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One Earth Wisdom:

EcoDharma Exploration

Steady through the Fire

Increasing Resiliency and Decreasing Reactivity

Even as parts of the world are periodically plunged into record cold, the specter of fire looms large across multiple continents. Whether you are one of the many people affected by increasingly severe fire seasons, or whether you are dealing with the effects of global heating in general, you may be seeking ways to find stability in the midst of the fire.

This EcoDharma Exploration took place on January 29, 2023. Find the recording and resources below. We welcome your support for this program.

© Mike Newbry from Unsplash

Since forest fires began annually destroying communities in California, Heather Sundberg has been offering somatic, mindfulness-based practices in response to overlapping ecological and personal trauma fields. In this event, we explored:

  • Short practices to uplift our hearts as we practice together
  • Applying the Buddha’s teaching of the Fire Sermon to practicing in a world full of triggers and reactions
  • Six somatic practices to support a resilient nervous system, particularly in the face of long-term collective reactivity
  • Reflections and dialog on our toolkit to work with reactivity internally, interpersonally, and collectively
Heather Sundberg

Heather Sundberg’s long-term dharma service work has been on behalf of youth, women’s equality, and working with those impacted by forest fires, as well as more recently supporting activists on the front lines of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. An Insight Meditation teacher since 1999, she completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training program under Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher’s Council. Heather has studied long-term with senior teachers in the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions, completing three accumulated years of retreat. She teaches two year Awareness-Emptiness Trainings for experienced meditators. Her teaching emphasizes embodiment, nervous system and energy practices to promote healthy regulation and liberation in the midst of chronic collective trauma producing global circumstances. Learn more at Heather Sundberg.

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Support this Offering

One Earth Sangha and our featured speakers offer these explorations on a donation basis, with no required registration fee. We invite you to participate in the tradition of offering dana, or generosity. Your support makes these gatherings possible, and any amount offered is greatly appreciated.

To support our featured guest, visit Heather’s website and use the yellow “Donate” button.

Support Heather

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Another way to support us is to share what this exploration has meant to you in a way that we can use in our materials. We invite you to share a “testimonial” here! (select “EcoDharma Exploration Participant” from the dropdown menu.)
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Recording

Additional Resources

Somatic Practices for Reactivity

During the gathering, Heather shared a six-part somatic meditation for working with reactivity and collective trauma. The steps of this practice are below, and you can view the standalone guided practice recording here.

  1. Move, and keep moving

  2. Connect with embodied fluidity and the water element

  3. Access aliveness

  4. Track your needs

  5. Open to the rawness with compassion

  6. Invite lingering pleasant experience

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No Mud, No Lotus

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

We are building a global network of individuals and communities committed to transforming the human-earth relationship through Dharma wisdom and practice. We hope you’ll join us. 

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