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Awakening the Dreamer
Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream refers to a symposium developed by the Pachamama Alliance. The symposium is a work in progress and currently is centered around an 85 minute DVD with a variety of experiential processes to support a change in awareness of the participants.
The mission of the symposium is to create an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and social just human presence on the planet. The mission was offered to us by the Achuar people in Ecuador. Their request was that those of us in the North would help awaken our people from the trance of consumerism and materialism. This trance of the modern world that is based on the notion that the Earth and its bounty: the air, the waters, the animals, the plants, the minerals are for our use without regard for the consequences and without reverence for the all of life that these represent. We are so out of balance with the laws of nature that we are currently on a path of total annihilation of humanity.
The material of the symposium asks and answers four questions: where are we? how did we get here? what is possible for the future? and where do we go from here? The materials are presented as clips of some of the brightest scientists, researchers, and social activists of our time. Interwoven are the activities of the symposium which encourage the participants to connect more deeply with themselves and then with each other as we confront the challenges facing us and look at the new possibilities that are already present across the globe.
The best news is described by Paul Hawken in his book, “The Blessed Unrest” in which he reports that there are now between one and two million organizations around the world who are dedicated to making a positive difference. This is the largest social movement in history moving through us all now. We have the potential as human beings to create a world that is safe, peaceful, abundant, and just for all people.
The symposium ideally is a 7 hour time commitment. However, the material lends itself to being shortened and tailored for smaller time slots, as short as 3 hours, for example. There is also a Youth version of the symposium available. What I am so drawn to here is the example of a social action program that is grounded in the spirituality that rests on the fundamental assumption that everything is connected. Thus every action, every thought, makes a difference in the reality that we co-create together. The symposium changes consciousness and supports the participants in being all they can be. It is empowering, comforting, supportive, and inspiring.
Here in Bellingham, I am one of 9 trained symposium facilitators who are ready to bring the symposium to interested parties. The group and venue can be as small as a few friends in a living room to a conference room for large corporations. All of us are volunteers. The cost to participants is minimal and based on the expenses for providing the program. There would be no cost, for example, to a private home presentation and minimal costs to cover a room and food for an all day event.
Please check the website: www.awakeningthedreamer.org for resources, video clips, current news and updates. You can email or call me if you would like more information or to see a shortened sampler of the DVD material for your family, group, organization or company. Email: kfentress@earthlink.net or (360) 738-6884.
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