Author: Fabiana Fondevila

Being heroes

Being heroes

Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila
Being heroes

Do you feel that the word ‘hero’ or ‘heroine’ is far removed from you and your life? This is only natural, as it’s traditionally been used to describe people who acted alone, risked life and limb for strangers, and acted with reckless self-abandon.

This definition doesn’t reflect a rich range of actions that people take, quietly and far from any fanfare, in pursuit of something they hold sacred.

Today’s world urgently needs us to activate our courage, practice discernment, and act in defense of what’s most dear to us.

Can this kind of courage be cultivated? Definitely! And it results in a rich, full life, inspired by the beacon of purpose.

Courage also has concrete effects on our personal lives: it allows us to act on behalf of our own neglected goals, and to create a life that we’ve only dreamed of.

Acting with boldness is not exclusive to superheroes; it’s a prerogative of our essential nature. And it can be a more humble and everyday choice than we imagine.

In this Saturday’s workshop, we’ll explore the hero archetype, and invite its gifts into our lives.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

When

July 27th, 10 AM PST / 1 PM EDT / 5 PM GMT

Format

One monthly online session, via Zoom. You will receive the audio, video and notes to keep for a lifetime.

Tuition

U$D 30 to $ 50. Choose your donation according to your possibility, and in accordance with the value you feel you receive. Please make your contribution via Paypal to the following address: alfredo.berge@gmail.com

Questions: info@fabianafondevila.com

Sign up here!

    The Adventurer

    The Adventurer

    Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila
    The Adventurer

    Do you love to travel more than anything else? Do you dream of climbing mountains, crossing deserts, visiting the world’s most impressive museums? Do you dream of exploring uncharted lands and learning the language of the locals? Would you love to have a time machine and travel back to 1800, or 2080?

    If any of these scenarios light up your soul, chances are the Adventurer archetype describes you, and you live for the opportunity to embark on a new exploration of body or soul.

    The question is: Is there only adventure when we go far from home?

    The answer is: no!

    To be adventurous we don’t need to use a compass, we need to change the way we think, look and live. Says author and entrepreneur Eliot Peper: “Everything important is uncertain. Sitting with the discomfort of that uncertainty is the hard part, the wedge that can move the world.”

    We look forward to “travelling with you” into wild new, undiscovered terrain!

    When

    May 25th, 9 AM PST / 12 PM EDT / 4 PM GMT

    Format

    One monthly online session, via Zoom. You will receive the audio, video and notes to keep for a lifetime.

    Tuition

    U$D 30 to $ 50. Choose your donation according to your possibility, and in accordance with the value you feel you receive. Please make your contribution via Paypal to the following address: alfredo.berge@gmail.com

    Questions: info@fabianafondevila.com

    Sign up here!

      Being Wild

      The Wild One in You

      Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila
      Being Wild

      It doesn’t matter if you live on a busy city street, drive your car to work and buy your food in a store: wildness is all around you. Look aroun! The dandelion growing through the crack in the pavement, the bird singing on the branch, the tree on which the bird stands, the air that is keeping all of them alive, the sun that allows you to see them. All of them are wild forces, and so are you!

      Wildness is that primordial, unbounded energy that expresses itself in our bodies as emotions, desires, dreams, impulses, and sometimes -when its flow is too tightly blocked or impeded- in symptoms.

      Our bodies yearn to move, to be outdoors, to connect meaningfully with a small group of familiar people, to exchange care and affection with them, to feel part of a living, thriving community.

      Life today may be safer and more comfortable than that of our ancestors, but it’s also more isolated, sedentary and disconnected from the natural environment of which we’re an integral part.

      This separation saddens us, saps our strength, and sometimes even makes us sick.

      Do we need to go and live in the woods or the mountains to regain this sense of kinship and belonging?

      No! We need to reconnect with the Nature that we are, at all times, and also with the wildness that surrounds us, and reminds us of the life-thirsty creatures that we are.

      Join us this Saturday to explore an essential archetypefor for our times: the Wild One who longs to live in freedom and authenticity in this many splendored world!

      When

      April 27th, 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST / 5 PM GMT

      Format

      One monthly online session, via Zoom. You will receive the audio, video and notes to keep for a lifetime.

      Tuition

      U$D 30 to $ 50. Choose your donation according to your possibility, and in accordance with the value you feel you receive. Please make your contribution via Paypal to the following address: alfredo.berge@gmail.com

      Questions: info@fabianafondevila.com

      Sign up here!

        Cultivating Aliveness

        Cultivating Aliveness

        Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila

        In this workshop with storyteller, teacher, and spiritual activist, Fabiana Fondevila, we explore practices to cultivate lasting vitality in daily life, empowering us to relate better to afflictive states and improve our wellbeing.

        The Global Compassion Coalition is a collective movement striving to create a world where both people and nature are cared for and thrive. We aim to alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing by fostering compassionate thinking, feeling, and action. Join us in our mission to build a world based on compassion.

        Sings the River

        Sings the River

        Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila
        Sings the River

        “There is a force within you that gives you life – seek that.”

        Rumi

        Ebbs and flows, forward motion, depth, meandering course, unceasing change: it’s no wonder musicians, writers, philosophers and preachers have seen in rivers a rich metaphor for life. Its dynamism mirrors the life force that pushes the tides, drives salmon to swim upstream to spawn, makes clouds erupt in downpour when the atmosphere reaches its peak and encourages dandelions to break through a crack in the pavement to release its seeds into the wind.

        In humans this force expresses itself in even more mysterious ways. It’s the energy that drives us to discover continents, explore the bottom of the ocean, expel ourselves from the only planet we know, create poems and murals and symphonies, open our hearts a thousand times, unfold and grow, and also, in dark times, to get out of bed and face a new day.

        Wisdom traditions gave this Mystery its name. Hinduism called it prana (“vital principle”), Chinese medicine postulated chi, the raw material of health and vitality, and Tao (supreme principle that brings order and unity to the universe). In America it was k’uh, among the Mayas; camaquen, among the Incas. At the beginning of the 20th century, the French philosopher Henri Bergson baptized it élan vital.

        Medicine and psychology speak of “vitality,” a virtue expressed as vigorous enthusiasm for life, and one of the five character strengths most closely associated with life satisfaction (the other four are hope, gratitude, curiosity and love).

        Vitality has been increasingly studied over the last few years, because research reveals that it is a key component of health, longevity, immunity, and the quality of relationships.

        Being alive is a biological fact, but feeling fully alive is a state of being. We all experience moments of vitality, moments of feeling the river of life flowing through our body and heart. If we consciously cultivate this state, if we string together living moments like beads on a necklace, this state can gradually become our baseline; a new personality trait.

        To expand, strengthen and cultivate these states, we will turn to a powerful technique called “mythic imagination”. What is mythic imagination? It’s the ability to create, interpret and connect with mythic stories and symbols, ancient narratives that express profound truths about the nature of life.

        The mythic imagination is inherently creative and opens a portal for self-discovery, personal growth and transformation.

        In the journey we will take together, we will explore ten “Archetypes of Aliveness”. An archetype is an image that lives in the Collective Unconscious, and that drives impulses, emotions and energy. Although it’s represented in different ways in each culture, its essence speaks to us all.

        We will use a kaleidoscope – an “artifact to look at beautiful things”-, which we will rotate to focus on one archetype at a time.

        Each month, we will explore one figure experientially; from the Cosmonaut to the Sage. We will look through their eyes, unfold their gifts, soak in their energy, and use it to ignite the specific and unique transformation that eagerly awaits in each of our hearts.

        Archetypes of Aliveness:

        1. CosmonautsLiving in infinity
        2. Wild OnesLiving with freedom
        3. AdventurersLiving with risk
        4. MysticsLiving with presence
        5. HeroesLiving with courage
        6. DancersLiving with sensuality
        7. ChildrenLiving with delight
        8. CreatorsLiving with imagination
        9. Wise OnesLiving with humility
        10. Lovers Living in love

        Said the brave Helen Keller:
        “Life is a bold adventure, or it is nothing.”

        So be it!

        Let’s say a resounding “Yes” to the adventure of our lives, together!

        When

        March 30th, 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST / 5 PM GMT

        Format

        One monthly online session, through Zoom. You will receive the audio, video and notes to keep for a lifetime.

        Tuition

        U$D 30 to $ 50. Choose your donation according to possibility, and in relation to the value you feel you receive. You can make the payment via Paypal, to the following address: alfredo.berge@gmail.com

        Questions: info@fabianafondevila.com

        Sign up here!

          Have a Joyful and Grateful 2024!

          Posted on by Fabiana Fondevila
          Calendar 2024 - Cultivating Joy

          We’re happy to offer you this Calendar, inspired on Ingrid Fetell Lee’s book “Joyful”, with the additions of two virtues -Hope and Gratitude- for added reflection.

          You can use it on your phone or computer, without printing it.

          If you decide to print it, you can do so front and back, and it doesn’t need to be in color. If you choose to fasten it, we suggest you do so from the top edge. It’s designed for A4 paper size, but it looks great in A5 as well.

          Carry it with you, take notes, and let inspiration fill your days!

          May it be a faithful companion!

          Download the calendar