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*All three classes (each of the three books), are approximately 3 hours long, and are held on separate dates. Check the Community Classes Calendar for times and locations. Have you ever noticed that sometimes you didn't realize the significance of something you were going to do until after you've done it? That's how it was with the HONORING THE HERMIT series for me. I knew that I needed to write what I was thinking at that time of my life, but I didn't see WHY until much later ...like after I had completed the third book. I can look back now and thank my Higher Self (who I refer to as "The HERMIT") for dictating so much of all three of the books, because from my present perspective of the world today, they make even more sense to me now than they did back then. These intensives are amazingly evolutional and transformational, so I suggest taking each intensive in the order shown. Book One helps you recognize the importance of your own life. Book Two helps you examine your beliefs about what makes for a better world with you in it, and Book Three gets down to specifics on what must change in our present group and individual mindsets, including our modes of operation, to actually bring about the change that we desire for this world.  BOOK
ONE Class Intensive:
Check the
Community Classes Calendar
for times and locations.
My first book's
focus:
HONORING
THE HERMIT: Seeing through the Illusion of Separateness,
became a
map of sorts for others who also were wading through the
confusion of daily life--a
map for finding the
Spirit—the magic
and mystery—in
everything you see and do.
The essays in it are written using myself as the archetype of someone struggling to make sense of life. In doing so, I help you see the similarities or differences within your own lives—to better recognize those strange interconnections in all of your various life experiences that culminate in the eventual realization that you’ve been guided (and sometimes prodded) down the paths that you've tread for reasons far deeper than you had originally presumed. Life is NOT a crap shoot! It is intentional, not accidental, and all those strange moments and situations (and people) are in your life for reasons you must learn to recognize, because how you react to each of them determines the next step your life will take as your soul continues to evolve. Those patterns in my own life that I finally recognized, are the same patterns we all experience, and they are presented in book one like a 5-Act play so you can better appreciate the major components that are affecting your life. We examine and discuss those components throughout the class. Classes are casual, extremely interactive, participatory, and gently supportive. (It's fun for me to watch the "lightbulbs" go off as something one student will say spurs a sudden realization in another student, and then that one practically jumps out of her seat until she can share it with the group.) Ah, simple pleasures. ACT I: Why? The Search for Meaning in Life (WHY am I here? What am I meant to do?)We often search long and hard for a greater meaning to life than what we are presently experiencing, not realizing that life already has exceptionally deep meaning, we’re just not seeing it through the distracting, daily illusions of complexity. We’ve become enthralled with the activities of life—the “busy-ness” aspects—rather than acknowledging the actual learning value in them. At time, we even view ourselves as lost souls searching through the darkest night for a light—little realizing that the light is within us—and all we need do is let it shine. ACT II: Increasing Awareness of Ourselves (WHO am I? Am I more than the image I try to project?) The search for True Self is a tumultuous journey of inner uncertainty’s battle with exterior influences. We build an image of who it is that we wish to be, because we want people to like us. But there is the other part of us, the darker side, that we try to hide from others, fearing that once they see that side, they will be repulsed by it, and we will be left all alone. The problem is that we fail to see that even deeper into our beings than the darkness we are all the same—all alike—all having the same needs and wants—all fearing extinction and isolation—all wishing to share a meaningful existence with each other because at that same soul-level, we ARE one and the same—satellite sensors of the Source, itself—exploring the material plane to gather awareness for our return.ACT III: Relating to Others (HOW do these people around me relate to WHY I am here?) We view our relationships as meaningful in the sense that they provide us with companionship and moral support, but we often fail to recognize the true purpose of relating to others—seeing the we-ness—the sameness—feeling surface love, but also learning compassion—being schooled daily in lessons of unconditional love by having to see beyond the pain we’ve experienced—pain created by another—to see beyond the self-destructive tendencies of drug and alcohol dependencies—to see beyond the injured spirit striking out at us because it is in such inner turmoil, but looking to us for acceptance and appreciation—shouting “Can’t you see the value in me?! I’m a person just like you!” Exploring relationships and recognizing how “otherness” is merely a multi-facetted reflection of ourselves, is much of the lesson we learn from dealing with those around us. So,...are they here for OUR benefit or are we here for THEIRS? YES, to both! ACT IV: Soulful Abstractions (Concepts and connections—exploring the true meaning of those grand ideals) We’ve heard many theories about the abstractions called love, truth, peace, compassion, beauty, freedom, and we think we understand what each one means, but the point of our time on Earth is to “feel” those meanings within us—to know for ourselves at the deepest levels of our being—what each concept means and how each one affects us—to find beauty in the dullest penny, to feel compassion for society’s outcasts, to view freedom as a choice we make rather than a right, to see love as the connecting link to the Source of All Creation, because in essence, it is the "life force" itself—to learn to treat others as we wish to be treated—with dignity and respect. These are the lessons we learn from abstractions. These are the lessons we must embody to spiritually evolve. ACT V: Wrap It Up “to GO” (Dealing with death to better understand the journey of life)And in the end, you can’t take it with you, or can you? Is that the real intent of this life experience? The material possessions have to remain behind, of course, but the cultivated awareness—the knowledge and the emotional experiences we’ve acquired during the course of this lifetime do go on—stored in our Higher Self. We do continue on another plane of existence, and evidently those entrance/exit doors we went through to get "here" were mismarked, because if you view them from the other side, they say the opposite: birth is the adventurous excursion away from HOME, and death is the triumphant return. When you think about the entirety of your life experience in that way, it is much more comforting. BOOK
TWO Class Intensive:
Check the
Community Classes Calendar for
times and locations.
My second book's
focus:
HONORING
THE HERMIT II: Sharing the Vision,
became an
examination of the vision that we all share for
a Better World—a
world full of peace, love and understanding—and to
better comprehend what mindset and determination are
required of us to build that better world to match our greater vision
for it, requires us to
define and closely examine
our own concepts of such a "Better" world to see if they are
worthy ones.
The 3 components of the book are broke into exploratory chapters to really comprehend the intricacies of such an enlightened world and how we would move from our present state of "group-held, fear-focusing" to a higher group-consciousness of compassion and understanding toward all. HONORING THE HERMIT II: Sharing the Vision, broadens our understanding of what that "vision" is that we share—a world full of peace, love and understanding—to better understand what is required of us to build that world to match our vision for it. To do so requires us to define and closely examine our own concepts before attempting to redo anything.The 3 components of PEACE, LOVE, and UNDERSTANDING, are broke into chapters to examine the intricacies of creating such an enlightened world, as we determine how we might move from our present state of rampant personal greed and a culture focused on scarcity and fear, to creating a more enlightened society and honing our personal focus toward the higher realms of compassion and understanding in any situation. Is it possible to do this? YES! Will it be easy? No. Here are a few questions the book raises: I. PEACE -- What mindset must we adopt to create a world of peace?
BOOK
THREE Class Intensive:
Check the
Community Classes Calendar for
times and locations.
My third book's
focus:
HONORING
THE HERMIT III: Building a New World,
(available
as a free-to-read e-book online here) became the blueprint
for what needs to change in our present world, with
suggestions for
what those changes
should include.
Now, while this is MY interpretation of what those changes
need to be, the book spurs thought within each person to see
whether you agree or disagree that these are, in fact, the
changes necessary to make, or if you can create a better
blueprint yourself for changing the world to the better. We
will listen to any ideas for positive change for us
personally, socially, culturally, and globally.
Change is a personal thing,
and true change has
to begin with each person, just as peace begins first within,
then spreads throughout.
Change is very similar.
Personal perspective has to change first, then general
attitude along with the development of a strong sense of
personal responsibility for situational outcome, then the mode
of each person's daily operation, then the actual viewing of
others as parts of ourselves, and then the manner of how we
treat all others, including the earth and all upon her. It
doesn't usually happen overnight.
So Book Three is a pithy
examination of attitudes and actions—yours,
mine, and ours. Be
prepared to be challenged and debated in this intensive,
because if we can all agree on the changes to be made for a
better world, then we are one step closer to creating that
better world with our unified thoughts and actions. We are
looking for consensus, not simply revolution, because
we need "evolution" not
revolution.
"Revolution" is vehement discontent. "Evolution" is actual
transformation...like the transformational stage from larve to
butterfly. That creature didn't ride the wind by remaining in
a slug-like body. It morphed into that magnificent wingset. It
changed its focus and mode of operation in the cocoon stage.
Only when it broke free of that cocoon, was it ready to fly.
That's what we all have to do. We need to break free of our
restrictions to fly high, but we also need to prepare
ourselves with the actual skillset to do it without crashing
on take off. That is
what Book Three is all about: determining what are the actual
steps we now must take to bring about that New and Better
World.
All workshops are conducted by Rebecca A. Holdorf, teacher and author of the HONORING THE HERMIT Series. Check the Community Classes Calendar for times and locations of all classes.
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