PRESIDENTS' DAY WORK PARTY

February 15–18 (Friday dinner – Monday breakfast) Come and participate in the first work party of the new year as camp is coaxed out of its slumber and preparations are made for the spring and summer programs that lie ahead. Pruning the fruit trees is a top priority. See Work Parties for more information.

EASTER WORK PARTY

March 21–24 (Friday dinner – Monday breakfast) Join us as we greet the emergence of spring with gardening, cooking, cleaning, and various maintenance projects. This is a fun and popular work party. See Work Parties for more information.

POST-SPIRITUALITY AND THE CREATIVE LIFE

April 10–13 (Thursday dinner – Sunday lunch) Join us for a far-reaching investigation of the interplay of consciousness with our relationships, our spirituality, and the belief systems governing our lives. Steven Harrison, an insightful and provocative voice in contemporary inquiry, will challenge many of the ideas we hold about spirituality and the creative life. Together we will explore the dynamic energy of consciousness and the adaptable mind as its reflection. Steven asks us to leave our preconceptions at home and come prepared to enter into a transformative encounter, with the passion to create what is next in our lives and our society. Daily gatherings will include short talks by Steven along with periods of dialogue and silence.

Steven Harrison is an international speaker on the topics of consciousness, human development, relationships, and alternative education. He is the author of What’s Next After Now: Post-Spirituality and the Creative Life, as well as other books including Doing Nothing, Being One, Getting to Where You Are, The Questions to Life’s Answers, and The Happy Child. Harrison is a founder of All Together Now International, a charitable organization that provides aid to street children and the destitute in Asia and Africa. He is also a founder of The Living School, a learning community in Boulder, Colorado, where he lives. For more information, visit www.doingnothing.com.

Program Fee $65

LIVING OUR LIVES FOR THE FUTURE: A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

April 17–20 (Thursday dinner – Sunday lunch) Sustainability is a concept relating to the continuity of social, environmental, and economic systems. It enables humans to meet their needs and express their potential while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems. In 1939, Fritz Kunz, one of the founders of Indralaya, stated that “the problems of life and the place of man in nature form the ground for vigorous and exciting discussion.” Six presenters will discuss different aspects of sustainability in relation to Indralaya, ourselves, and our communities. The program fee will include a guided tour of a permaculture farm and teaching center located on Orcas Island.

HEAVEN IS UNDER OUR FEET – SUSTAINABILITY AND ECOLOGY AT INDRALAYA WITH RIVER AUGENSTEIN River will facilitate an interpretive nature walk around the property, focusing on local flora and fauna and the ecological systems that sustain them. He will also use this time to demonstrate the fascinating sustainable practices already in place at Indralaya.

River has a special way of interacting with nature and has facilitated many outdoor educational excursions in the Sierra Nevada and in Santa Barbara, Calif., for groups and students. He is involved with the promotion of local food networks and has extensive experience with biointensive gardening.

MY HOME, MY ECOLOGY WITH SUSAN CRAIG How we care for ourselves and our homes is an increasingly complicated and toxic endeavor. This session will examine the toxins commonly present in our home environment as well as cleaning products and cosmetics we use each day and will offer low-cost, easily obtainable alternatives.

Susan has been a surgical nurse for 23 years. She has special interests in sustaining our planet, living simply, and practicing and promoting Therapeutic Touch. Susan has researched toxins in the home and employs back-to-nature methods for self-care.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT WITH SHELAGH LEVEY In this segment we will look at strategies for networking with others in order to raise awareness and create positive action in our own neighborhoods.

Shelagh is a retired teacher who has been involved in environmental education and action for the last three decades. Her first visit to Indralaya was in 1972, when she attended a program titled “Cultural Alternatives for the Future.”

SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH POLITICAL ACTIVISM WITH WENDY VALENTINE

“Politics and spirituality are the two sides of the same coin. Politics is the driving force visible to the outside; spirituality is the internal force driving the consciousness to open up to the world and conjoin it. Politics bared of spiritual awareness always leads to violence and the abuse of power. Spirituality without political engagement resembles an escape from the world.” –Gundula Schatz

Wendy is a nurse and a teacher in local, national, and international forums. She will share insight and lessons learned from her service in local elected politics, party politics, and environmental organizations.

BUILDING “GREEN”: ENHANCING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PEOPLE, NATURE, AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT WITH SHANNON MARKLEY Come learn about Shannon’s green building adventure – the challenges and joys of constructing a house with the Earth in mind. Resources will be provided to those launching a remodel or building project.

Shannon has expressed the core values of simple living for much of her life. As an environmental activist and educator, she has an intense interest in creating a more sustainable, humane, and just future.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THEOSOPHY AND SUSTAINABILITY WITH ARTHUR VAN GELDER Theosophy holds that our every action, feeling, and thought affects all other beings and that each of us is capable of, and responsible for, contributing to the benefit of the whole. Inherent within the concepts of both sustainability and theosophy are the ideas of the universality and interdependence of all living things.

Arthur is a fourth-generation theosophist. He has been working in the electrical distribution industry for over 30 years in Australia, Europe, and the United States. He currently works on energy-reduction projects with an emphasis on lighting. Please feel free to bring musical instruments, favorite poetry, etc. to share at a campfire.

Program Fee $65

SILENT MEDITATION

Participants are asked to arrive by 7:30 Thursday evening. They must be age 12 or older to attend.

April 24–27 (Thursday dinner – Sunday lunch) We all know that working expends energy, but what about talking! Conserve your vitality by reducing your schedule to eating, sleeping, and meditating as part of a quiet group. Become more deeply aware of the presence of the sacred in this practice of mindfulness. Time invested in silent retreat provides nourishment for the body, heart, and soul. The day begins with a sitting meditation. Lunch is preceded by a walking meditation allowing for communion with the natural energies of Indralaya. Afternoons allow rest and relaxation, followed by a brief afternoon sitting. Dinner and an evening program lead you through to bedtime. Silence begins on Thursday evening and is observed through Sunday morning. Participants with or without silent-retreat experience are encouraged to attend this short program.

Grace Crowley is an active meditation practitioner, experienced in the practice of Vipassana. She has attended spiritual programs throughout the world, including a residential retreat at Plum Village in France, a monastic community developed around the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Program Fee $65