invisible networks of life

i have been thinking a great deal about "fields" - and how we create energetic and magnetic fields that can shift or deeper our awareness or actions, how in coming together with a certain intention, we can create a field that can source or access a collective intelligence.  

some call it resonance - or "collective resonance" which is described as "the "magic" that transforms individuals and whole groups through access to greater sources of wisdom."  it is that sense that there is a deeper connection or weave between people and place and intelligence that is beyond what is visible, but it is strongly experienced.  it is a practice of cultivating consciousness as something real, tangible, accessible. and basically, creating such fields helps us host the evolution of our humanity.

i do believe mushrooms know something about this.

author Paul Stamets who wrote Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World believes mycelium, which bear mushrooms as their fruit, have not just the ability to protect the environment but the intelligence to do so on purpose.

in this wonderful interview with Derrick Jensen in the Sun magazine called going underground , Stamets describes how the invisible and underground systems of fungi work to nourish the whole and how they transmit information across their huge networks. it intrigues me to think about this network of life that is so alive, that decided to do its work underground.  the invisible work, at least it is invisible to us topsoil folks, that sustains life on the planet.  

"Mycelia took an evolutionary path by going underground and forming a network of interwoven chains of cells, a vast food web upon which life flourished. These fungi paved the way for plants and animals. They munched rocks, producing enzymes and acids that could pull out calcium, magnesium, iron, and other minerals. In the process they converted rocks into usable foods for other species. And they still do this, of course.

Fungi are fundamental to life on earth. They are ancient, they are widespread, and they have formed partnerships with many other species."

what are the invisible networks working on our behalf, those that sustain us and those we humans create and sustain? Jungian psychology describes a collective unconscious that lives alongside and within us, it is available when we accept our whole selves through our shadows, our dreams, our inter-connectivity with our lineage, and the inter-generational transmission of consciousness.  indigenous peoples and traditions work with the invisible in many ways,  bringing in ancestors, plant-spirits, and the cycles of life and death such that all life and time is present at all times. this information is accessible to us, if we practice, if we invite it in and work with it, if we see it as real and tangible.  access this, and more of life is available to us.

so what kind of partnerships can we form with the invisible networks of life?  what are the "fieldwork" practices that bring in the multiple levels of intelligence that are just waiting to be invited to the party?  how would our organizations, communities, institutions be different if we saw the wholeness of integrating the visible and the invisible?

ask a mushroom.    

and come to the Immersion, May 6-15, 2011!

we will be working with the Living Wholeness pattern

which offers a framework for being
systemic at every level: with ourselves, our work and our communities,
and especially in relationship with all of life. with the Living Wholeness
pattern, we navigate the visible, invisible, individual and collective pathways
towards deeper alignment with all of Life.
 

photo by daniel seguin

apprenticing to the earth

 

With great delight, we are/ I am inviting you to Apprenticing to the Earth, taking place from 25 May-1 June at Axladitsa-Avatakia, in South Pelion, Greece. It is one part of a longer learning month we are hosting in Greece.

We invite you to be part of a rich translocal community of learners, with a wonderfully diverse circle of hosts with visiting faculty, the wild land of Axladitsa, and its local community. It is less a workshop and more of an inquiry into what it means to truly learn with and from the Earth in order to become more resilient, to sustain people and the planet.  We will be living and working with the a pattern we call Living Wholeness along with the practices of permaculture, mud building, poetry and reflection, conscious food, living systems, art of hosting, open space and a whole lot more...

Axladitsa Avatakia is an ancient Olive farm and haven of 24 acres on the Pelion peninsula, mainland Greece - is unspoiled, remote, rugged and beautiful.  It is a teacher and learner, and one of our hosts.  Axladitsa has inspired Maria, Sarah and myself to develop a pattern known as Living Wholeness that offers a framework for being systemic at every level: with ourselves, our work and our communities, and especially in relationship with all of life. With the Living Wholeness pattern, we navigate the visible, invisible, individual and collective pathways towards deeper alignment with all of Life.  

Here you can download the elegant Apprenticing to the Earth invitation and the registration & fee form:

Apprenticing to the Earth Invite

Apprenticing to the Earth Registration Form

In the meantime, please join the Apprenticing community and indicate if you will be joining us in May, are still thinking about it…or simply want to part of the conversations and connected into the evolution.

And if you wish to join us earlier, from 6-15 May, we are offering the always much-anticipated Axladitsa Immersion (the Mystery, Mastery and Artistry of Living Wholeness).  If you are interested in coming to both gatherings - coming for a month of Immersion learning in a wild place with excellent people - please join us for the Early Bird rates and register by 28 February.  If you wish to register, or if you have any questions at all about payment, fees, scholarships or sponsorships, please contact Sarah Whiteley at sarahwhiteley.hara@virgin.net.

We look forward to seeing you this May!

Much love, Vanessa with Sarah Whiteley, Maria Scordialous, Janell Kapoor, Filiz Telek, Penny Livingstone and Axladitsa Avatakia