Cultivating the Elements Stewardship in Oregon

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Cultivating the Elements Stewardship in Oregon at Self & Soul Center & Ecovillage

Please note: This is a tuition-based internship

The energies of the soil, streams, sun, winds, and cosmic forces form an interactive ecology integral to the health of the land, just as the five elements-earth, water, fire, air & ether create a template for self development. Steiner, who pioneered the field of Biodynamics, advocated that the farmer should establish a personal relationship to everything in farming because the process of growing is directly connected with continuous inner development. Seeing the farm as a living individuality on its way to becoming a being, is understanding the self in connection to nature. Opening to the balance and harmony of the elements within supports us to be stewards of our lives and the larger body of the earth.

Establish a direct sensory perception of the five elements as they exist within your body and your relationship to the outside world. This internship draws upon the principles of biodynamics, mindful gardening, ziraat, depth psychology, movement therapy, shamanism, theatre, and play. The internship ends with an individual and group creative project.

Stewardship Dates: Spring – May 7- June 3rd, 24 hours + final project. Mondays & Wednesdays starting May 8th 11:30-1:30pm; Fridays 10am-1pm with the final project on Friday, June 2nd. Daily meditation classes in the morning.

Boarding & Tuition Fees: Immerse yourself in community, with a place to live, cook, have dinners together, learn gardening/harvesting/food prep and daily spiritual practice or commute. Live-in stewardship + 15 hours of gardening and farm work/week = $275. Commuters can join the entire internship for $350, or can choose to add 15 hours of gardening work/per 4 weeks and pay $225.

Location: Self & Soul Center & Ecovillage, 9820 Wagner Creek Road, Talent, OR, near Ashland. We are psychotherapists, Suzanna Yahya Nadler MEd & Rod Birney, MD who work from our Center and grow most of the food we eat. We teach and promote sustainability, biodynamics (which is regenerative farming), and being in relationship to the earth.

Requirements: Must be physically and emotionally healthy and able to get along with others. Looking for interns that want to get to know more about themselves in relationship to the earth, learn to meditate and experience the elements, both inside and outside. If you are part of the work/study arrangement, you will be working 15 hours a week, outside of the class time; it is also helpful to know basic gardening skills of planting, weeding, harvesting, and to have a desire to help or experiment with cooking.

Please bring your own sleeping bag.

**Currently in school? Ask your advisor about taking this as an independent study course for credits.

Testimonials from past students:

“I came to the Embodied Ecology internship to engage and disengage from life. What I learned will last a lifetime. Working with the earth to better ground myself enabled me to interface with the other elementals forces inside and out. Opening my heart to this wonderful enchanted world, I am now more engaged than even before. Thanks for pumping life back into my heart.” – Sibby Hansen, NY

“This internship helped me become aware of which elements play a larger role in the journey towards my passion – the fire element helped me transform energy that was usually reserved just for anger into a positive form of production and excitement.” —Larry Reid, Miami FL

To Apply for the Cultivating the Elements Stewardship:

Fill out the application from our website: https://www.selfsoulcenter.org/embodied-ecology/ by April 16th and send via email to suzyahya@selfsoulcenter.org. A Skype interview will follow.

If you are accepted into the program after the interview, you must send your nonrefundable deposit of $100 to secure your place. Full tuition is due one month before the start date.