Dear Reader,

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I have a pattern where a particular word preoccupies me, or becomes very important. For the past few months, this word has been 'Immanence.' To me, it is a quality of being, of embodied awareness, of being in the moment, aware of myself, my body in deep relatedness to the environment around it, the plants and trees, the landscape, the circumstances. To me it stands in contrast to transcendence, which implies that blissful awareness is 'somewhere else,' curiously often somewhere 'above,' and that we need to strive for this other place. To me immanence reminds me that all we have to do is 'be here now,' as Ram Dass famously said and that bliss, the grateful awareness of everything wonderful and challenging in the present moment, in right here, right now.

I finally looked up the definition of immanence, and in the Encyclopedia Britannica (curiously they dropped the word 'Encyclopedia' from the website) immanence, in philosophy and theology is contrasted with transcendence and means being entirely within something. The Latin root is immanere which means 'to dwell in, remain.'

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The related terms to me are numinous and connectedness. Numinous is that feeling, perhaps like goosebumps, that you get when you become aware of something sacred, a mystery, something beyond words or even clear perception, that there's something greater, sacred, that we catch a glimpse or hint of.

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I also like the term connectedness, because it's perhaps easier to digest, less 'metaphysical' and has actually been subject to studies of the benefits of psychedelics, leading to a connectedness scale and studies showing the benefits of nature connectedness. (If you want the actual references, email me.) While this is, to me, the main benefit of psychedelics, they can also lead us away, perhaps tricking us into thinking that the shift is perspective requires the use of psychedelics (something external) and that the shift in perspective is because of a transcendent experience. Both of these are distractions, even traps. I know we can feel immanently connectedness without having to use psychedelics. Psychedelics just remind us of who we as humans really are, in deep connectedness and what we are capable of, or you could say is our natural state, connectedness.

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The reasons why we have become disconnected are multiple, having to do with the emergenc of a certain world view that led to the rise of and is being perpetuated by capitalist societies, including the view that the universe is fundamentally random and indifferent and that life is a zero sum game. And the pernicious spell that 'there is no alternative.'

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I hope you allow yourself to practice immanence, to allow yourself to feel the numinousness of your interconnected existence. It takes practice and can be particularly hard in artificial, human-created environments, such as cities, but remember, it is our birthright.

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I am particularly excited about our upcoming Visionary Healer Retreat, because it is an opportunity for us and our participants to experience immanence, the numinous and connectedness (to nature, wilderness and our unconscious (viz. soul)). As a previous participant said, she was glad that there were no psychedelics involved in the retreat, because it meant the experiences and insights were real and not mediated.

I personally love the opportunity to share both the rich wild environment of northern New Mexico, which we will explore in daily, easy excursions, which has made me realize that Nature is our co-teacher, and the opportunity to be fully present with more of myself and each other, not just ego-mind-consciousness, but the rich and comforting more-of-ourselves that is called the unconscious or the soul.

We call it Visionary, because it's an opportunity to get out of the lack of perspective that everyday life can trap us in, so we can reconnect to our soul's deeper purpose, our soul's vision.

We use the word Healer, because if each of us takes responsibility (response-ability) for being more connected, each of us becomes a spark that inspires others to be more connected. By focusing on our own journey, we each contribute to healing humanity and the world. In this way, we are all healers. So this retreat is for you, whether you work in a healing field, or don't (in a traditional limited sense).

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​The retreat happens Oct 25-31. There are a few spaces left. Late October is probably the most beautiful time here in norhtern New Mexico, with warm, dry days and cooler nights, while the aspen turn yellow and the wilderness beckons.

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In immanence and connectedness!

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Florian

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“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread." Edward Abbey

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