 GreenSpirit Spring Walking Break
Sunday 3rd April to Wednesday 6th April 2016
"The Valleys and Rock-Crowned Heights of Dartmoor"
YHA Okehampton Bracken Tor, Saxongate, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1QW  Bracken Tor
We will have exclusive use of YHA Bracken Tor Lodge which is a converted industrial heritage building and sits within the grounds of YHA Bracken Tor. It is within 4 acres of landscaped gardens backing directly onto open moorland, making it an ideal base for exploring Dartmoor National Park. There are prehistoric Stone Circles, medieval deserted villages, village greens and other ancient landscape features within easy reach of the Lodge.
Accommodation is mostly in small (4 & 5 bed) dormitories, all bedding is provided and there is a large lounge and dining area. There is a self-catering kitchen but our meals will be provided by the hostel.
We will start with dinner on Sunday 3rd April and will end after lunch on Wednesday 6th April. We will walk during the day on Monday and Tuesday and in the evenings we will gather for creative activities, reflections and more.
Cost The cost is £125 for 3 nights for full accommodation and all meals. Speak to us if you think you might need a concession. Booking and payment (cheques made to GreenSpirit or click here to pay online) by March 15th to Hilary Norton 33 Park Road, Stratford, London, E15 3QP. When you book please let us know if you have a particular dietary requirement. For any enquiries, please contact Hilary on tel: 020 8470 3365, email: hnorton@greenspirit.org.uk
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GreenSpirit Wild Week in Wales
Monday 15th - Sunday 21st August 2016
A week of living close to each other and capturing the meaning of GreenSpirit: living in a loving consciousness of the interconnected world. We enjoy being in and celebrating our natural surroundings together, go walking, sing and tell stories around the fire in the round house and relax in the hot tub under the oak trees and stars. This holiday is like a retreat from our busy lives and is always nurturing. People who attend are invited to bring something they can share, like a workshop, stories, songs, favourite recipes, musical instruments...
The Wild Week takes place at Cae Mabon in Snowdonia. Cae Mabon is set in natural woodland by a rushing river, near a deep lake, at the foot of high mountains and almost within sight of the sea. A family of beautiful, natural, earthy structures provide appealing spaces for groups to sleep, meet, retreat, work and play.
We cook our meals together and can therefore cater for any kind of diet. For more information about the site, see the Cae Mabon website at www.caemabon.co.uk.
To enquire about this event, contact Hilary Norton tel: 020 8470 3365, email hnorton@greenspirit.org.uk or write to: 33 Park Road, Stratford, London. E15 3QP. And please request a copy of a document about Cae Mabon to ensure that the terrain is suitable for you.
The cost of the Wild Week is £250. There is a £100 deposit to secure your place and as this event is becoming increasingly popular, bookings will only be taken accompanied with the £100 deposit on a first come, first served basis. The balance to be paid by 31st July 2016 and is not returnable after this date. The deposit can be returned before this date only if another participant is found. Hilary (details above) will let you know how to pay. More details and travel directions will be sent to you nearer the event.
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GreenSpirit 2016 Calendar: January's image and quotation
Returning to silence is returning to peace, Returning to peace the world reharmonizes itself.
~ The Tao Te Ching, Lau Tzu (translated by Ralph Alan Dale).
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Reclaiming the Wild Soul: How Earth's Landscapes Restore Us to Wholeness
by Mary Reynolds Thompson
Reviewed by Marian Van Eyk McCain.
The thoughts and emotions that are stirred awake in us when we walk in a desert landscape have a different quality from those engendered by a walk in the depths of a forest. Different again are the ideas and images that come to mind when we marvel at a mountain peak or stand in a high place and look across a valley. And when we gaze out at the ocean or sit on the bank of a fast-flowing river or find ourselves in the middle of a grassy field, the inner scene changes again. In this unusual book, Mary Reynolds Thompson studies these deep connections between the Earth's primary landscapes and what she calls the 'soulscapes' of our inner lives and how this connection can be used for emotional healing and spiritual transformation.
Click here for the full book review on the GreenSpirit website.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Serviceby Alastair McIntosh and Matt Carmichael 
Spiritual activism is about being both 'spiritually active,' i.e. inspiring others, as well as being 'spiritually grounded,' i.e. being a compassionate activist with protests and practical action. The book has ten chapters covering a wide range of territory, each ending with a case study featuring a well-known person who has been involved in spiritual activism such as Julia Butterfly Hill, Gandhi, Muhammad (pbuh) and Desmond Tutu.
Click here for the full book review on the GreenSpirit website. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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See the GreenSpirit Local Groups page with information on all local groups here:
http://greenspirit.org.uk/localgroups/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Norfolk GreenSpirit
GreenSpirit council member Piers Warren is looking to start a local GreenSpirit group for people living in and around Norfolk. Initially meetings could be held at his house in Cringleford on the edge of Norwich City. There may be meetings every 4 or 6 weeks and could include meals, visits etc as the group decides as well as earth celebrations. If you would like to be involved please contact Piers at piers@wildeye.co.uk or 01603 396916 (please leave a message if not answered).
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Greater Manchester
Journey of the Universe - in Central Manchester. This informal group aims to explore key concepts, themes and ideas of the theologian, philosopher and cosmologist Thomas Berry and the material explored in the Journey of the Universe series of films.
The dates for future meetings are Thursdays at 19.00 on 4th February and 3 March 2016.
The sessions take place in Whalley Range, Manchester. For further information, please contact Kelvin Ravenscroft: krikona@aol.com
Launch of 'Alternatives in the North' - 29th and 30th January 2016 - a date for your diary!
During the summer, we held two planning meetings concerning the next programme of the GreenSpirit Greater Manchester Group. We decided we should join forces with the Tapestry, St. Agnes, in creating 'Alternatives in the North' developing as a beacon for concern and action in Greater Manchester and the wider north of England, inspired by the pioneering work of Donald Reeves at St. James Piccadilly at the end of the last century.
The first event will be on the week-end of Friday and Saturday the 29th and 30th January 2016, when Donald Reeves has agreed to come to the Tapestry and launch 'Alternatives in the North'. Please put the dates in your diary! (See the entry in this eNewsletter 'Alternatives in the North' for more information). Dr. Helena Mary Kettleborough, Greater Manchester GreenSpirit Group Co-ordinator
E: helena.kettleborough@btinternet.com
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East London
Imbolc Celebration After a time of drawing in energies and shortness of days, we're looking forward to the increasing return of light to this part of our planet! The next meeting of the East London GreenSpirit Group is at 6.30pm on Sunday 31st January 2016 at Ian's house: 137 Ham Park Road London E7 9LE. After a vegetarian supper we will share a Candlemass candle-lit ritual to remember that this is the Celtic festival of Imbolc. It will help with catering if you let Ian know by end of day Thursday 28th January if you are coming. (T: 020 8552 2096 E: info@greenspirit.org.uk) - with any dietary requirements. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
North Lancashire and Cumbria
Saturday 30th January 2016 7.30 - 9.30 pm ~ Imbolc ~ Rm3 upstairs, Friends Meeting House, LA1 1TX. Nature is emerging; we celebrate these natural stirrings; now we can intuitively feel the potential creativity in all things, as the light returns. Step into the Dances of Universal Peace; please bring timely contributions, poems, and readings. For details contact: Dorothea.
Sunday 20th March 2016 2 - 5 pm ~ Spring Equinox ~ Backsbottom Farm, (Middlewood, Nr Wray.) A celebration of Oestre, now we are awakened to the first sensations of new life. As day and night are of equal length, we again seek balance and harmony, as our focus moves from the inner to the outer world. Please bring vegetarian food for the shared meal; timely contributions, poems, and readings as we welcome in the spring! For details contact Rod or Dorothea.
For further information and lifts for these calendar events please get in touch with the event hosts: Dorothea: 01524 36709 Rod: 015242 22214
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GreenSpirit is an official supporter of this event and will be there with a stall:
The Shamanic Lands
11th and 12th June 2016
Conway Hall, London. WC1R 4RL
The Shamanic Lands is a two-day ceremony and waking shamanic journey uniting the ancient knowledge of the British Isles and Ireland with global shamanic wisdom. We are in a time of great change in the world and shamanism is becoming ever more popular as a way to navigate through the turmoil. The call for us to reconnect back to our authentic selves has never been heard louder. Many people are being drawn to travel to other countries in search of the genuine shamanic experience, while we reside in lands already rich with shamanic heritage.
Bringing to life the ancient pathways of Druidry, Celtic Seership, Bardic Story Telling, Geomancy, Bwiti and Dream Decoding, each healer will deliver a unique teaching from their own traditions that will create a collective story.
Join us on a journey through the wisdom teachings, storytelling, practical exercises, art, live music and performances, all woven into a unique narrative that highlights the ancient and deep magical heritage that our Shamanic Lands hold.
The Teachers:
* Philip Carr-Gomm: Chief of The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (OBOD). Presenting: Singer, Shaman, Sage
* Caitlin Matthews: Celtic Seer, Researcher & Author. Presenting: The Many Coloured Winds
* Sandra Corcoran: Shamanic Practitioner. Presenting: Sacred Dreamtime: Your Doorway to Multi-Universes
* John Cantwell: Irish Shaman. Presenting: Way of the Heart: Wisdom Teachings from Eiru
* Carolyn Hillyer: Musician, Artist, Native Shaman. Presenting: From the Wild Horse Hills to the Edge of Ice
* Dr Patrick MacManaway: Geomancer/Land Shaman. Presenting: Healing and Balancing of Energies and Atmosphere
* Blessings of the Forest: Bwiti collective of initiates. Presenting: Teachings, Prayers and Music from the Bwiti Culture
For full information and to book tickets, go to:
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Date for your diaries:
Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd October 2016
At EarthSpirit in Somerset.
More details in due course.
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'Radios' by Rick Levine
Here is a wonderful poem about the magic of the universe:
Planets talk; their cosmic discourse determines the fate of vulnerable babes; Each armed with a few trillion tiny cellular receptors Each cell with its calibrated micro-antennae tuned into the emptiness of deep space and infinite time.
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©1994 Rick Levine
Rick Merlin Levine, Chief Wizard of StarIQ.com, combines his visionary understanding of astrology's role in society with his ability to communicate astrological terms in unique ways. Rick co-authored eight years of Barnes and Noble's annual "Your Astrology Guide." Rick's daily horoscope column is delivered via the Internet to millions of readers through Tarot.com. His daily Planet Pulse Audio Podcasts are available online through StarIQ.com. Rick Levine is the subject of a DVD, "Quantum Astrology: Science, Spirit, and Our Place in the Cycles of History". |
The Way of the Buzzard~ treading the path of our ancestors, reconnecting with the spirit of our land ~
 Events:
* Full Moon Trance Drumming evening - Sunday 24th January 2016, 7pm - 9pm, Wilmslow
* Wander the Wheel Sabbat Celebrations: Imbolc Saturday 6th February, Anglezarke, Chorley, Lancashire
* Weekend residential retreat: Ignite the Spark - Friday 19th February - Sunday 21st February 2016, Roburndale, Forest of Bowland, Lancashire
* Drum birthing day - Friday 26th February / Saturday 27th February, Friday 1st April/ Saturday 2nd April 2016, Anglezarke, near Chorley, Lancashire * The Buzzards Call - Introduction to Shamanism Day - Saturday 12th March 2016, Heath Charnock, Chorley * Wander the Wheel Sabbat Celebrations: Spring Equinox Saturday 19th March/ Beltane Saturday 8th May, Anglezarke, Chorley, Lancashire * Drum birthing day - Friday 26th February / Saturday 27th February, Friday 1st April/ Saturday 2nd April 2016, Anglezarke, near Chorley, Lancashire * Weekend residential retreat: Spring into Life - Friday 8th April - Sunday 10th April 2016, Roburndale, Forest of Bowland, Lancashire * Wander the Wheel Sabbat Celebrations: Beltane Saturday 8th May, Anglezarke, Chorley, Lancashire * Space to Emerge - Shamanic Festival in the Lake District - Friday 13th to Sunday 15th May 2016 For full details of these workshops and events, go to: |
Introduction to Practical Geomancy
1 Day workshop with Patrick MacManaway
Friday 24th June 2016: 9.30-5.30
Lane End Centre, Church Road, Lane End, High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire, HP14 3HH
Learn how to work with and balance the energy of place for personal healing, elemental healing, improved business and harmonious relationships. Also known as geobiology, this is a unique opportunity to learn with one of the UK's most gifted and experienced geomancers. You will learn solid basics required for continued learning in this field.
Read more about this workshop and how to book at:
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Practical Geomancy Training with Patrick MacManaway
A year-long training schedule with separately bookable modules.
Each training weekend will take place at: Lane End Centre, Church Road, Lane End, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 3HH.
Module 1 - Earth Energies:
25th & 26th June 2016, 9.30am-5.30pm
A weekend of dragon whispering, learning relationship with earth energies and the healing of geopathic stress.
Module 2 - Spirit Communication & Healing:
6th & 7th August 2016, 9.30am-5.30pm
A weekend of nature spirit communication, landscape trauma healing, and spirit release.
Module 3 - Sacred Space:
8th & 9th October 2016, 9.30am-5.30pm
Learning to locate and craft sacred spaces using traditional temple construction techniques.
Full details and how to book at:
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Easter Reclaimed
Would you like to experience a shared Cosmic Easter?
You are invited to join us in spending holy week together, exploring the meaning of the gospel story and how we understand it today in the context of the Universe story, and in the light of the visions of Tielhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme.
We endeavour to celebrate each day in ritual, music and words, in a creative group experience in which all contributions are welcome.
The group will run from early afternoon on Maundy Thursday till after lunch on Easter Sunday.
We will meet in the Emmaus Centre at West Wickham situated in lovely countryside. It is easily accessible from Croydon or Hayes, Kent.
The facilitator will be Mary Jo Radcliffe.
Click here to read about one participant's experience of this event at Easter 2015 where the group gathered at the Ammerdown centre.
For further details contact Mary Jo
Tel: 0207 223 2917
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Exploring the Soul's Journey
with Alan Heeks and Cordelia Prescott
at The Abbey, near Oxford
20th - 21st February 2016
This retreat offers a safe, supportive space to explore how can we enrich and guide our life by a deeper understanding and dialogue with our soul. If our soul is on a longer journey, before and after this current lifetime, what does it want now? What are we here for?
A classic teaching in Sufi and other traditions is to enrich your living by including your dying: in other words, to face consciously our death and what may be beyond it. This can move us beyond fears into truly enjoying and fulfilling ourselves through the gift of this lifetime.
At The Abbey, near Oxford, Tel 01235 847401, for full details click here.
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The Buyerarchy 
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Exploring our relationship with our home planet
Judith Bromley Nicholls
Charney Manor, Charney Bassett, Wantage, Oxfordshire. OX12 0EJ
18th - 20th March 2016
Following the well received exhibition 'Climb up to the Moor' this weekend will offer an opportunity to explore and deepen our spiritual, psychological and physical relationship with the natural world. Using art materials, including clay, the weekend will include an activity based on the workshop begun by the Art section of the United Religions Initiative: 'Islands'. Those who have taken part in the 'Islands' activity have valued it as an experience which has the potential to bring the understanding of climate change and population migration into a deeper level. I would like to invite and encourage other members of GreenSpirit to become facilitators of this experiential activity which could become a useful tool in these troubled times.
No artistic ability or experience necessary.
Cost: £181 (deposit £81).
Judith Bromley Nicholls is a painter and facilitator, and is a member of GreenSpirit.
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Quote - George Bernard Shaw
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Launch of 'Alternatives in the North'
Gorton Rd/St Agnes St, North Reddish, SK5 6RA, Stockport.
The Tapestry at St Agnes Church North Reddish is pleased to be inviting you to an evening of inspiration and challenge with Rev Donald Reeves MBE, once described by Margaret Thatcher as 'a very dangerous man'.
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If you feel like you don't fit in...
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Animystics - Ireland
A 2 Day Shamanic Journey of Holistic Teachings for The Modern World
Seeing Spirit in Everything
7th and 8th May 2016
Dunderry Park, Co. Meath, Ireland
Only by truly understanding and knowing our deepest self can we begin to write a new dream for the planet and for our descendants. Drawing on ancient shamanic and indigenous traditions Animystics will bring together a collection of teachers that hold the knowledge of the old ways but demonstrate how that ancient wisdom can be used to help guide us more effectively in today's modern world.
Speakers:
* Danu Forest - Author, Seer, Arch-Druidess ~ Celtic Tree Magic
* Dr Patrick MacManaway - Geobiologist & Land Shaman ~ Walking Amongst Dragons
* Philip Carr-Gomm - Head of Bards, Ovates & Druids UK ~ How Druidry Can Help us Reconnect with Source
* Eimear Burke - Co-Founder, Kilkenny College of Druidry, Shamanic Practitioner ~ Emerging from The Mists of Time
* Ger Lyons - Psychic Healer, Seer ~ Active Communication with The Field of Consciousness
* Karen Ward - Irish Shaman & Psychotherapist ~ Reclaiming Our Soul Sovereignty
* Caz Coronel - Conscious Explorers Founder ~ Transformation Through Dreams
* Emma Farrell - Plant Spirit Healer ~ The Magic of Mugwort For full information and how to book, go to:
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Plus:
The Magic of Mugwort
Workshop and Initiation with Emma & Davyd Farrell
Monday 9th May
10am-5pm
Dunderry Park, Navan, Co. Meath
Full details at:
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Climate Change
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Climate Rising Event
Friends House, Euston, London.
Saturday 30th January: 10am - 6pm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Zero Carbon Yorkshire Launch DayLeeds. Saturday, 27 February 2016: 11:00 - 17:00 Click here to find out more.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *See a video of climate change at the North PoleClick here for the video
Tell David Cameron it's time to act on floodingClick here for the petition from Friends of the Earth * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Climate WarsSpoof video of Star Wars. Click here for the video (on facebook) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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I clean the air you breathe...
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In brief...
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Have We Underestimated Plants?Click here for the BBC World Service programme and click here for a related article on the BBC website
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Humanistic PaganismClick here to find out about it.
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Stunning time-lapse of what the earth looks like from the International Space StationClick here for the video (on facebook)
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Reverse the decision to allowing fracking under our national parksOnline petition to the Government. Click here for the petition.
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