Our relationships with nature and with each other are based on the same foundation, so we cannot heal relationships with other species while ignoring conflicts within our own. Addressing issues of gender, race, and class oppression is fundamental to restoring balance in our relationship with the Earth. Indeed, we frequently find that when the natural world is harmed, people are being exploited. Conversely, the celebration of human and natural diversity go hand in hand.
There is a longstanding (misguided) Utopian vision in which humanity attains paradise by controlling nature through technology. We can see this vision in the celebrations that greeted the automobile and television, and now with computers. As we use these machines we become impatient with older ways of living. We tell ourselves not to be old-fashioned. This automatic dismissal of our own doubts prevents us from distinguishing between anxiety that arises simply because something is new and unfamiliar and legitimate reactions to the harmful effects of technology. We need to cultivate a kind of technological mindfulness and stay aware of the drastic effect that these machines are having on us, collectively and individually.
Throughout human life on earth, stories, myths, and symbols have passed along the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of a culture to our youth. Today, there is an invasion of the hearts and minds of our children with stories, myths, and symbols calculated to convince them that what they buy is what they are. Allen Kanner is a leader of a group of psychologists who are requesting that the American Psychological Association takes a public stand against psychologists consulting with advertisers who market to children. The APA members are not supposed to "exploit or mislead other people," so how can they use their expertise to advise corporations about how to sell to children? This is an excellent example of the kind of actions ecopsychologists are bringing to the public discussion, and the reason Rowe wanted to offer this workshop.
In this retreat we will use experiential methods, including guided inner
journeys, movement, music, and small group council processes, designed
to bring about an emotional, perceptual, and spiritual reconnection to
the more-than-human natural world. We'll begin with an introduction to
ecopsychology, including its history and practice. We'll spend solo time
outdoors, focusing our intentions for the workshop, or possibly exploring
a conflict in our lives. Then Allen will "mirror" the experiences, a technique
that translates the solo time as a story or myth. We will then be invited
to think about our family history in terms of its relationship to nature
and to society. Experiential exercises will provide opportunities to apply
ecopsychology on a personal level. The last major topic we'll explore will
be our relation to consumerism and technology.
Allen Kanner is a clinical psychologist who teaches ecopsychology at the Wright Institute and the Saybrook Institute and Research Center. He was a co-founder of The Bay Area Ecopsychology Forum, serves on the editorial board of The Ecopsychology Newsletter, and is co-editor, with Theodore Roszak and Mary Gomes, of Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. This book was what first brought ecopsychology into the public eye and remains a widely read primer on this vital movement. We are honored to welcome Allen to Rowe and hope you will join us.