As a Ravens wing implies the expansiveness of an open sky, a Trouts slippery skin implies a cold mountain creek, and an Acorn implies an Oak tree, so do the particular textures, nuances, and absurdities of the Human experience imply a world of sensual play, profound mystery, and ecstatic wonder.
What if there was a world in which the story of Human made sense? What if there was a world in which you – your body, your wondrous senses, your fears and joys, your oddities and eccentricities, the outer bounds and inner limits of your human experience – made sense? What a wondrous thing. And not only that, but what if such a world was waiting for you to witness the stories of those whom you share this world with – to behold the beauty of the world – and be witnessed in turn?
We came into this world expecting to be met with deep connection and intimacy, to fall in love with Life, to be celebrated for our gifts, our art, and be asked to give our art back to the world. Beholding the Human Story is a ceremonial remembrance into a world where our stories belong to the world that birthed us and where our capacity to fall in love with and behold the beauty of other beings – Human and nonhuman alike – is radically important to our souls and to the Soul of the World.
Who is this for?
This ceremony is designed to be accessible to all varieties of Human. No prior experience with ceremony is necessary. We only ask for a willingness to show up with the most courageous and compassionate parts of yourself. All other parts of you are welcome as well.
What will we be doing?
We will be gathering, camping, and cooking together at a basecamp on Boulder Mountain, and venture into the surrounding wilderness for several ceremonial walks into the land. Upon return, we will share our stories with our community, as well as learning to trust our own ways of witnessing the stories of others.
Nature awareness/embodiment activities such as tracking, bird language, and night-walks will be integrated into the week.
How is this different from a Mirroring Training?
Beholding the Human Story is our way of inviting folks into the magical and wondrous terrain of ceremony and the particular way of holding stories known as “Mirroring” to folks coming from the Vision Fast lineage. Our offering differs from a Mirroring Training in a few ways – rather than rooting our teachings in the “Four Shields” cosmology which is traditional to this teaching, we are working from the assumption that the magic of Mirroring/Beholding is innate to all humans, and each human has their own way of tracking this intelligence – of bearing witness to and falling in love with the world. Our way of guiding others into this terrain is also inextricably somatic – we will be tracking, dancing, singing, and embodying our way through the week.
For those unfamiliar with this term, Mirroring is an essential part of a rite-of-passage ceremony, a way of witnessing, celebrating, and midwifing stories into the world. Mirroring is tending the rich soils of death and life – compassionately holding the hand of that which is dying, as well as welcoming the impossibly beautiful creature which is struggling to emerge into this strange and terrifying world and tenderly weaving it into the fabric of Life.
What about reciprocity?
The Oak and Bone School operates on a gift economy. For more details on what this means, please follow this link: https://www.theoakandboneschool.com/soul-of-gift
or contact tamarix for more details.
Participation is limited to ten humans. Please apply by April 1st.
For questions, details, or to apply, please follow this link: https://www.theoakandboneschool.com/apply-1
or contact tamarix at
[email protected]
