Global Youth Peace Summit Gathering
"Let us risk the wildest places, lest we go down in comfort and despair."
~ Mary Oliver
Greetings friends~
Spring is springing here in Santa Barbara County. We had several rains this past season, which although necessitated folks in high risk zones to evacuate repeatedly, also gratefully brought clear water flowing to the streams, new green life to the land, the blossoming of wild flowers and happy bellies of critters. Given the challenges we all face in our personal lives, communities and in the world, it is good to feel the spirit of renewal which accompanies the welcome water and turn of the seasons. Nature is a good teacher that way, in the natural rhythms of letting go and coming forth.
Around the Spring Equinox we held a Grief Ritual at an old barn in a local canyon. Amidst the oaks and sycamores, 35 men and women came together to honor grief in a collective ritual of beauty, rawness and communion. At the end of the day, several of us walked downstream to the ocean to bring our offerings to the sea. On our return, one of our party noticed a large fish, 18 inches long, moving upstream through the clear water in a cement tunnel up a fish ladder, which is how the stream passes under the highway at this particular spot --- a steelhead trout! Last spring, this stream, with very little water due to years of drought, was home to steelhead eggs. This brought scientists and nature enthusiasts, as the steelhead have been endangered in this area for some time. In all my years frequenting these front country streams, I have never seen a fish this size. It was a blessing and a reminder of change and possibility. Only 3 years ago (almost to the day on May 19), a corroded pipeline deposited 3,400 barrels of crude oil into one of the most biologically diverse coastlines on the west coast in the Refugio Oil Spill and devastated the area. A couple weeks ago, Caltrans approved a 60 million dollar project to build a wildlife bridge over the 101 freeway about 60 miles south of here to open the way for mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and other animals to maneuver around a human centered world. If completed this wildlife crossing will be the first in California.
I have recently crossed a sort of wildlife bridge in my life, indeed, a powerful threshold. Life conspired, as it does, to provide just the right circumstances for me to hit and reveal unexpected hard edges. Eventually through intense fear and reactivity, incredible resistance, and much letting go and surrender, I have found myself on the other side, choosing love and life in the face of complete uncertainty and risk. It is a holy and humbling journey to undefend the heart and keep it open in the face of inevitable loss, disappointment, and pain. Profoundly challenging. And that is without any real threat to my person, dignity, rights, lifestyle and life. I am beyond blessed for that privilege. Deep bows to human beings who are willing to forgive, heal, choose love, offer shelter to each other. It is a miracle, to be alive, in the reciprocal exchange of love and gratitude. To know our vulnerability, and that of others, and be kind and merciful.
In the spirit of gratitude, for the whole non-human and human world, for ladders and bridges, I offer thanksgiving for the blessing of being and working with some amazing people in the past months. Men and women with the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, shoveling and digging along side each other in awesome community solidarity.The courageous women who have joined me for a 6 month Soul Activism training, those in a recent initiatory mentorship journey, as well as a 12 week dream group series which just ended. The staff of My Friend's Place, a homeless youth shelter in Los Angeles, who are bringing the practice of council to their work. Antioch students who are exploring and re-imagining mental health in the context of a sick culture. Pacifica Graduate Institute students who sit in council every month to share and listen from the heart. The brave men and women who show up to honor grief in community. All of the people I am honored to accompany on their paths of remembering wholeness. My family and friends and animal companions - particularly steelhead, gray whales, dolphins, blue heron, bobcat, my cat, and the little bird - black phoebe? - who flew in my open front door yesterday and let me pick her/him/they up to take back outside.
I invite you to read below for upcoming programs and events.
I hope to see you.
with love and blessings,
Alexis
Upcoming Events
June 9, 2018
Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Santa Barbara
ALL WELCOME
An opportunity to honor our personal and collective grief with regards to the sorrows of the world, loss of loved ones, ancestral grief, trauma, places in ourselves that have not known love, what we expected and did not receive, and the reality that everything we love, we will lose.
June 22 - 30, 2018
San Emigdio Mountains, CA
Ages 18-28
Join us for a 9 day immersion to honor your transition into adulthood with 3 days and nights alone in the wilderness. Supported by a circle of peers and guides Alexis Slutzky & Shawn Berry.
Register by May 21
Young Adults Council: Dreaming Our Future
June 6 7-9pm
Yoga Soup, Santa Barbara
Ages 18-28
Show up with other 20 something folks to share and listen from the heart about what is moving in you during these times. What are the dreams you are carrying for yourself and the world? Dreams from the mystery of the night as well as dreams and longings and visions from the day.
Global Youth Peace Summit
June 10 - June 15, 2018
Nevada City, CA
Ages 14-17
I will be a part of the 6th Annual California Global Youth Peace Summit next month, June 2018. The summit brings together 50+ youth from more than 20 countries for a week focused on leadership development, personal growth, and cultural exchange. Youth who participate come from all walks of life including youth born and raised in California as well as immigrant and refugee youth who have recently resettled in the Bay Area and youth from around the world. It is an incredible experience of courage, creativity and healing.The Summit is still working to raise money. Please visit site below if you would like to make a donation.
Wisdom Rising in the Wild: Women's Wilderness Retreat at Tara Mandala
July 7 - July 14, 2018
Pagosa Springs, CO
This retreat will bring the spirit of Wisdom Rising, a movement started by Lama Tsultrim Allione, into the wild. Following in the footsteps of the sages of old who lived and practiced in nature, we will practice deeply, sitting under trees in direct contact with the elements, on the beautiful land of Tara Mandala. With Lopön Chandra Easton, Alexis Slutzky and Stacy Zumbroegel.
Register by June 6