"Leading for the Great Turning" - week-end workshop with Dr. Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan in Banff (May 15-17, 2009)

Jennifer Berezan & Joanna Macy at the Wisdom & Action conference - Berkeley, California (Sept. 2003)

Hello again my friends!

I've been letting many of you know of the plans I was discussing with Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan while I was working with Ghost River Rediscovery last year. Well, it turns out that given my persisting jobless state & no grant funding coming through earlier on, I had to pass along the coordination of this May workshop to someone in a better position to move these plans forward more readily.

This event is now being coordinated by a woman named Julia Lynx in Canmore, who is also on staff at the Banff Centre. As well, Julia is a doula (birthing assistant) who is now using her event coordinating expertise to help in the final stages of bringing to life the plans that we've been making with the Banff Centre for Performing Arts to host these two amazingly gifted teachers. Julia has recently passed along a weblink with details on the workshop & an on-line registration process.

"Leading for the Great Turning" is the title for this week-end workshop (May 15-17, 2009) & you can find more details & register at: http://www.lovingtheland.com

I hope you can make it, especially since it's Dr. Macy's first ever trip to Alberta to share her teachings (she was here one time before but only on holidays many years ago). Plus, earlier in May 2009, Joanna will have celebrated her 80th birthday and also because Jennifer Berezan is accompanying Joanna to share her evocative and powerful music. Jennifer's voice & music are totally amazing!

You can learn more about Dr. Macy's "Work that Reconnects" at:
http://www.joannamacy.net

As well, you can find out more about Jennifer's gift of music and her unique, spiritually musical approach to teaching at: http://www.edgeofwonder.com

This is very much a ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY for folks here in Alberta!"Leading for the Great Turning" with Joanna Macy & Jennifer Berezan (May 15-17, 2009)

Related to this & to my own quest to share my unique gifts, I am relocating out to Canmore, Alberta for the next few months to launch the project I had been applying for funding on last year while I was still with Ghost River Rediscovery. Turns out The Calgary Foundation approved half the funding we requested & I've decided to move forward with launching the "ECO Healing & Rediscovery in the Rockies" workshop/day hike series while I continue to sort out where I will pursue my Summer seasonal outdoor work this year.

Soooooooo, TERESA'S ON THE MOVE AGAIN ...
but also heading to a comfortable spot to call "home" for awhile ...

Since I proposed to deliver this project out in the Canmore/Banff region, I will be moving out that way in the next day or two. I will offer a mix of workshops that share Dr. Macy's "Work that Reconnects" as well as the Rediscovery activities that I added to my facilitation "tool box" last year with GRR. The folks at the Canmore Community Cooperative Workshop http://www.canmorecoop.ca will be one of the main sponsoring hosts for this work & as I get things rolling in Canmore at THE COOP, I also hope to be offering activities through the Banff Volunteer Centre &/or the Banff Library and maybe even the Banff Centre, we'll see. With half the funds, there's less time to do all that I had originally proposed ...
"ECO Healing & Rediscovery in the Rockies" workshop series at the THE COOP

http://www.canmorecoop.ca/programming/workshops/314-eco-healing-a-rediscovery-in-the-rockies.html


At this point in my journey, there's heaps keeping the energy flowing, building, and recharging amid my more precarious "speck" riding state (Horton Hears a Who reference :) My family & friends (the many kind Horton's in my life) have been offering up their generosity through their love, hugs, & kindness, their comfie beds & delicious food, and their camaraderie & support.

The fragility of life on this little speck hits me every now & then, so I am doing my best to remember to BREATHE DEEPLY, ... GET OUT IN NATURE, ... and BE GENTLE with MYSELF. It's also been great to reach out to many of you splendid & beautiful beings over the phone & cyberwaves along the way. I know I am in need of connecting with a few of you in the very near future to seek your guidance and support.

I look forward to reconnecting with any & all of you along the way as you come across my BLOG postings or other notices that may inspire you to connect with me :)

For anyone in or near Alberta, it will be GREAT to reconnect with you in person out in Canmore while I am living in the Rockies over the next few months! Especially if you can make it for Joanna & Jennifer's week-end workshop of transformational teachings!

Sending all of you great big hugs & heaps of love,

Teresa & Sherpa Dog


p.s. here are my contact details for reaching me in the Rockies ... I've just relocated to a much better housing arrangement here in Canmore & am very pleased to share my new address with you:

Teresa L. Chilkowich
1106 - 14 Street
Canmore, Alberta
T1W 1V7

(403) 678-2397 (landline in Canmore)
(831) 440-8678 (SkypeIn phone number)
(403) 690-0504 (mobile phone)

spiralwonder@peacemail.com

Skype & Facebook are other options as well :)

the quest for Teresa's place in the world continues in 2009 ...

smaller falls in Great Falls National Park near Washington D.C. (January 2009)

Hello my dear friends & family,

Over the past 5 months, I've been on the rollercoaster ride that job searching often is ... experiencing the HIGHS of exploring new possibilities and getting excited about postings that call out to me and breathing through the LOWS of different options falling by the wayside. In particular the Activities Assistant position on Vancouver Island that some of you know about, that I thought I was heading toward last Nov./Dec. ... the plug was pulled on this in the 11th hour as I was waiting for the contract they said would be sent in a couple of days. Such was the impact of the big "economic downturn" on non-profit organizations relying on their endowment funds!

Many have been the opportunities for practicing PATIENCE, NON-ATTACHMENT, and COMPASSION for myself and others.

stillness & beauty of the frozen C & O Canal near Great Falls

After making as much peace as I could with myself & the situation that revealed I was not going to be working for Pearson College or on the west coast (at least at this time), I kept pushing on with my job search. A few weeks into the new year, I found myself gearing up to return to the Great White North for a few job interviews for outdoor, seasonal positions with the Alberta government. So, I prepared to return to Edmonton from my "sojourn" of a couple months out in the Washington D.C. area that was possible through the generosity and kindness that Margaret & my family on the east coast graciously shared with me in my "no-fixed-address," job-seeking, gypsy state-of-being.

sunset over the Capitol Building almost ready for Barack Obama's inauguration (January 15, 2009)

So, a few hours after watching Barack Hussein Obama be sworn in as the 44th president of the U.S. (on t.v. - we had no desire to wade through the sea of people that we knew were coming out for this historical event, especially the crowds in the Metro stations), I had to bid "adieu" to my sweet Margaret, & then board an airplane bound for Canada.

Turns out I was able to land quite softly into a house-sitting opportunity for my friend Munira, thanks for the connect on this Mary-Frances :) Munira's generosity & plans to travel around Argentina for a little over 3 weeks made this all possible. I've even been able to hang out here at Munira's cozy little house since she's returned. I was very grateful for the ability to settle into a space of my own for a while as I prepared for at least one job interview per week over the next 4 weeks.

ASIDE: this gentler landing was back to snow and Canadian Winter temperatures that dipped down to -25C for about 4 days shortly after I returned!!! I was away for the month long cold spell of -20 to -30C temp's but have endured a couple more that have appeared since I've been back.

West Virginia sunset (November 2008)

As a result of this recent & most welcome interview activity, I am now contemplating a few job offers & hoping for a few others to be coming in soon ...

Of the two offers I am contemplating, one is with the Alberta government, as a "Guardian," helping recreational users on public lands understand ways they can enjoy their activities while still playing lightly on the land and water http://www.srd.alberta.ca/aboutus/careers/guardian.aspx
(I've actually turned down this offer in light of the other prospects on the horizon)

The other is with Frost Valley YMCA, located in the Catskill Mountains (2.5 hours north of NY City). I would be leading adventure teen trips and possibly also coordinating their Counsellor in Training program for 16 year olds. Here is a link for FV YMCA & the Forstmann Castle where I could be living this summer in the shared staff accommodations that are in part of this building http://www.frostvalley.org/lodging/inn_style.htm

swirling tides of the Pacific Ocean welcome a gorgeous Assateague Island sunrise (December 2008)
morning beach walks with the rising sun inviting us to keep exloring :)


Even more exciting than this, I am doing my best to generate some really good positive energy for the prospect of working with Northern Edge Algonquin aka "The Edge" http://www.northernedgealgonquin.com to help offer their adult retreats & canoe/kayak trips and perhaps even some of the deep ecology work I am so passionate about.

Please feel free to meditate or think happy thoughts on this option to help generate more positive energy into the mix to help me move toward life at "The Edge" for this Summer and even longer.

.... another iron I have in the fire is an application with Outward Bound Canada for the courses they offer in the Rockies, where I could be helping with their mountaineering and youth asset building courses or possibly even the position they recently posted for a Recreation Instructor at the Banff Centre http://www.outwardbound.ca

I have a much greater preference for The Edge because of their overall philosophy that resonates so much for me. Their operating mantra is "Rediscover Ourselves, Empower Each Other, Restore Our Connection with the Earth" ... the founders & staff at The Edge also uphold values that are important to me such as seeking out local, organic foods as much as possible, and a mindfulness about the impact of operations on the planet. The Co-Operating Partnership arrangement among staff is also a most welcome operational relationship http://www.algonquincanada.com/blog/about/

I'll need to respond to the offers that have come my way before St. Patrick's Day & am persevering in my contact on the hottest irons I have in the fire now so that I can make decisions that factors these possible opportunities in as well.

the pastels of sunrise over the Pacific Ocean from the beach of Assateague Island (December 2008)

I am eager, yet patiently waiting, to see what will unfold for me in my quest to share my gifts and skills with others and in ways that benefit the natural world and all beings.

I'll be in touch as this clarity for my path forward is revealed ...

Hugs 'n' Bugs & heaps of love,

Teresa