NEWSLETTER SURVEY RESULTS
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This newsletter goes out to 835 people every month. A total of 79 of you answered the survey. Interestingly, both your praise and your suggestions tended to be consistent. Here's a summary:
1. You like the newsletter, read just about every issue, and read half t0 three-quarters of the content. (Thank you!)
2. You'd like more coverage of relevant international events. (Done.)
3. You found the dark blue background under the "welcome" part of the newsletter hard to read. (Changed.) 4. You want more stories about people's experiences on the Vision Arrow and Radical Joy for Hard Times journeys they've taken. (You've got it. Below read Marla Ferguson's story about the adventure she embarked on when she couldn't take the vision quest she'd planned.)
5. Some of you are interested in contributing to the newsletter. Wonderful! If you have a story that fits our theme, which is noticing and saying yes to the invitations of the world, please send them to me. Try to keep them to 300 words maximum. I'll be happy to consider them.
6. You'd like the stories to be shorter. (I'll do my best. But you can't have everything. Great stories about people's personal experiences (see suggestion #4) may require more words!)
One comment by three or four people requires further investigation. It seems that for some of you, the colors of some of the sections appear as light blue backgrounds with pale type, which makes them impossible to read. If you receive a newsletter like that, please forward it to me, and I'll speak with the helpful people at Constant Contact, so we can see if we can solve the problem. That's certainly not how it's designed. Photo by Bill Willcox Photography |
THE VALENTINE PEACE PROJECT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Valentine Peace Project is a global community endeavor launched in February 2005 by a visionary young man named Federico Hewson. His mission was to take advantage of the mood of friendship and love inspired by Valentine's Day to launch a larger conversation about peace. "What I want to create," Federico writes, "is an opportunity to express love in community, love in the streets, love's requests of us."
With a background in theatrical arts and the non-profit world, Federico aims to build a social business for peace via the international flower industry. He has garnered the support of organizations like One World Flowers, FTD, Global Flower Trading, and the Dutch Flower Council, which have donated flowers to be given away as an act of service and generosity. Formerly a resident of Amsterdam, now living in London, Federico is also working to develop an original breed of tulip inspired by and named for peace, as well as a label that will promote community-building flower products through fair-trade channels.
He invites people to "re-imagine Valentine's Day" by giving flowers to strangers as well as friends and lovers and bringing flowers and poems to a rest home or hospital. On Valentine's Day of this year Federico himself will be at Royal Festival Hall in London, passing out fair-trade flowers along with poems by children on the themes of love and peace. Join him there if you live in London or print out his "How to participate in the Valentine Peace Project" and celebrate wherever you are. "Think about Peace," Federico urges, "what it means to you and where you locate it in your own life and community, and see it building in the world."
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15 SECONDS!
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Transformation takes work, right? No pain, no gain... which means that if you don't have pain, you're not doing it right?
Wrong.
Here's a simple practice that takes only 15 seconds and will bring you peace, contentment, even bliss. All you have to do is let yourself be seduced by where you are.
Just stop what you're doing and pause. Feel your body where it is right now. No need to adjust; everything is fine. You're part of the whole picture, and all the pieces fit. Take in the sounds around you. If they're mostly human sounds, or even electronic sounds, that's okay. Just hear them as part of the orchestra of the moment. Feel the temperature of the air on your skin. See what is before your eyes. Just gaze at it. You don't have to learn anything profound.
For 15 seconds or, as my colleague Kim Marshall of Inner Compass Leadership puts it, "for three or four breaths," you are absolved from doing anything at all except being right there in your world.
This exercise is particularly transformative if you do it outside. See what is before you, fully and without judgment. Let it all sink into your pores. What is happening in the sky? What sounds do you hear? Can you feel the wind on your face? How are your feet responding to what's beneath them?
It's so easy you can even do it several times a day. And you will notice a difference.
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RADICAL JOY FOR HARD TIMES NEWS
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For years before I founded Radical Joy for Hard Times in 2009, I was seeking actively for a way to honor the wounded places of the Earth and to reconcile them and the people who loved them. One experiment was a five-day journey in 2003 that three friends and I made to a clear-cut forest on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
We spent our days sitting in separate spots in the clear-cut, simply paying attention to what was happening around us and how we were responding within. In late afternoon we walked down the hill out of the clear-cut to our primitive campground in a beautiful old-growth forest. After dinner, we would sit before a gigantic Sitka spruce, estimated to be more than 800 years old, to tell our stories of what we had experienced during the day.
The stories of each person were remarkable and completely individual. We experienced healings, wisdom, bear cubs, songs, compassion for lumberjacks, and tears. I've written about our "Lessons from a Clear-cut" for the Powers of Place Initiative website, and you can read about it here.
Photo of Trebbe Johnson in the clear-cut on Vancouver Island by Mike Beck
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A HARD-WON SUNRISE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Our 2012 Sahara Camel Caravan and Vision Quest had to be cancelled at the last minute because of political unrest in North Africa. One of the women who had signed up, Marla Ferguson, of Palisade, Colorado, had been on three previous vision quests, and she decided to spend a few days hiking in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, bringing to her walks the same kind of attention to both outer happenings that we emphasize on quests. On the second day, she had a conversation with a tree. Marla writes: Tree is quietly fulfilling her purpose and that purpose isn't to save the world and it's not mine either. We're both here to BE who we are. That includes helping others but it doesn't mean being a martyr. I thanked her and gave her some water and hiked on to the arches. The name that came to me for my "I'm not good enough" persona was "Carmen." I wanted to talk more to Carmen and make peace with her so we could both move on. I stopped at a small clearing and walked toward the river, but there were dead branches all around and it wasn't very pretty and just not quite good enough. As soon as I heard my judgment about the place, I KNEW that it was the perfect place! I started drumming in the shade of a gnarled tree. When Carmen first showed herself to me she looked like a sparkling white angel. She said that she wouldn't be with me much longer. I tried harder all the time, but I could never transform myself into the macho boy that my dad wanted. Then, a new name for her came to me: Crema Dulce, which means sweet cream in Spanish. "Crema" has all the same letters as "Carmen" but without the N, so there can't be a MAN. I'm not a man and I don't need a man to fulfill me. I realized that she is my Guardian of Self-Esteem! On the ground in front of me were pieces of hair. They may have been from a tail of a horse, but they looked like they were cut. I thought of a woman having to cut her hair so that she could look and be like a man. I kept part of the hair and took it with me to remind me that it's OK for me to be a strong woman! The next morning I got up about 6:00 to drive to the park to see the sunrise. I got myself settled, wrapped myself in the quilt I brought and patiently waited. Then I heard voices. There were three photographers setting up to get the perfect sunrise photo. After about 15 minutes I said, "You know, you'll get a much better picture if you're quiet." The one who seemed to be the most knowledgeable photographer started to tell me that this was a national park and they should be able to talk. And then another one said, "You're in my line of sight. Can you move so I can get my picture?" I said, "I have every right to be right here, and if I do move, I don't get the perfect place to watch the sunrise that I picked out." I knew that this was a test of my new self-esteem. I sat and stewed about what to do for a few minutes and then finally moved behind a rock. They were quiet for a couple of minutes and then started up again. I came from behind the rock and I said, "Hey, I moved, now you need to be quiet." They stopped for a minute and then one of them started up again. This time, I'd had it. I stood up right in the middle of the arch and said, "OK, I'm going to stand right here until you all SHUT UP!" The main photographer started to say something again about it being a national park and then either he realized that I was serious and would have stood there until they were quiet (which I WOULD have) or realized that it was a simple matter of respecting each other. He said, "You're right, I'll be quiet." And they were quiet. And I sat down behind the rock out of their line of vision and my body shook. It wasn't just a shivering cold kind of shake, it was a full-body shake. I tried to breathe deeply and calm down so I could enjoy my hard-won silent sunrise. I finally did stop shaking and enjoyed the silence and the new colors that the sun was bringing to the sky and the red rocks. After about another 15 minutes, I was ready to start the rest of my hiking for the day. As I got up, I turned to the photographers and said, "Thanks, guys. I hope you have a good day." One of the photographers said he was sorry he yelled at me. As I walked down the path, I felt like I had succeeded in proving my self-esteem and standing up for myself. And yet, in respecting each other, we all won. |
IN THE NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Anthony Wright, host of the San Francisco Bay area radio program "Attunement" and an insightful and incisive interviewer, did an interview with me about Radical Joy for Hard Times. Click above to listen to it.
On January 7, the Times of London named Eugene Hughes' and my program, "Lead Like a River," as one of their "20 Retreats That Will Change Your Life." |
WRITING AND WORKSHOP NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My book, The World Is a Waiting Lover, with a foreword by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, is available from Amazon.com or from your favorite bookstore. It's also available as an e-book!
UPCOMING PROGRAMS from VISION ARROW
 Der Weg der/des Geliebten
Der Weg der/des Geliebten ist ein Herangehen, das Dich ermutigt, lockt und Dich auf etwas ausrichtet, das Dich bereits aus Deiner Tiefe ruft. Während dieses Wochenendes arbeiten wir mit inneren Bildern, der Herstellung von Lebenslandkarten, Dialogen mit Partnern und der inneren Stimme, Storytelling, einer Wanderung in der Natur und vielem mehr.
April 27-29
Eschwege Institut
Eschwege, Germany
May 4-6
Schweibenalp
Brienz, Switzerland
Both programs are for German-speakers.
3rd Annual Global Earth Exchange
June 23
Worldwide
Sponsored by Radical Joy for Hard Times
Join people all over the world as they go to wounded places to find and make beauty, pioneering a path of Earth activism that reconnects people and the places they love and affirms that all places, no matter what has happened to them, are part of the circle of life and worthy of honor and care.
 Endless Mountains Vision Quest
June 27-July 1
Northeastern Pennsylvania
This four-day program, held in a secluded 400-acre nature preserve, is specially designed for those who seek a meaningful rite of passage in a beautiful, yet accessible place. You explore many of the same processes and practices as in the longer vision quest, but with a focus on reading Nature's lessons and discovering how they apply to your own life. For the twenty-four-hour solo you may choose from among diverse ecological niches: glacial pond, meadow, beaver habitat, clear stream, and indigenous forest. Minimal backpacking.
Guide: Trebbe Johnson
Cost: $605, plus $75-$125 for one night's lodging in a local bed & breakfast
Youth Vision Fast
(recommended for people ages 17-23)
In the high desert of eastern California
Sponsored by the School of Lost Borders
To recognize and mark the moment when a young person turns toward adulthood takes great courage, especially in a culture that has all but forgotten the importance of honoring this transition. With the intention of finding and facing your deepest truths, your strengths and weaknesses, you then turn toward the critical questions: "Who am I to be in the world?" and "What are my gifts?" This opportunity is both a great challenge and a simple task, providing the possibility of returning home with a timeless memory in your bones and a profound connection to the Earth, ready to embark on the life-long quest of finding and making your place in the world.
Guides: Will Scott and Trebbe Johnson
Tuition: $700-$1,100 (sliding scale)
Lead Like a River has been chosen by the Times of London as one of the "20 Retreats That Will Change Your Life"!
Like a River
August 4-11
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
Being clear on who you are and what you stand for, defining your vision and inspiring others to act are all key competencies of your leadership. Mastering this is a lifelong journey, and this program in the Atlas mountains provides the ideal opportunity to reflect on your path, gain strength through connecting with nature, and listen to what is important and meaningful to you.
You'll stay at the beautiful Kasbah du Toubkal, just one hour from the Marrakech airport. This hidden Shangri-la is pearched on rocks with stunning views of remote valleys and the summit of Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. We will spend five nights in the Kasbah and one night in a mountain lodge that we will trek to. You will have a dawn-to-dusk solo in a wilderness place of your choosing, where you will reflect on both the landscape around you and the landscape within as you mark your passage to a new height of personal leadership.
Program is limited to ten participants.
For information, contact Will Jackson.
Guides: Eugene Hughes and Trebbe Johnson
Cost: €3,300 / $4,250 (includes all meals and lodging and transportation to Kasbah du Toubkal Lodge; does not include airfare)
Fifth Annual Bali from Within
August 23-September 3
Bali, Indonesia
Bali from Within is ajourney into the heart of one of the most beautiful places in the world, geographically, culturally, and artistically. In this trip, which is limited to only 6 participants, we work with Balinese guides who, over the years, have become dear friends. Together you will explore Bali in ways that tourists cannot do:- visit the sacred spring Tirta Empul and receive a blessing therehike through beautiful, lush forests to visit a great waterfall, a gigantic and historic banyan tree, and maybe drop in at the home of the renowned gamelan musician, Made Trip
- join in the gala celebrations of Galungan, when the Balinese welcome the spirits of the ancestors back to the villages
- take a village walk and learn about sacred architecture and its role in everyday life
- enjoy a day at Bali Botanica, a spa by a riverside in Ubud
- hike through rice paddies and forests where native trees mix with cultivated planand share reflections and responses each night in a Council with our own small group
Guides: Trebbe Johnson, Rucina Ballinger, A. Agung Gde Putra Rangki, and Nyoman Sutarya
Cost: $3,900. For a complete itinerary, see Bali from Within on the Vision Arrow website.
 2-Week Sahara Desert Vision Quest and Camel Caravan (Late December-mid-January 2013---dates to be announced) Southern Algeria Following the steps of intrepid seekers throughout the ages who have been drawn to the desert to fast and pray for guidance, we venture into the greatest desert of all: the Sahara. Our guides are a group of nomadic Tuareg, a matriarchal people known for their love of the desert, poetry, camels, and beauty.
Our base camp is truly remote, reached after 1-2 days travel by Land Rover, followed by 4-5 days in a camel caravan. Your three-day solo will take place in a place of your choosing, in a desert valley or in a black basalt wilderness. To undertake this quest, you must have an adventurous spirit and be prepared to sleep under the stars, immerse yourself in the ways of another culture, experience hot days and cold nights, live three weeks without a shower, and move fearlessly into a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Guides : Sabina Wyss, Trebbe Johnson, Adem Mellakh, and Tuareg hosts
Cost : 4,444 Swiss Francs, (approximately $4,800.00 as of 12/31/11), including all meals, camping fees, riding camel, land transportation in the desert, and air travel from a European city to Tamanrasset, Algeria
For more information about Vision Arrow programs, see our website.
Call 570 727 4272 or email Trebbe if you have questions or would like to talk about any of these programs. |
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