November 18-22, 2024
Awakening the Heart of Belonging: An Embodied Inquiry into Curiosity, Courage, and Compassion
Esalen Institute: Register Now
Steven Harper & Friends
Uncertain times have shaken and are shaking our habitual ways of being. Individually and collectively, we are experiencing anxiety, disconnection, and the reality of impermanence even as we begin our journey into the ever-forming “new normal.” Now more than ever, we need to let our somatic system know safety by connecting to our somatic and emotional intelligence, easing into open-hearted social connections and the natural world — so we may settle and ground in our organism’s capacity for resilience, self-regulation and inherent belonging.
A sense of deep belonging and connection is the natural state of our being. Our nervous system and physiology are wired to feel belonging. We are being called to greet change in manners not previously known to most of us — individually and collectively. To know and feel our belonging in these times asks us to grow awareness — to cultivate genuine heartfelt curiosity, to have courage to feel our vulnerability, and increase our capacity for authentic compassion.
Together, we’ll explore using a variety of practices:
- Grounding and centering tools and techniques that let our nervous system and physiology feel safe and move from habitual reactivity: to choice, resilience, and trust in the body’s innate wisdom.
- Sitting, walking, and laying awareness practices that build mindfulness and embodied connection will be introduced and practiced daily.
- Gestalt Awareness Movement practices that invite us to trust our body’s capacity for organismic self-regulation and co-regulation.
- You will be introduced to neuropsychology concepts and practices that can be perceptually felt and embodied in our daily life while feeling our inherent belonging.
- Through presentations, exercises, and time together in group, paired, and solo practices, we will have space to connect with self, others, and the natural world.
Listening deeply, life conspires to let us know the heart of interconnectedness even in the midst of the unknowable. We will draw from various wisdom traditions, contemplative practices, contemporary somatic and neuropsychology to explore ancient, yet new ways of belonging to ourselves, others, and to the other-than-human world to which we are participate. When we embody the birthright of our interconnectedness and the heart of belonging, ever-changing life lives through us.
Please expect to be primarily indoors and outdoors as weather allows, on the Esalen grounds. We will work in group, paired, and solo practices. This workshop will take place on Esalen grounds.
For more on my perspective on belonging read the interview on The Esalen Journal: The Importance of Belonging
High above the fog the beauty of the Big Sur calls us to aliveness.