remembering our place in the sacred circle of life
Nature-Inspired Writing Workshop with Christina Burress
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Remembering our inextricable ties with Mother Earth is a revolutionary act. Returning to the wild, whether in person or through visualization, dreaming, writing, or other art forms, can be a source of creativity, love and belonging.
During six, 2-hour workshop sessions, we will read poetry, prose, and essays that touch on the magnificence of Mother Earth. The aim of the class is to be inspired by the reading, our discussions, and your ventures into Nature. Your writing practice will be nourished by your deepening relationship with the natural world. We will also explore how artistic acts like writing, painting, sculpting, singing, playing music, cooking, baking, gardening, etc., are prayers towards healing and opportunities to share our heart-based creations. Format: Virtual 2-hour Zoom class
Dates: September 19th - October 24th 2023 Classes will convene every Tuesday. You may choose either Class #1 or Class #2 below: Class #1: 4 pm (PST) / 7 pm (EST) Class #2: 10 am (EST) /15:00 (GMT)/16:00 (CET) (Class #2 Accommodates Our European Audience) Class size: Limit to 10 Price: $175.00 with 10% going to Olympic Mountain EarthWisdom Circle (OMEC) To enroll, ask questions, or discuss payment method, please contact Christina Burress at christinamburress@gmail.com |
6-Week Course Syllabus
Week 1 - Stepping into Nature & Ceremony: Letter to Self, Curiosity, Visualization, and Expressive Art.
Week 2 - Living with Intention: Daily Ceremony as Performance Art. Acknowledging the Elements as Our Teachers.
Week 3 - Kincentricity: Animals as Teachers. Working with Grief and Becoming Advocates for our Wild Family.
Week 4 - Reciprocity: Building a Relationship of Respect with Our Plant Family.
Week 5 - Mapping the Land: How Our New Awareness Changes the Landscape.
Week 6 - Translate the Messages: A New Story Emerges.
Week 1 - Stepping into Nature & Ceremony: Letter to Self, Curiosity, Visualization, and Expressive Art.
Week 2 - Living with Intention: Daily Ceremony as Performance Art. Acknowledging the Elements as Our Teachers.
Week 3 - Kincentricity: Animals as Teachers. Working with Grief and Becoming Advocates for our Wild Family.
Week 4 - Reciprocity: Building a Relationship of Respect with Our Plant Family.
Week 5 - Mapping the Land: How Our New Awareness Changes the Landscape.
Week 6 - Translate the Messages: A New Story Emerges.
Partial list of authors we will explore: Llyn Roberts, Sandra Ingerman, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Joanna Macy, John Seed, Rachel Carson, N. Scott Momaday, David Lukas, Bathsheba Demuth, James Nestor, Anthony Doerr, Monica Gagliano, Jonathan Hammond, John Muir Laws, Janine Benyus, Richard Louv, Carl Safina, Linda Hogan, Anna Breytenbach, Enrique Salmón, Helen Macdonald, David George Haskell, Christi Belcourt, Robert Macfarlane, Martin Shaw, Sharon Blackie, and Barry Lopez. Poets: Joy Harjo, Mary Oliver, Gary Snyder, Pablo Neruda, Wislawa Szymborska, Harvey Ellis, Fenton Johnson, Czeslaw Milosz, Rabindranath Tagore, Mary Rose O’Rielley, Jane Hirshfield, David Wagoner, Norman H. Russell, Carl Sandburg, and Denise Levertov
To enroll, ask questions, or discuss payment method, please contact Christina Burress at christinamburress@gmail.com
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Christina Burress has been teaching writing since 2007 to students of all ages. She has designed and implemented both in-person and online courses whose aim is to increase confidence, inspire creativity, and encourage artistic collaboration with the natural world. She currently teaches at the University of California at San Diego Extension’s Creative Writing Certificate Program and the School of Education’s Arts in the Curriculum Masters degree at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Christina is a Shamanic Reiki practitioner. She holds a BA in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley, and a MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University. She earned an Expressive Arts Certificate from Sky Mountain Institute and a Certificate in Indigenous Cultural Awareness from First Nations Technical Institute. Christina is a board member of OMEC and a facilitator of Hoh River Valley and Rainforest Retreats.
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Testimonials:
"Christina could see our writing from different angles that helped deepen the meaning. Her feed back and suggestions helped me see unexpected angles to the writing that could take it in different directions and help the writing flow more easily. It brought unexpected and more interesting insights to me." – Sheridan
"This class deepened my awareness in and of nature and gave me tools to enhance my expression; whatever I write now will be more intentionally rich and, I hope, more skillful." – Sue C.
"An awakening experience into all the aspects of Mother Earth and all she has to offer us , right outside our door! I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in nature, creativity , inspiration and writing." – Concetta B.
"Christina offered so much richness each week! I loved it—and I am very grateful for the chance to go back to it all. I found the mix of poetry, essay, video, recording and journeys/visualizations effective, inspiring." - Joanne
Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life was what this class was all about for me. I truly needed to deepen my connection to Nature and this class format, Christina and the class participants really made this happen for me. - Mary R.
This has been the best experience I have ever had! In one famous Russian movie there is an expression, "Happiness is when you are understood". This is how I felt. I wish I could express my feelings with better words and in a better language, but all your comments showed me that you got exactly what I wanted to say and helped me to think further. - Nadja
I have taken a lot of classes in my days and this was the most well thought out and run of them all. Can’t wait to continue and have a few in person! - Jill P.
Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life Workshop with Christina Burress was life changing. Her multifaceted class exercises were thought provoking and engaging. I saw the world of nature and my connection with new eyes and a compassionate heart. She held a sacred space for all to express and share. She listened deeply to our stories and written words and provided positive feedback. Christina's class offered me an opportunity to create a more intimate relationship with nature and myself. I now have new tools in my toolbox to practice a more thoughtful and meaningful connection with the land I live on. – Jeanne
Christina offered a wealth of interesting content including poems, contemporary writers and creative works and used visualization and discussion to inspire and spark our imaginations and creativity. The course encouraged us to dive deep and find connection to ourselves and nature, finding stories around and within ourselves. It was enriching to hear others' response to the material and to find my own stories emerging spontaneously taking their own shape. Christina was very encouraging and helped us find threads in our writings and ideas and I feel more confident to keep writing now without feeling that I need to do it right! – Jessica Deguara
"This class deepened my awareness in and of nature and gave me tools to enhance my expression; whatever I write now will be more intentionally rich and, I hope, more skillful." – Sue C.
"An awakening experience into all the aspects of Mother Earth and all she has to offer us , right outside our door! I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in nature, creativity , inspiration and writing." – Concetta B.
"Christina offered so much richness each week! I loved it—and I am very grateful for the chance to go back to it all. I found the mix of poetry, essay, video, recording and journeys/visualizations effective, inspiring." - Joanne
Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life was what this class was all about for me. I truly needed to deepen my connection to Nature and this class format, Christina and the class participants really made this happen for me. - Mary R.
This has been the best experience I have ever had! In one famous Russian movie there is an expression, "Happiness is when you are understood". This is how I felt. I wish I could express my feelings with better words and in a better language, but all your comments showed me that you got exactly what I wanted to say and helped me to think further. - Nadja
I have taken a lot of classes in my days and this was the most well thought out and run of them all. Can’t wait to continue and have a few in person! - Jill P.
Remembering Our Place in the Sacred Circle of Life Workshop with Christina Burress was life changing. Her multifaceted class exercises were thought provoking and engaging. I saw the world of nature and my connection with new eyes and a compassionate heart. She held a sacred space for all to express and share. She listened deeply to our stories and written words and provided positive feedback. Christina's class offered me an opportunity to create a more intimate relationship with nature and myself. I now have new tools in my toolbox to practice a more thoughtful and meaningful connection with the land I live on. – Jeanne
Christina offered a wealth of interesting content including poems, contemporary writers and creative works and used visualization and discussion to inspire and spark our imaginations and creativity. The course encouraged us to dive deep and find connection to ourselves and nature, finding stories around and within ourselves. It was enriching to hear others' response to the material and to find my own stories emerging spontaneously taking their own shape. Christina was very encouraging and helped us find threads in our writings and ideas and I feel more confident to keep writing now without feeling that I need to do it right! – Jessica Deguara
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