Contemplative Climate Leadership
Tuesdays, 5:30 – 7:30 PM EDT
Oct 27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1 • Online via Zoom
All Ages with a Youth Focus
Sustaining Loving Action Amidst Global Crisis
A Contemplative 6-week Course
How do we face the enormity of climate disaster and ecological collapse with honesty, courage and a loving heart?
Our world is in crisis. When we look in the face of runaway climate change, ecosystem collapse, and the many interconnected injustices, we might feel overwhelmed, alone, afraid, or even numb. In this 6-week community of practice, we come together to feel the truth of what’s happening in our world, share in embodied mindfulness and earth connection practices to ground us, and support each other to take compassionate action.
We’ll use the framework of earth activist and Buddhist teacher Joanna Macy’s “The Work That Reconnects” to explore how to honor our pain for our world while still cultivating gratitude, connection, joy, and love to sustain us in taking whatever action is ours to take toward a life sustaining society.
Through experiential, contemplative and relational practices we’ll learn from each other and create a space of mutual exploration and support. In community, we’ll compost our pain for the world and transform it into fuel for loving action toward our vision of the world our hearts know is possible.
“How can we wrap our minds and hearts around something so vast as the destruction of the ecosystems on which humans and most species depend for life and — instead of going mad or numb — grow interested? How do we slow down enough to take effective action before it’s too late? I believe contemplative practice has a central role to play.
Our environmental crisis is the ultimate opportunity to realize our interdependence and act accordingly with compassion and wisdom. To confront the climate crisis, a critical mass of us must decide to trust and depend on each other. We must not only recognize but also act on our belonging to each other and the earth.” —Jessica Morey
Teachers

Jessica Morey

Jessica Morey began practicing meditation at age 14 in the Insight Meditation Society teen retreats. She returned every year for 6 years and then participated for 10 years in an IMS young adult mentoring group. Jessica has attended longer (1-3 month) retreats in Asia and the US and is a founding board member and lead teacher for iBme teen retreats. Before joining iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance. She holds a BA in Environmental Engineering from Dartmouth and Masters degrees in Sustainable Development and International Affairs. She wrote an article in the February 2014 Mindful Magazine, “Finding My Way,” about her experience learning and benefiting from mindfulness throughout her young adult years. She is an avid yoga practitioner and skier and loves dancing in any form.

Shea Riester

Shea Riester has been a climate activist for ten years, and worked as a trainer and youth organizer with 350.org and Better Future Project. Shea is also a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) in training. He has a background in Zen and has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh since 2009. At the same time Shea has been engaging with and facilitating Joanna Macy’s “Work that Reconnects” for the last decade, using it to build resiliency in himself and fellow activists. Shea is deeply passionate about nonviolent social movements and supporting youth climate activists to thrive and have a powerful impact. Shea currently organizes with Extinction Rebellion NYC and helps to staff iBme northeast retreats.
Cost and Accessibility
The sliding scale for this 6-week Contemplative Climate Leadership for Youth course is $60 – $150.
If your family earns $75,000 or more per year then we request that you pay the full price. If your family earns less than $75,000/year, you may self-select an amount to pay. If you are in true economic hardship (e.g, recently lost job, health situation, etc.) we are offering the discounted rate of $60. If you cannot afford the discounted fee please email registrar@ibme.com and we’ll make it work for you. No teen will be turned away for lack of funds.
October 27, 12pm ET
Cost
$150 suggested tuition for families making over $75,000 a year • $60 – $150 sliding scale
Duration
2 hour sessions, 6 times
Ages
All ages welcome. We will be centering this course around youth voices