Workshop. The Bridge Builder

The Bridge Builder

Workshop. The Bridge Builder

In our ongoing series on “Archetypes of Transformation”, we will explore our inner capacity to meet others who think, feel or act differently from us, and to create the conditions to transform conflict into an experience of growth and development for all involved.

The workshop will include teachings, practices, and suggestions for further exploration.

You can take part in this session whether or not you participated in prior ones, or plan to continue doing so.

When: October 1st, 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT / 5 PM GMT

Form: If it’s your first time, please fill this form, so that I can know a little bit about you, your interests and concerns.

Tuition: U$D 25 to $ 50. It is offered on a sliding scale, so that you can choose according to your possibility, and also in relation to the value you feel you receive. You can make the payment via Paypal, to the following address: wherewonderlives@gmail.com

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The Power of Archetypes

The Power of Archetypes

The Power of Archetypes

FREE WORKSHOP

What does it mean to have “Warrior” energy, to exude the seduction of “The Lover”, to command “Kingly” respect, to see through the eyes of “The Innocent”, to heal others with the gifts of the “Caregiver”, or turn around a tough predicament with the mysterious arts of The Magician”?

In this two-hour session, we will explore these energies we call “archetypes”, how they unconsciously shape our lives, and how we can harness their power consciously, by entering into relationship with them.

This will be a free and open introduction to the yearly course that begins in March (more on that soon!)

I hope you will join us as we dive into the fertile ocean that is our inner life, with its fascinating cast of characters.

See you there!

February 26th, 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT / 7 PM CET

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Terry Patten

Flying Lessons: Living and dying through the eyes of wonder

I knew Terry Patten, beloved author, mentor and teacher for so many, and I didn’t know him.

Inspired by the clarity of his teachings, his honesty and his almost translucent heart, I reached out to him several times over the years. First an interview, then a query about this or that, proposals for spiritual initiatives of one kind or another. Finally, with much trepidation, inquiring into the possibility of his writing some words of support for my book. Each and every time, he responded with such love and fraternity that he left me speechless.

I have loved his workshops, our conversations, and I felt exhilarated at the scope and inspiration in his treasure trove of a book, “A New Republic of the Heart. An Ethos for Revolutionaries”. I have followed his social experiment with curiosity and admiration, as I embarked on my own, a continent away. So why do I say I didn’t know him?

Because a person’s deepest character truly emerges when life puts them up against a wall, an all-or-nothing situation like the terminal cancer diagnosis he faced on the day of his 70th birthday, in April of this year. 

I was not surprised that he communicated this news right away, and told all of us (the ones he shared his life with, and those of us who followed him from afar), that he was surprised and moved by this turn of events, of course, that he would do what he could to heal himself, but that he did not in any way plan to renounce his love and wonder at the immeasurable beauty of existence.

As the months wore on and the illness advanced, beyond all medical attempts to stop it, it became clear that he would remain true to his word. His reports (that were then lovingly continued by his dear friend, and former wife, Deborah) shared his reflections, the harshness of some of the treatments, and the ways in which he found his way back to love and wonder, each and every time. 

Over the last weeks, he and some of his close friends offered a series of workshops, aptly named “Brightening every darkness”, which focused on a spiritual approach to dealing with our personal and collective mortality.  

Here are some highlights from his inspired talk with Craig Hamilton: 

“Early on, reading on other people’s cancer journeys, I came across many references to “the battle against cancer”. Right away I knew that that would not be my truth, that ‘Terry ego’ battling it out. Turning it into an effort turns it into something I can succeed or fail at, it enlists egoic motivations and fears, and it creates a wrong relationship to the wonder of the whole process.”

“I have found that every moment presents a different challenge. Some moments are all about making space for the discomfort of the treatments and trying to hold that bigger, wider context, and at other times I have felt so buoyant, so graced, it almost feels like the happiest time of my life.”

“In many moments, being closer to tears has been the measure of my groundedness. They’re tears of grief and of gratitude, and they’re not even distinguishable. It’s broken hearted, but also… heartened! There’s a power there, oddly. I don’t feel collapsed in those tears, I feel more available.”

“I’ve been discovering that I am invoking, and not just casually, during many moments, the sense of dwelling in the sense that I am coinciding more completely with the totality of reality, what David Bohm called “the whole movement”. Whatever somebody seems to do, it’s not really separable from the total world process, and affirming life. (…) I want to be a source of sanity and love for other people, so that they can be too; this pulse of blessing that can replicate itself. I felt that way before my cancer diagnosis, but it’s like a sensory experience that is new now.” 

“It’s also been a voyage in my relationship to myself. I’ve gotten to meet myself, know myself and love myself in new ways. I treasure my contact with other people, for sure, but I’m treasuring myself too. And I think there’s a growing ability to be present in little things. Noticing and being present for subtleties. I walk up a hill next to my home as part of my morning routine, but during this time I have not had the strength to scamper up the hill, I’ve had to walk very slowly and stop and rest and catch my breath. And yet the practice is to really be in that foot that is taking that small step slowly, and that next foot, and this capacity to get really appreciative of the smallest things, and not craving extraordinary ‘thises’ or ‘thats’. And I don’t even have to think about it. There’s something about being with these lessons in a wordless way. I can notice the opportunities, and participate in a more creative way.”

“There are moments in which the heaviness of my symptoms or the things that are hard are more prominent, and then at times it is like accepting this amazing gift of this robust and pretty stable intuition of my real identity, non separate, full of love and happiness, and very free.”

His eyes light up as he speaks these last words, and the real Terry, the one he’s been all along, shines through with piercing force.

So perhaps none of us -Terry included- really knew what his tender soul and giant heart were capable of, until he was faced with the task of letting every mask fall away.

I feel blessed to have been a witness to this deepening, and honored beyond words to have been able to call him a friend.

“You did good, sister!”, was his generous response to my book, in one of the last emails we exchanged.

No words could suffice to speak my praise, my awe, my gratitude.

But these will have to do: “You did amazing, brother!”

F.F.

Entusiasmo y posibilidad

Activating Enthusiasm!

Entusiasmo y posibilidad

What is enthusiasm, that vital force that the Ancient Greeks described as “having a God inside” (the etymological root of the word)?
Is it a gift, a character trait, a way of looking at life?
Can we “reset” ourselves to live with more energy and vitality, even when circumstances are difficult and times uncertain?
And, if so, through which strategies, practices and choices?

Some of the topics we will cover:

  • The differences and similarities between awe, inspiration, enthusiasm and obssession.
  • From enthusiasm to ecstasy: What are the higher rungs of the joy ladder, and why are they often discouraged in today’s society?
  • Key questions to ask yourself, to discover your own personal road to enthusiasm.
  • Enthusiasm as a choice, an attitude and a way of life.

Format: Vía Zoom. Afterwards you will receive the video, audio, poems we shared and notes on the main points covered.

Date:  February 13th, 1 PM PST / 4 PM EST

Duration: 3 hours (with a brief coffee break in the middle).

Tuition:  None! I would love to be able to share these ideas and practices with you, and to have you share them with your loved ones. I believe we need all the enthusiasm we can muster right now, so that we can take on this important year with our best energy!

Questions/sign up: info@fabianafondevila.com

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