EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Thirteen, Number Three May/June 2004 THIS MOMENT IN TIME: EXPRESSIONS IN PROFOUND LIVING A 50 hour retreat providing a framework for reflection on the central questions that will be guiding the emerging period of one's life. Developed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs, Chicago. (1) Many who are working for social transformation, in groups or in themselves, experience the need for congruence between their inner being and the external world. Nature has often provided metaphors to express this inner experience. The Earth gives a grounding framework for reflecting on our spiritual experiences and our life journey. "This Moment in Time" introduces the metaphoric topography of another world in the midst of this world. We find ourselves in a desert of meaninglessness, or a mountaintop perspective, a jungle of confusion, a swamp of despair or a garden of delight and flowering of joy. Without some metaphoric perspective with what is both kinesthetically and imaginably tangible, we can be driven by it, rather than experiencing it as our unique human venture and gift. Once we discern the appropriate metaphors, we are enabled to take a new relationship to our experience. Shared reflection, journal writing and artistic expression enable us to center in our inner space and expand our capacity to relate to our external world, and become, as Joseph Campbell put it, "masters of two worlds." More information can be found on this retreat at the website www.icajourneys.org/ad-tmit.html. (1) This workshop will be presented at the June 25-27 conference "Bringing the Church Back Down to Earth" under the title "Exploring Natural Terrain as Metaphoric Tool", facilitated by George R. Packard. return to top Home     Table of Contents