• Buddhist practices drawn from Vipassana and Zen traditions
• Dharma teachings, Buddhist and 'Sacred' Psychology
• Contemporary understandings from Neuroscience
• Neurological Repatterning and Neurolinguistics (NLP)
• Deep Ecology
• Global and Personal Grief work
• The use of language, communication patterns, and reframing skills
• Vision Quest under the guidance of our colleague Merlei Cassell a neighbor at Los Coyotes Reservation and a story keeper in the Cahuilla tradition.
• We will use games, interactive exercises, writing exercises, periods of meditation and silence interspersed with teaching and team projects.
• This is a very full content-packed program!
  

Some of our objectives for the program are:

* to develop tools for personal sustainability for activists
* to deepen perspectives around personal responsibility and the interconnectedness of all our actions and thoughts
* to provide tools for expressing the sacred, sustaining the sacred in our lives
* to provide tools for community building and healing
* to give a context for activism work that honors our ancestors as well as future generations
* to apply aspects of Buddhist teaching to revolutionary theory and practice
* to give a basic grounding for participants in basic Buddhist practices
* to provide a foundation for those who may themselves become teachers in the realm of socially-engaged spirituality and Buddhist practice

Oppression takes many forms, internal and external, individual and collective. The relationship between the two has influenced our lives in many ways. When we begin to explore the subtle effects of the many kinds of oppression we face in our lives, we are already on the road towards liberation.

Liberation is neither entirely collective, not entirely individual. The interplay between the two is varied and subtle. The exploration of that interplay is revealing, a discipline, and a self-liberating process in itself.

To be effective as agents for change we are called to be practical, adaptable, and open. A doctrinaire approach self-limits. Rigid adherence to particular points of view and doctrines limits our capacity to see, act, and interact with others. Systems of thought are best used as tools, rather than articles of absolute faith. This implies that we travel deeper than we have in the past. It does not imply cynicism or mere eclecticism

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2008 Dates

March 20-23
Arrive Thursday afternoon or evening for an early Friday morning start, continuing through Sunday lunch.

July 19-26 .
Arriving Saturday afternoon or evening for an early Sunday start and ending Saturday lunchtime.

September 25-28
Arrive Thursday afternoon or evening for an early Friday morning start, continuing through Sunday lunch.

Winter Retreat December 26 - January 3
attendance at the winter retreat, or part of it, if possible

* Meetings will be held at Manzanita Village. Facilitators: Caitríona Reed and Michele Benzamin-Miki

* Participants are also asked to prepare information about a new, or ongoing, project or action which they will use as a point of focus during the week, and as an ongoing collaborative process with other participants.

* Participation for the full week is required.

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REGISTRATION and COST

March and September weekends $300 each.
July 19-26, 2008          $800

These amazing value prices include accommodation and food!

You are also invited to offer dana

(Dana is a voluntary donation to support
the principle of accessibility,
so that we can continue to offer scholarships
for retreats and trainings at Manzanita Village.)

Register by mail

Ordinary Dharma,
PO Box 67,
Warner Springs,
CA 92086

760-782-9223 Manzanita Village
760-782-0655 Fax

manzanita@fivechanges.org