joy in this work.

When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive. ~ Chief Si’ahl (Seattle)

We can’t do this alone. The separateness of modernity has led to epic levels of polarization, depression, loneliness, and addiction. We’re re-learning that a supportive community and shared identity are needed to be at our best. We need to connect much more effectively, which requires more sophisticated relational capacities.

Becoming the Ground fosters our capacity to build collective meaning-making through deep resonance with others, including those of different views and values. The good news is that we’re wired for connection.

“There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendship between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality impossible to describe.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Just as we need to go deeper within ourselves and deeper in our collectives, we need to find deeper meaning to anchor our individual and group actions in a larger context, which we might call soul force or spirit. Jonathan Rowson suggests that we are entering a post-secular world. The fact that modern humans have yet to create systems at scale that value peace, health, justice, and sustainability reinforces the need to align with a transcendent purpose.

We are talking about a shift in our consciousness, a rewriting of our collective story to embrace a convivial collective future. The term “metanoia” is useful here — meaning a reset of our consciousness — to describe this transcendence of our normal way of being into a more awakened and whole presence.

If our species is going to grow up in this century, we are going to have to live more fully into our consciousness. ~ Krista Tippett

Will you join us for this exploratory and potentially powerful adventure?

What to Expect

This active, engaging, & fun workshop will expand your embodied capacity to “sustain and dissipate chaos.” It will support your growth, giving you perspectives and tools to reach greater wholeness and to become the ground our world calls us to be. We will experientially explore the three evolutionary lines introduced above:

• Movement (rooted in martial arts) to build self-mastery and groundedness;
• Meaning (practicing attunement activities) to develop collective presence; and
• Metanoia (transcendence) to access spirituality and deeper purpose.

Together, these trajectories lead us into connection with ourselves (equanimity), with each other (resonance), and with soul force (purposefulness). The path points to a transformative wholeness, since somatic, relational, and spiritual integration are central to our constructive response to this world of chaos.

Becoming the Ground begins with a Friday evening Zoom session followed by a full Saturday of in-person activity. Please plan to be present for the entire workshop, as it is designed as a whole experience. If you cannot be present for the full program, please opt out but indicate your interest in future offerings.

Friday evening we will meet from 6:00-8:00pm to get to know each other, explore some ideas that support this work, and lay groundwork for a full, active Saturday.

Saturday we will embrace three “acts” – focused on the three domains of movement, meaning, and metanoia. The session will run from 9am to 5pm with several breaks.

METANOIA

Act Three is the least defined of the three components. It opens into a transcendent realm in which words are insufficient to fully embrace the ineffable, the source code for our being. Nonetheless, we’ll have fun exploring this territory through reflections, small group dialog, meditation and journaling.

Logistics

• Preregistration is required. Following registration, complete logistic and location information will be provided.

• Plan to bring a healthy but modest lunch. There won’t be time to go to a restaurant, walk your dog, or hold an impromptu meeting. Light snacks and beverages will be provided throughout the day.

• As noted, there is no upfront cost to attend this workshop. Nobody will be turned away, and contributing is not mandatory. It costs us to run it, though! Our estimated value for the session is $225 and a donation of that amount would be awesome if you’re able. If you’re not, any amount you can contribute will be much appreciated.

• While this is not a rigorously physical experience, it does involve physical movement and interaction. Please be ready for an active day, and please communicate with us about any special physical needs or limitations you may have in advance. Thanks.

• Once you have registered and before the workshop you will receive a followup letter with final details like location, parking, what to bring, etc.

If you have any questions, please email us at info@EducationalDesign.Associates. We hope to see you at Becoming the Ground!

Will this be worth my time? Comments from Previous Participants:

“This was a really enjoyable experience. Thank you so much for extending your gifts and enriching my life with your work.”

“I felt struck by how genuine and resonant this workshop was.”

“I appreciated the reminder of what I have to offer the world. It’s nice to be called forth to remember the importance of what we all bring, including myself.”

“I absolutely loved practicing embodied centering, sensing, extending and blending, and applying these to subtle and ‘metaware’ conflicts.”

“I appreciate having opened some stuck spots and identified other parts that need work/healing.”

“Thank you so much for your presence and time, and for sharing your purposeful guidance with us.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed my day. I feel a great sense of community and connection with other people in the world right now.”

“I appreciate understanding how we unconsciously hold certain values and integrating how negative or unwanted values can have positive manifestations.”

“I enjoyed gaining insight into vibrational attraction and why it happens; I love learning about stuff like this!”

“I felt a great opening, like a flowering among participants and myself. I would totally recommend this to anyone! Thank you!”

“Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience and for creating a safe space.”

“I celebrate your gifts for integrating these pieces and especially celebrate the generative miracle of bringing seekers together to experience shared community.”

“Thank you. You are truly a wonderful facilitator.”