|
Thank you, Dr. Chopra
by Marty Klein
When Southern Springs decided to bring Deepak Chopra to Tallahassee we were taking a risk and hoping for the best. We didn't know if this community would turn out in numbers, even for a well-respected holistic author and thinker like Dr. Chopra. We needed to see if our vision of building a retreat center in this area had any real potential. The results of the evening were very encouraging, to say the least.
Over fourteen hundred people filled Ruby Diamond auditorium, listening to Deepak Chopra weave fascinating stories with frontier ideas about our connection to each other and to the planet. The internationally renowned author eloquently and passionately explained the blend of material reality, quantum reality, and virtual reality.
One of the most magical moments took place right at the beginning of the evening when Rhea Chiles came to the podium to introduce Deepak Chopra. Spontaneously, the entire audience rose to their feet and applauded the former first lady of Florida. Many people had tears in their eyes as a wave of love poured out to her. It was truly an electric moment for our community - and a great way to start the evening.
We learned some things about our community on this very special evening: that Tallahassee is filled with people who are interested in holistic health and are willing to support these kinds of events; that people will come to Tallahassee from Georgia, Alabama, Central and Northeast Florida, and as far away as Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi for a special event such as this; and that Southern Springs' work is appreciated by many people in our area.
Dr. Chopra summed up what he wanted to convey to the audience in the following seven principles:
|
1.
|
My spirit is a field of awareness that connects everything with everything else - instantly.
|
|
2.
|
My inner dialogue reflects my inner power. (I am independent of the good or bad opinion of others. I feel neither superior nor inferior to others. I have no investment in controlling other people.)
|
|
3.
|
My intentions have infinite organizing power.
|
|
4.
|
I know how to go beyond emotional turbulence.
|
|
5.
|
Nurturing relationships, or love, is the most important activity of my soul.
|
|
6.
|
I embrace the masculine and feminine in my own being.
|
|
7.
|
I am alert to the conspiracy of improbabilities. Our thanks and appreciation to Dr. Chopra, and especially to the many who came to hear him.
|
|
top of page
Dancing a la Moving Center
by Gretchen Hein
Growing up in the 60's and 70's we danced a lot, at least I did. There was always a new dance on the horizon, new steps to learn. Some were good at dancing, but for many of us dancing became one more way in which our creativity was stifled, either by peers or by our own internal critic. Add to this what happens to our bodies when they do not move, when we sit in our offices and classrooms, relegating movement to exercise several times a week, if at all.
Gabrielle Roth's Moving Center offers a different way to explore dance. It is a dance you use to discover yourself, a dance you do only for yourself. Ecstatic dance is not about performing, looking cool to whoever's out on the dance floor. It's about you, your center, moving your mind out of the way, and letting your soul free to move the rest of you.
Jonathan Horan, Gabrielle Roth's son, will be in town May 4, 5, and 6 to lead an ecstatic dance workshop entitled "Heartbeat." I make it a point never to miss a Moving Center workshop in the area, especially if Jonathan is leading. This has become one of my favorite practices. I encourage you to attend the workshop, but if attending for the whole weekend seems too much, be sure to come Friday night. It could be the start of something new for you! Please feel free to contact me through Southern Springs if you have any questions or concerns. See you on the dance floor.
Heartbeat with Jonathan Horan
top of page
SpringBoard
Welcome to our first SpringBoard column, where we will clarify who we are and why we're here, speak to your concerns, provide information, and exchange thoughts and ideas with you in the hopes of bringing more harmony to our community. We encourage your participation.
-- Marty
Please send your letters to Southern Springs, Attn: SpringBoard, 2032 Wedgewood Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32311. Include your full name, address, and telephone number (for verification purposes). We may condense letters and edit for grammar and clarity. By sending a letter to SpringBoard, you give us the right to publish it in whole or in part in any medium.
HOLISTIC LEARNING BENEFITS PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS
This initial column addresses a concern raised in an anonymous letter, which was prompted by our last newsletter, to Southern Springs President, Marty Klein, regarding the holistic approach to life. We would like to speak to the writer's perception that holistic learning sometimes seems to preclude the Christian faith.
Dear Anonymous,
Our world has many religions and cultures, with many different belief systems. We at Southern Springs want to provide an environment that is accepting and encouraging to all. In fact, the mission of Southern Springs is "to enrich the lives of people of all backgrounds by providing experiential learning opportunities in the areas of the creative arts, self-development, and healthy living." Thus it is our stated desire to serve people with diverse beliefs.
I would like you to get more involved in our organization while taking complete pride in your Christian background. I have heard that many Christians do feel excluded from holistic endeavors. There is no reason why we can't all practice our different faiths in positive ways to enhance our health, while at the same time learn about and use holistic health methods.
There are so many paths to health and well-being. I do not presume to know the best way. The board of directors of Southern Springs will strive to bring to Tallahassee a broad cross section of workshops and workshop leaders, from those with the latest information and discoveries to those who share information from age-old traditional healing methods. Workshop leaders from all faiths, with the common goal of promoting health and well-being, are welcome.
I look forward to people of all backgrounds being able to share their knowledge, viewpoints, and experiences at Southern Springs and, in particular, I hope you will join us.
Respectfully, Marty Klein
SEEKING INTERIM OFFICE FOR SOUTHERN SPRINGS
We are looking for in-town office space for Southern springs to use on an interim basis until we have permanent facilities. If you have empty space that you would be willing for us to use, please call us at (850) 878-8643. Any donated portion of rental fee would be tax deductible.
WE HAVE YOUR PHOTO FROM CHOPRA RECEPTION!
Are you the woman at the reception who asked the woman from Ohio to take her picture with Deepak? We have your photo, but we've lost your contact information. Please call (850-878-8643) and tell us where to send it.
JOB OPPORTUNITY: ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
We are looking for a new Administrative Director of Southern Springs. This is a part-time position, to begin in July - maximum twenty hours per week. Must have car, phone, and computer, plus skills to use them. We are looking for someone who wants to support Southern Springs and is good at organizing and attending to details. Call 878-8643 for more information.
top of page
3rd Annual Benefit Celebration offers . . .
A Feast for Body, Mind, and Soul
by Tamara Weinstein
Back in the early 70's, when self-discovery and inner questing were on the rise, I betook myself one fine day to a local park by the bay, with intention to read and stretch in the sun. At that time I, like most of my peers, was a hamburger-munching, TV-watching creature with a gnawing hope for a sweeter, clearer life - a life with more possibility. I had begun to buy books on massage and meditation and was also considering a nouveau path of juice fasting towards health. Yet I was still in my country's own dark ages.
So, anyway, there I was on my way to the park with these deeper issues shadowing my thoughts, when on my arrival I came upon a group of bejeweled and bedecked folk engaged in a circle dance. In my curiosity I moved towards them. After I watched several dances, they broke up into little groups and commenced setting up booths wherein lay opportunities for reading, discussions, and various lessons. Out of nearby vans they brought sumptuous foods, the likes of which I had never before seen. What a glorious and unexpected day I had! One that set my young feet on the path I walk today - towards a holistic approach to my life's questions in body, mind, and spirit. For the foods were pure and vegetarian, and so unlike my old fries and burgers that I would never go back. Everything tasted like food from heaven, so alive and fresh it was! At the booths I learned about massage techniques, creative movement, local Zen sitting gatherings, yoga, and all sorts of educational paths completely new to me. I didn't know it then, but my true life began on that day, a life that has led me here today to a fuller expression and understanding of holistic life with all its rich gifts.
Holistic learning has moved from an awkward, sweet, explorative beginning place to a streamlined vision of wisdom and expertise. I have watched as a band of young flower children has blossomed over the past 30 years into doctors, therapists, teachers, and leaders. Here in Tallahassee such a group is coalescing and growing even now. A day, not unlike that day some thirty years ago, is arriving on our doorstep May 12, a Saturday at the height of Spring, a time of playful celebration and renewal.
There will be delicious, alive foods and all kinds of opportunities to feast on holistic lifestyles. Yoga for flexibility and strength, for power and joyfulness. Drumming and chanting in the African tradition, with an extraordinarily joyful and beautiful teacher. A writing workshop to capture one's spirit on the page. Lessons on living the inspired life in the heart of creativity, exploring inspiration and imagination. And so much more!
Healthy immune system cultivation, a music/breath/sound and movement workshop, a Trager bodywork class, lessons in Ayurveda, Tai Chi movement - all enwrapped in a warm feeling of kinship and community.
Thirty-odd years ago, I walked into a group of strangers and found friends - friends who, to my sadness, would be moving on from town to town. What makes today even sweeter is that the cornucopia of healers, teachers, and leaders in our lovely Tallahassee town is here to stay. So come and play, one and all, as we dive deeper and deeper into the dear reality of family, community, health, and wisdom here at Southern Springs.
top of page
Children learn "all their waking hours . . ."
LEARNING ALL THE TIME by John Holt
Perseus Books, 1989, 162 pages
Book Review by Terry Pride
I buy a good many books, read most of them, and keep the few that strike me as sources of enduring wisdom and knowledge. These I treasure as reflections of my own inner knowing that springs from a collective and universal intelligence.
Learning All the Time by John Holt is one of my treasures. It is a clear, practical, and compassionate synthesis of Holt's experiences and insights as a teacher, which cuts through the endless rhetoric surrounding "education." While politicians, academicians, teachers' unions, and panicked parents debate the relative merits of standardized curricula, class size, teacher qualifications, and vouchers, Holt's timeless observations reveal the shortcomings of educational systems and the effortlessness of true learning.
In simple, direct language, Holt distinguishes between education and the natural process of learning. Learning, to Holt, is making more sense of the world - by observation, experimentation, trial and error. Children, he notes, are learning all their waking hours. "They are observing, thinking, speculating, theorizing, testing, and experimenting - all the time - and they're much better at it than we are. The idea, the very idea, that we can teach small children how to learn has come to me to seem utterly absurd." By contrast, Holt sees education as a process of conditioning based on the assumption that children learn only because we teach them, an assumption he characterizes as "very close to one hundred percent false."
Holt contends that three metaphors govern education: assembly line production, laboratory training of rats, and patient treatment at mental institutions. The last he sees as the most dangerous and destructive because "[t]he schools assume that children are not interested in learning and are not much good at it, that they will not learn unless made to, that they cannot learn unless shown how, and that the way to make them learn is to divide up the prescribed material into a sequence of tiny tasks to be mastered one at a time, each with its appropriate morsel and shock. And when this method doesn't work, the schools assume there is something wrong with the children - something they must try to diagnose and treat." Witness the rise in diagnoses of "learning disabilities" and the ominously casual use of medication for any behavior approaching hyperactivity.
Holt offers many practical suggestions for assisting the natural process of learning. For instance, "what children need to get ready for reading is exposure to a lot of print. Not pictures, but print. They need to bathe their eyes in print, as when smaller they bathe their ears in talk." By this, he does not mean forcing a child to sit and sound out words, but making print material accessible for exploration - maps, posters, bills, letters, newspapers, etc., things the child sees adults reading. His suggestions span reading, writing, spelling, math, science, and music, and include tips (and this is a crucial aspect of the book) on how to assist, not interfere with, learning.
As I read Learning All the Time, I longed to go back and start all over with my son, to do a better job of fostering his innate excitement at making sense of the world. Even though he is now home schooled, I am slow to relinquish the mindset that learning must be a scheduled activity. How many times, I wonder, have I insisted on showing my son how to do something he was busily figuring out on his own? How many times have I pushed him on a task he wasn't ready for or interested in and promoted a resistance that might not otherwise have developed?
Holt states that "[w]e can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions - if they have any - and helping them explore the things they are most interested in."
Note: John Holt (1923-1985) wrote nine other books on learning and education. Learning All the Time was his final book. He also established a magazine, Growing Without Schooling. You can get more information about his books, the magazine, and recommended educational materials at www.holtgws.com.
top of page
FAMU School of Architecture Takes on Southern Springs' Vision
by Kaity Power
The spring semester for the FAMU School of Architecture third-year students began with the challenge of applying their skill and expertise to the conceptualization of a holistic retreat center. Accompanied by local architect Andy Welch and FAMU School of Architecture faculty members Peter Stone and Tim White, Kaity Power and Marty Klein, Southern Springs board members, initially met with the future architects to express the vision of a Southern Springs retreat center on a rural 110-acre parcel of land.
We presented the class with concepts of aesthetics, function, environmental considerations, and pragmatics from a global point of view. The students queried us from a variety of tacks while Andy, Peter, and Tim translated from architect to layman to help us out from a technical and professional standpoint. Design parameters were established, the class and panel had a meaningful dialogue, and an understanding was communicated.
A review of the students' preliminary designs was held on February 14 with Southern Springs board members Susie Howell and Terry Pride and Andy Welch attending to provide feedback to the students. A final review was held March 23rd, juried by Kaity Power, Susie Howell, and Terry Pride; Southern Springs graphics director, Maria Balingit; and architects Andy Welch and David Gilchrist.
The interchange between Southern Springs and the third-year architectural design class resulted in the following:
The establishment of a relationship between Southern Springs and the FAMU School of Architecture.
A shift in the thinking of Southern Springs from the sole focus on a rural retreat center to an expanded vision that includes an urban office and workshop facility.
An opportunity for the architectural students to gain experience in taking an idea from inception to design and model assembly, and in incorporating design concepts associated with the mandala, wholeness, environmental consciousness, and others, as they relate to brick and mortar.
The rendering of Southern Springs' vision in a broad array of contrasts and possibilities; many designs exemplifying architectural notables such as Mies, Le Corbusier, Wright, and Bauhaus. The most notable names in architecture, not yet written, may appear in the future on the plans for the Southern Springs Holistic Retreat Center.
We wish to express our gratitude to the students and faculty of the FAMU School of Architecture for sharing and expanding the vision of the Southern Springs Holistic Retreat Center.
top of page
A Different View of Vision
Workshop Review by Dennis LeFils
As a late forty-something who wears reading glasses, I am interested in learning ways to preserve and improve my eyesight. After wearing reading glasses for a couple of years, I recently was given a prescription for progressive lenses. I had doubts about making the adjustment to looking through a narrow channel, so I signed up for the Southern Springs-sponsored workshop, "Improve and Save Your Sight, Naturally: Holistic Eye Care," led by Marc Grossman, O.D.
At the February weekend workshop, Dr. Grossman employed his extensive knowledge of optometry, Chinese traditional medicine and herbology, and modern nutrition studies to address farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, glaucoma, and other eye dysfunctions. His assistant, Carol Douglas, demonstrated and led vision, relaxation, and body movement exercises based on her expertise in CranioSacral work.
Dr. Grossman's relaxed, engaging manner made it easy to learn in a comfortable, safe environment. Participants shared the physical and emotional challenges they face around their vision; and Marc and Carol gave thoughtful, individual attention to each person, addressing their specific problems and questions. They provided personalized options to improve our visual and overall well-being. Dr. Grossman recommended and demonstrated exercises to improve my eyesight and lessen my dependency on glasses. We practiced eye-relaxing exercises (palming, swinging), and focusing exercises such as framing, to discover how to nurture our vision and ourselves. I even found out what "20-20 vision" means--the ability to read 20-point type from 20 feet away.
The most fascinating exercise for me was to wear the opposite corrective lenses for short periods of time, challenging the eyes to focus. After wearing these "opposite glasses" only one time for a minute or two, nearly everyone there experienced some temporary improvement in their vision. Dr. Grossman has been using this technique for about 20 years with his patients to help them become less dependent on glasses. He explained that many eye doctors prescribe lenses that will make one's eyes work the least, inducing them to become weaker and more dependent on lenses, and ultimately leading to a need for an even stronger prescription. By doing eye exercises for 20 minutes to an hour a day (in several shorter time increments) while wearing lenses that challenge the eyes, we can strengthen our vision.
Southern Springs expects to bring Dr. Grossman back next year, and I strongly encourage anyone with eyesight concerns (including almost everyone I know over 40) to hear what he has to say about vision. He is knowledgeable and entertaining, with a great sense of humor.
Dr. Grossman has published two books about vision, Natural Eye Care: An Encyclopedia and Magic Eye: 3-D Guide, and has a new book coming out, Greater Vision: A Pathway to Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Transformation (available at www.visionworksusa.com). The Southern Springs newsletter and website will keep you posted about his next visit.
|
|
A SPECIAL THANKS
to the
Community of Tallahassee
From the Friends of Drepong Gomang*
On behalf of the Drepong Gomang Monastery
To the City of Tallahassee, for the Proclamation
from the City;
To the County of Leon, for establishing January 17, 2001,
as Drepong Gomang Monastery Day in Leon County;
To Florida State University for the use of the FSU Fine Arts Museum;
To Douglas and Margaret Whitehouse for the donation
of 25 acres on which to build a Dharma Center;
To the many people who welcomed us to Tallahassee;
And to Southern Springs Holistic Learning Center
for making it possible to come to Tallahassee
to share compassion and wisdom
with each of you.
*Visit Friends of Drepung Gomang, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, at www.gomangtour.org
|
|
|
|
