Where We've Been, Where We Are Now, & Where We're Going
It is with heavy hearts we carry the weight of the unrelenting atrocities in the Fertile Crescent alongside the ongoing violence on black, indigenous, and trans bodies globally.
It is from this place that we share some pieces from the internal world of ERE and highlights from our May retreat.
Dear Community,
We appreciate your patience as we’ve gathered our hearts, reflections, and experiences over these last few months. 2024 marks ERE’s 7th year as a creative entity dedicated to serving collective liberation.
From its inception, ERE has been centered around a “call and response” with the earth, with spirit, and with the liberation movement. We have walked with trusted elders and moved with the practices of prayer and deep listening as we grew faster and larger than we ever imagined.
A core practice of ERE’s team is to engage in a yearly renewal that does not assume an unending continuation of what has been, but instead, we ask and listen for “what serves now?” and “what (if anything) is still ours to do?” Our listening is not perfect, but it is the best we have, and this is where we find ourselves now.
Our last email communication with you was in May, as we gathered in person, for the first time, as a team. Your messages of loving support, in response to our retreat, were deeply felt and set a powerful communal field for our time together. Being held within the expansiveness of this community allowed us to lean in, to release, and to make space for what needs to heal, "what needs to die, and what may still wish to come through." We thank you for every heartfelt message that was sent.
Below are some snapshots from our May retreat
(Please note that we wish to share more intimately about what emerged for us in retreat, for now here are some highlights).
WHERE WE'VE BEEN
Coming together: Orienting towards Land, Elements, and Nourishment
Relationship:
As we began, we took time to be with and honor the lands which held us. We introduced ourselves and gathered with the ancestral Miwok and Graton Rancheria lands, made offerings and asked for permission to be there. We were generously accompanied by the indigenous plants, animals, and elements of this coastal line throughout our time together. Our circle continued to be supported, mirrored, and taught by the beings of those lands throughout our days and processes together.
Pace:
We chose to move with no set agenda, no set leadership, and no attachment to outcome. From these commitments a gateway opened up, and we were able to be in reciprocity with all our relations and with each other. We centered nourishment, connection, and mutual care. We did not move with urgency. We made decisions collectively, we allowed for emergence and different impulses to arise, and we shared honestly and with transparency throughout each day.
Lineages and shared practices:
Each of us brought practices, impulses, and offerings to share with the group. We also each brought our own ties to ritual, ceremony, and different healing modalities from our different lineages and life experiences. Together we wove a fabric which held us in different moments of contraction and expansion.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
“Did you know that bees sleep between 5-8 hours a day, sometimes in flowers? Also, they like to sleep with other bees and hold each other’s feet.” -Offered by Kyle and posted by sixpenceee via Instagram
Over the last 7 years our listening and actions have been fast and in rapid response to the urgency of our times (crisis, pandemic, global racial reckoning etc.). However, now we have entered into a different season, and in order to listen, we are moving slowly and with steadfast intention.
As we divest from a culture of urgency and attachment to producing new programming, we have significantly scaled back our 2024 programming and we have entered into a time of rest and reflection. From this space, we have discovered a wish to engage with you, the ERE community, to hear from you and to harvest our collective experiences and learnings. Over the next few weeks, you will receive a call to take part in a communal harvest process. We will send you a survey with questions that our team has created around the topics of, "what has served you, what needs to die, and what would serve now?”
For those of you who have been with us in different programs you will be familiar with the lifecycle of the caterpillar/butterfly. ERE has entered into the cocoon and we are quite clearly in the “mush phase” of our transformation. We can feel the imaginal cells within and around us and we are surrendering to this alchemical process of deep trust and not knowing.
And, it is with heavy hearts that we carry the weight of the unrelenting atrocities in the Fertile Crescent alongside the ongoing violence on black, indigenous, and trans bodies globally.
It is from this place that we share some pieces from the internal world of ERE through highlights of our May retreat.
Which brings us to….
WHERE WE ARE GOING
“Life is change and to be truly alive means to be repeatedly transforming ourselves” -Michael Meade
In the coming weeks, please look out for opportunities for your voice and experiences to be captured, as we listen for what we are collectively inspired towards. We will continue to be in contact as we compost and metabolize what we receive from you, our community, and from our trusted guides, advisors, and elders.
Last Call: Applications for Kai Cheng's Revolutionary Love & Radical Praxis close this Saturday, September 29th at 5 PM (PT)
We are excited to offer Kai Cheng Tom’s course on Revolutionary Love & Radical Praxis which still has a few spots open!
Kai Cheng is a leading example of the kind of loving leadership we aspire towards. If you have the chance to be with her in praxis, we highly recommend it!
We are so grateful to walk this path with you, in loving solidarity and we look forward to ongoing engagement.
In community,
The team at ERE (Denicia, Niela, Laura, Doris, Kyle, and Carlin)
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P.S. Keep an eye out for the ERE Team Retreat Recipe Book coming soon…
Here’s a sneak peek:
(Congee!! A favorite recipe shared by team member Kyle De Medio)
With Gratitude
We hope you've enjoyed this latest edition of our newsletter. Thank you for reading.
In love and balance,
Doris
ERE Community Story Curator
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