Summer solstice is the time when the sun seems to stand still. It is both a specific moment of planetary alignment and, from the human perspective, it is a time when it looks like the sunrise is at its furthest north, and seems to stay there for several days, before once again, moving south along the horizon. And so, in some ways, the solstice is a season of several days many cultures, celebrate a multi-day feast, a time of the play, a fire ceremony, and sometimes people dive into the cold waters of a local lake or river or ocean. In a world that is always moving, and sometimes it feels it is moving too fast, and beyond our control, it can be a reminder as a preciousness, a standing still. Quite possibly our ancestors experienced it differently, and winter was more a time of stillness than summer. But one of the most important parts of any tradition is the imperative for dynamic change!
I find that the summer solstice is the season, and that light is bright, the days are long, the garden is overflowing with all the growth, including the weeds! And the shadows are sharp and dark. We often become aware of aspects of our lives that you might want to shift. Sometimes the sharpness of the shadow can be helpful as far as selves and an understanding our world.
We are wishing you well as people are traveling, enjoying the summer, possibly feeling a lot of grief for and with the world.
From Ashlei:
Hello to each of you!
Since the learning journey last month, we are in the midst of putting together many different pieces for meaningful future programs. We hope to keep finding ways to weave with each of our skills, gifts and offerings to up-lift all of our interconnected works.
We found that the learning journey was itself a kind of pilot project- simply by moving in this space as Rē does - on the ground, in community, sharing stories, asking vulnerable questions, holding a lot of space and acknowledging when to ask for space for us to be held.
We realized there is space for an educational model like the one we have thought up. One that supports things already going or that opens a door for folks who didn't know what option they could have had. It also came to the surface loud and clear that this is so very much needed in the collectives' journey around the sun.
We are wishing you well, wherever your journey might be taking you! Thank you for journeying with us!
Please join us in our upcoming event
4th of July Webinar - Thursday, July 4, 1 pm to 2:30 pm ET - Sequoia Samanvaya: What actually happened? Where does democracy really come from? Join this cross-cultural dialogue into some roots of America and of democracy, and collaboratively think together about the potential possibilities in re-narrating this important history.
Here's a collection of resources for this week, from, as always, a variety of sources… these have come to our attention as we are looking at non-profits, foundations, funding, and social change. We thought many of them would be helpful for your work, as well.
Accidental Gods: This podcast calls in much of what our hopes are and supports a notion that we are certainly not the only ones being called into this type of creation journey.
On Nature, Culture and The Sacred with Elder and Visionary, Nina Simons - a podcast that we have found inspiring.
American Philanthropy and Its Discontents: To me this one asks us to consider the history of charitable work and how we can and need to do better. It relates to Rē on a few levels and especially of interactions of orgs and marginalized communities and tourism ( for Rē cross-cultural Edu). I left with more questions then answers and some positivity that Rē might be moving in/ leaning towards a different way, quite possibly a more regenerative way of being in this space.
Nonprofit Institutions and Transformation: This is another one about organizations in the charitable space and directly calls us to center collective liberation and acknowledges the need for something other than the non-profit, capitalist, industrial complex. It's a more academic article.
Regenerating the Inner and Outer Landscape | Felix Bivens & Ashlei Laing | TEDxTullahoma - This one, with both Dr Felix Bivens and Ashlei Laing, is a super short film that occurred when we got to deepen into our radical dreaming space with TEDx and they edited a good few minutes in order to meet their standards. Enjoy a giggle, and maybe a spark point or a weaving or two at the vision of Rē and the story of work on the "big" stage.
Midsummer Solstice - Fair Folk Podcast with Danica Boyce
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance - Edgar Villanueva