The following is part of an ongoing dialogue with the feelings and questions of our time. This month, our Student Liaison Kara London explores the roots of ecofeminism and women's role in reverence of nature, as we celebrate Women's History Month. Ecofeminism is identified as an intersectional movement recognizing the inextricable relationship between gender and ecological issues. Ecofeminist theory proposes that the oppression of women and the exploitation of nature are directly linked and...

The following is part of an ongoing dialogue with the feelings and questions of our time. This month, our teacher Amanda Morrison offers a potent illustration of the symbols and cycles of nature, reminding us of our original connections. Early February is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, a time where faint signs of spring emerge, yet the markers of winter still prevail. My ancient Celtic ancestors would have celebrated this time through the ceremony of Imbolc,...

The following is part of an ongoing dialogue with the feelings and questions of our time. This month, our Student Liaison Kara London reflects on the hardships and triumphs of the last year, and reminds us of our inherent capacities for resilience. How do we maintain a sense of resilience in the face of oppression, violence, environmental degradation and losses, and the myriad of systemic issues that are sown into our here-and-now existence? This is a question I have had to ask myself a lot...

Are you going out to listen to the land as the season gets colder?  When the rain, snow, ice and wind are your companions? When it’s colder during the day and darker earlier? How do you listen when the season is busy, when there are crises around us, when the violence of the world breaks your heart, when you’re tired and just need a break?These are the most important times to step outside your door,  to look outside your window, to get out to a park or open space.To open to what the cold and...

“If liberation comes for anyone, it comes for everyone.”  — overheard on a collective action call. I go to the mountain just as the moon is becoming full. As is my custom, I introduce myself and pour water out near the roots of the manzanita bushes and old growth red-fir trees as a gesture of arrival and reciprocity. I'm trying to be a good guest. Moon not only reminds me to not look away, it won't let me look away. (See Moon Is Witness poem below) Not away from war. Not away from the...

The Earthbody Institute’s origin story…  15 years ago, a grove of redwood trees in Joaquin Miller Park called me to bring people outside to do meditation, movement and healing. At the time, I had never heard of Ecotherapy nor had experiences in groups doing healing work outside. I really loved my alone time outdoors (with two young kids at home), and couldn’t imagine sharing that time with others. But the forest was insistent, so I listened and followed.  In the beginning, we explored moving...