Tuesday

Eco-Dharma Talk Series: Exploring Where a Mindful Life and Ecology Meet

A Shambhala Online Interview with Touching the Earth Collective

Shambhala Online spoke with Gregory Webster and Irene Woodard from Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective and asked them several questions about the upcoming Eco-Dharma Series being held July 16-20, 2024. The Eco-Dharma Talk Series: Exploring Where a Mindful Life and Ecology Meet is being offered by Shambhala Online, in collaboration with Dechen Chöling Retreat Centre in France, and will be hosted by the Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective.

Live session topics in this five-day talk series include: Designing Regenerative Cultures with Christian Daniel Wahl, Local Food Can Save the World with Helena Norberg-Hodge, At Work in the Ruins: Finding Our Way in a Chaotic World with Dougald Hine, Inner Green Deal with Liane Stephan, and This Sacred Earth with Adam Lobel and Catherine McGee. Participants are welcome to join one talk or join them all, and may attend online via Shambhala Online or join in-person in France at the Dechen Chöling Retreat Center.

What was your inspiration for creating and launching the Eco-Dharma Talk series?

The Eco-Dharma talk series evolved out of This Sacred Earth, which is an Eco-Dharma gathering happening at Dechen Chöling this July 15th-22nd. This online component opened up participation to a global audience and created the potential to include speakers who might not otherwise be able to attend in person. The result is a fascinating range of storied speakers who can each offer their own unique insights into how we might navigate through our current predicament of exceeding planetary boundaries and the mounting risks to the health of our biosphere.

Who are you looking to reach as far as your audience and what are your goals in holding this series?

Care for the Earth has emerged as a foundational pillar of Shambhala dharma and this series gives the opportunity to deepen our understanding of the multi-faceted ways we might live in right relation in our world as modernity fragments and stalls all around us. But this array of speakers will be of interest far beyond our sangha and will hopefully trigger further explorations and relationships as we weave a culture fit for the challenges of our times.

What can participants expect in terms of session structure?

Each session will work as a standalone event, but the teachers will have gathered virtually in advance to ensure there is an overarching workable structure. With such an interesting spectrum of activists, social thinkers and changemakers taking part we might anticipate a rich diversity of thought and the opportunity for attendees to pose questions in the Q&As at the end of each session. Participants can expect to see the friendly face of Deborah Luscomb, from the Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective’s Steering Group, and host of Earth Salon, hosting the online events! We appreciate her jumping in!

What do you hope participants will gain by attending one or more of the Eco-Dharma sessions?

It is evident through the conversations we have in Touching the Earth Collective that Shambhala has a significant cohort that are deeply engaged with seeking ways to step lightly on the Earth and live within planetary boundaries. This work often encompasses a rich weave of traditions, approaches and ways of being. Hopefully the Eco-Dharma talk series offers glimpses of that wider community of intention. Perhaps we might even find some answers to the question: what should we actually do with our lives in these times?

What is personally most meaningful to you about being a part of this series? 

The team creating this series has included Dechen Chöling, Shambhala Europe, Touching the Earth Collective and Shambhala Online, working with Adam Lobel and the original core European Eco-dharma group. It has been a pleasure to see the resultant rich flow of ideas that has led to such a strong list of speakers, looking from so many different perspectives. One of the most meaningful aspects of this project has been the collaborative process we have all engaged in and how we have begun to get to know each other across the pond…

Anything else you would like to add? 

We encourage everyone to share this event widely so we can enjoy the richest possible experience in community together!

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To learn more about the Eco-Dharma Talk Series: Exploring Where a Mindful Life and Ecology Meet, please visit the links below.

To learn more about the online sessions via Shambhala Online please click here.

To learn more about the in-person retreat at Dechen Chöling please click here.