leadership fundamentals intensive

Program Information Page

April 29-30 AND May 6-7 2023

Welcome Leadership Fundamentals Intensive Participant!

This page is your center for all information for your program. You can complete all your registration forms, find out about preparations you can be doing, and everything else you might want to do. Bookmark this page, you’ll no doubt be returning here many times as your trip approaches!

LFI 2023 SCHEDULE
All Times Pacific Time (Daylight Savings)

Zoom Link

Click here to join the Class at 8:50am on Saturday the 29th!

Class Document Link

Check out the Class Document to see the structure of class. We will keep notes, post resources, etc on this doc.

What To Do Now:

• Get started on some of the Preparatory Readings found below.

• Begin your Personal Space and Reflection Preparations, including an intention-clarifying ceremonial nature walk, found a little further down

• Complete the Participant Questionnaire —this information is particularly helpful for the guides as they prepare themselves to be as supportive as possible.

  
  

Articles and Resources to read:

• Youth Passageways Cross-Cultural Protocols

• Reflections on the Idea of the Sacred by Randy Morris (Cosmology of Journeys)

• Eco-Soulcentric Developmental Model by Bill Plotkin

• Life Stage Transitions by John Davis (Article on Wilderness Rites of Passage)

• Intro to Ritual by John Davis
  

Personal Space and Reflection Preparations

Altar Space
As part of the course we will work on arranging the space we are using ceremonially. To begin, please create your altar spot, where you can assemble symbolic items. Ideally this is within reach/sight as you participate on Zoom (though the class does not need to be able to see it) and also adjacent to your Purpose Circle (see below). Also, please find three items for this altar: 

1. something to represent the wider (natural) world of your place

2. something to represent the people (living and passed) who support you in your life.

3. Something to represent some portion of your adolescent self

 We will continue to add to this altar throughout the course.

Purpose Circle Space

One of the interactive components of our time together will be working with a purpose circle. This is a potent ritual tool utilized by both guides and participants during rites of passage experiences. In preparation, we ask for you to gather material to create a circle that will be your contemplative space throughout the weekend. This will be a space you go to in-between sessions to meditate and ask for guidance as you are setting intention to develop further in this work as a mentor of youth. The circle material can be as simple as yarn, rope, a few scarves tied together, anything that will create a circumference for you to sit within comfortably. We will also have reflective activities that you will do alone between the zoom sessions. Please be sure that you have a quiet, relaxing spot where you can sit in contemplation free from distractions (as much as possible.) This could be a nearby spot outside (that’s always great!) but can also be a quiet indoor spot (which is awesome if the weather is challenging).

Planning your Life

This Intensive was originally intended as an immersive retreat at our basecamp, away from “the rest of your life.” While Zoom makes this program much more accessible (hooray!) we encourage you to try and create as much of this immersive feel as possible. To the extent that you can, try and arrange to not have to multi-task with a lot of other responsibilities. Prioritize being able to be exclusively present during the actual zoom sessions. Beyond that, try and ensure that you give yourself spaciousness for the experiences and material to settle and marinade between sessions as much as you can given the realities of your life.

Ceremonial Walk and Nature Spot

Before our time together, we would like you to arrange to do a ceremonial Nature Walk to give you an opportunity to clarify your intentions for participating. The instructions for this are simple:

• Find a natural area where you can walk, sit and explore for several hours, ideally with a good amount of opportunity for solitude. Arrange to spend as much time as you can. Ideally, dawn to dusk, but do whatever your schedule will allow.

• Create a simple symbolic threshold at the beginning (at the parking lot or entrance) that you cross to begin your solo walk. This could be a line you create that you step over, or perhaps you can find a feature that you can imaginally turn into a portal that you can then actually pass through.

• As you wander, attend to the world around you, and observe what occurs and arises, both in the physical world and in your emotional and imaginal world. Please engage in this practice with a consciousness of physical well-being and safety!

• Make sure to find a place to stop and sit quietly at some point. Reflect on your intentions​ for stepping into the Intensive. Have these shifted or expanded at all since you began the walk? What questions come to you, either as you sit, or as you walk? Alternate your attention outward and inward playfully throughout your walk.

• Make sure to end your walk by returning over or through the same threshold that you started from. Carry the story of this ceremonial walk with you, we may revisit it during our time together, or it may simply serve to prime you for this experience.

We give gratitude to the School of Lost Borders, which is where we first encountered this practice, typically known there as a ‘Medicine Walk’ or ‘Day Walk’

Summary of Key Program Information