A manual for creating and running a ten day long religious retreat focusing on developing ecological identification and community for a small group (around twenty participants). He deals with a lot of things in quite a bit of detail, with point-by-point scheduling of events detailed to the hour for each day, scripts for exercises and prompts for discussion. Largely aimed at those who want to be leaders or guides in these intensive temporary communities, but there are plenty of tips here for creating shorter duration events or focusing on a facet of the overall event plan.
Otter cites academic sources and ideas, talks about how to use ritual. He introduced me to the very interesting idea of "Spiritual Permaculture” (an idea that I will be promoting henceforth) – spirituality that feeds into our relationships with the other living things and the cycles of nature and from which we draw in turn in non-exploitative ways. And, crucially, a way of living that is joyful and fun due to the connections and energy exchanges.
He begins by discussing why to do these intensives, some guidelines for leaders, the key ideas underlying a spiritual permaculture (reclaiming ancestral knowledge, the power of dream, reclaiming tribal identities, seeing the Earth as alive and full of meaning and abundance, partnership of women and men, and technology in harmony with nature) and guidelines and overview (setting up the guidelines for the event, rules and behavioral expectations etc.). Then follow chapters on key elements of the event, complete with scripts for prayers, prompts for questions and discussion – Listening, Feeling and Healing, Nature Connection and Immersion, Story, Ceremony, Altered States, Play, Stillness, Elders and Mentors, Art and Music, Vision and Manifestation. He closes with a detailed sample schedule with more notes on logistics.
Rather than seeing nature as something outside our car windows as we drive from city to city, this intensive approach aims to foster a deep engagement with it. But, how to go from this hothouse of intentional and intense ecological spiritual exploration in small groups of like-minded people (like so many other utopian dreams and communities of the past) to undertake the huge tasks of large-scale social and economic transformation needed to make it more than just a vacation?
~review by Samuel Wagar
Author: Sky Otter
Moon Books, 2024
330pg. Paperback £18.90 / $35 Can / $25.60 US
