THINKING LIKE A MOUNTAIN

Sustainability from the Ground Up

Sustainability in the human environment is much more than ecological methods and materials, much deeper than energy- and resource-efficiency, much broader than ecological footprint. Living, designing and building sustainability is as much about philosophy and metaphysics, spirituality and vision, as it is about tools and technology, methods and methodology.

In this course, we will explore the very nature of sustainability and the mindsets and perspectives that make it possible. We will delve into both traditional and modern “roadmaps” that mark the course of a sustainable lifestyle and the built environment that grows from it.

Through presentation, brainstorm, discussion, guided meditation, experiential exercises, and small and whole group exploration, we will create templates for revisioning what we manifest in the world and, in so doing, help build a bridge to an authentically sustainable world and better guide our hands and hearts in our own work and lives.

Map of the Journey

Day 1

• morning Orientation & Introduction to the Journey

09:00 – 12:00 Group Exercise: brainstorm on sustainability

Presentation: Measures of Sustainability (see note below)

Discussion: further thoughts?

• afternoon Reading: What is Green?

13:00 – 17:00 Experiential exercise: earth divination – What is Gaia asking of us?

Presentation: Zen of Building

Experiential exercise: centrifugal and centripetal forces.

Discussion: What pulls us apart – What brings us together?

• evening Meditation: Down the Rabbit Hole

19:00 – 22:00 Meditation: Wisdom of the Ages

Meditation: Sacred Truths of Life

Day 2

• morning Presentation: Land & Community

09:00 – 12:00 Discussion: What is community?

Presentation: Sacred Space

Discussion: What is sacred and what is the place of ritual in cultural life?

• afternoon

13:00 – 17:00 Presentation: Creating Sacred Space

Experiential exercise: medicine walk and flowering tree conversation

Group Exercise: mapping the paradigm shift

Closure – what’s next?

“Measures of Sustainability” includes: developing and “out-of-the-box” technologies, embodied energy, operating energy, exergy, durability, life-cycle costs, externalities, technical vs cultural shifts, transportation impacts, land and community, ecological footprint, resource efficiency, waste reduction & recycling, the Happy Planet Index & the Global Manifesto, permaculture, the Hannover Principles, the Earth Charter, and the web of life.