The Heart Knows the Way
Hope, Passion and Inspiration at the 35th Annual Bioneers Conference
Sometimes I feel like if I were able to express what’s in my heart, what would come out is something totally non-verbal: a keen or a warble or a groan.
Nevertheless, in my Leadership, Writing & Public Speaking classes, I often encourage students to “speak from the heart”—that is, to share their passions in an unscripted way, coming up with heartfelt words that tug directly on their listeners’ hearts, persuading them to take inspired action.
There was a lot of this kind of sharing going on at the 35th annual Bioneers conference last week. I would say that rather than anything specific that was said, what moved me most were the swirling unspoken currents of passion flowing from speaker to audience, from person to person, from venue to venue…a good reminder of how incredibly potent it can be when high-frequency people come together in the same physical space. Sure, Zoom is good, but it’s no substitute for actual heart-to-heart physical encounters.
The speakers who moved me most, in no particular order, were: Claudia Peña, Pat McCabe, Rae Wynn-Grant, Merlin Sheldrake, Suzanne Simard, Taylor Brorby, Ramona Ausubel, Aya de Leon, Nina Simons, Kenny Ausubel, Charlotte Michaluk, Mutima Imani, Casey Camp-Horinek, Oren Lyons, Sage Lenier, Akaya Winwood, Rebecca Solnit. This is only a fraction of the amazing people who presented at the Bioneers conference this year; there were many impossible choices to make with all the concurrent sessions in the afternoons. And the people in the audience were just as awesome as those up on stage!
In reflecting on the conference, I’m struck by the wonderfully multicultural intergenerational group of people that the Bioneers leadership team brought together. Co-founders Nina Simons and Kenny Ausubel have made a deep commitment to bringing Native American voices to the fore, and under the guidance of Bioneers Indigeneity Program co-directors Cara Romero and Alexis Bunten the conference was enriched by the presence of Native people from dozens of different tribes and nations.
While still going strong themselves, Nina and Kenny are committed to cultivating the next generation of activists, and the vibrant youth presence at the conference added extra verve and energy. Rather than the typical academic set-up of elders preaching to the young, the Bioneers gathering set the stage for three solid days and nights of electrifying intergenerational conversations.
Each day as I headed up to the conference hall on the UC Berkeley campus, I saluted the old-growth Redwoods that lined the path, noting how each elder tree was surrounded by a passel of youngsters.
As Suzanne Simard and Merlin Sheldrake detailed during their keynotes, these elder trees and their mycelial partners deliberately nurture the youngsters clustered around their knees.
Watching folks of all ages and many walks of life take the stage at the Bioneers, I mused that Kenny and Nina have become like beneficent elders (to use a beautiful term from Pat McCabe's talk), mindfully nourishing and enriching all those around them. And their circle extends far out into the digisphere, since the conference talks are all recorded and widely shared.
On a panel moderated by Nina Simons, Pat McCabe noted that "the power-over paradigm is antithetical to Mother Earth, whose power is radical abundance and fearless generosity." Pat repeated a line by Rumi that had been shared earlier by Claudia Peña and others: "The heart knows the way; run in that direction."
The Bioneers conference was like a heart-magnet, opening up a sacred space for people to come together to share wisdom, make positive connections, and strengthen our courage and resilience for the challenging road ahead.
From 94-year-old Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons to 17-year-old engineer Charlotte Michaluk, there was a place for everyone in the Bioneers circle, and all this good energy will continue throughout the year, with the constant stream of community conversations and classes hosted by Bioneers Learning, along with all the invaluable podcasts and recorded talks available online.
I returned home from the conference energized, hopeful and grateful to Nina, Kenny and the whole Bioneers team, as well as all the participants and lively attendees, for creating such a tremendous ripple of hope, joy, passion and power.
At the first panel I attended, Rebecca Solnit invoked the famous quote from prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba, "Hope is a discipline."
I prefer the word "practice," and I'd add community to the equation: Hope is a practice we do with others.
This practice of communitarian hope was alive and well at the Bioneers, and it’s up to each one of us to keep that heartfelt movement going strong.
Coming up….An Inspiring Author Conversation
On April 17 at 7 pm Eastern, I’ll be hosting a free online Green Fire Press author conversation with Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle, author of Ley Lines of Love: Adventures Along the Spiritual Path. A dedicated practitioner of Buddhism, Olivia shares many remarkable stories about her inner journey, including the joys of learning from enlightened teachers. She also recounts how her years of involvement with a devotional tradition from India ended in an archetypal story of disillusionment. In her compelling, deep and far-ranging memoir, she confronts legacy issues connected to her family and illustrious ancestry, while tracing the intricate “ley lines of love” that span cultures, centuries, and countries.
Register here to receive the zoom link.
Come with me to Tuscany this spring!
Step off the beaten path of your routine life and join me for a fabulous Il Chiostrowriting workshop May 25 - June 1, 2024 at the luxurious Borgo San Fedele, a meticulously restored monastery set in exquisite gardens amid a classic Tuscan landscape of olive groves and vineyards.
Our days will unfold in a perfect balance of guided writing and productive sharing; excursions guided by our Il Chiostro hosts to nearby picturesque medieval towns; coming home to San Fedele to relax by the pools and gardens, eat delicious meals and visit with new friends; and taking time for your own contemplative writing and thinking.
You’ll come away from this magical sojourn simultaneously enlivened and relaxed, with a deeper understanding of your purpose in writing memoir, along with many pages of new writing providing a plethora of potential doorways into the story of your life.
More information (and beautiful photos) here.
Ready to book? Click here.
Come Riding & Writing with me in Iceland this June!
I have not found a better creative tonic than RIDING and WRITING in the spectacular Icelandic countryside. Join me in the height of the bright summer season, June 10 – 16, 2024.
Every day we’ll ride out on sturdy, sweet Icelandic horses through the expansive rolling vistas of western Iceland, led by our experienced guides from Hestaland. Once you’ve experienced the exhilaration of the fast, smooth tolt, a gait unique to Icelandic horses, you may not want to go back to the trot!
We’ll eat delicious meals together at the beautiful Hestaland Guesthouse and participate in thoughtful, open-hearted guided writing sessions.
There will also be plenty of time for sharing and discussing your writing projects and visiting the nearby hot spring spa at Krauma.
Learn more about costs and accommodations on the application form.
Whether you’ve been to Iceland many times, or this will be your first experience there, this trip is sure to be transformative!
More information (and beautiful photos) here. Email me with any questions!
Friends, it’s my pleasure and my passion to support you as we stretch towards living our lives creatively and to the fullest.
The motto of my author consulting business is “Writing to Right the World,” and the motto of my book publishing business, Green Fire Press, is “Books that Make the World Better.”
If these intentions resonate with you and you are working on a book, or have one in mind, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Supporting creative people bring their work more strongly out into the world is one way I try to make the world better….
