"The world is full of magic things,
patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper" - Yeats
Are you ready to wake up to this magical beauty?
Announcing...
Awakening to Wonder
A Six-Week Online Course | January 20 - Feb 24, 2020
Supporting big-hearted creatives like you to wake up to the beauty all around,
so that from this place of wonder, awe, and reverence,
you feel inspired to contribute your own unique expression of beauty
in service to a world that works for all.
With Catherine Douglas
Brought to you by
Welcome, Dear One
Are you...
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...a sensitive, open, caring being that is feeling overwhelmed about the uncertain, ever-accelerating state of the world?
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...longing to reconnect with life’s vibrancy and sparkle?
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...yearning to see, appreciate, and fall in love with the beauty of life and allow that to nourish, rejuvenate, and inspire you?
I hear you, beautiful.
Hi, I'm Catherine. Since an early age, I've been enamored with the little wonders of life, such as glimmers of light on water drops or the kindness of a stranger.
Then, several years ago, I got sick from living in a house with toxic black mold and a whole cascade of health challenges ensued. Unable to barely leave my house or get out of bed, my already sensitive open system felt the weight of the suffering of the world and the insanity that we inflict upon each other in piercing ways. Usually bursting with enthusiasm, I felt helpless and hopeless about what to do.
There were times when I lost sight of the sparkle.
What has helped me through this time has been a deep devotion to wonder and focusing on the simple beauty all around me. Returning my attention to the present and the leaf or flower directly in front of me became essential for calming my nervous system. Too exhausted and sick to do the ordinary things I used to take for granted, taking macro photos that magnified the tiny majesty all around me became my solace and my practice. Through my wonder practices, I learned to see the world through new eyes, reframe my situation, and shift my states.
This became my medicine.
The more I practiced and studied the latest science on awe, the more I began to realize how needed this medicine is for humanity during these increasingly uncertain times.
And amazingly, along with the help of doctors, I began to heal. Not only that, but I found a renewed sense of inspiration, motivation, and clarity in how I long to magnify the beauty in service to a world that works for all beings. I'm beyond excited to share my practices and insights in this 7-week course, so that...
. . . you, too, can experience these wonders.
"Humans are nature...
To counterbalance the craziness and suffering of our world,
we need to surrender our senses to that:
Gaze at the sky, listen to the ocean,
and smell raindrops falling on dry earth...
- that is where awe is.
It's not a new place, but a new way of looking at things."
~ Donna Mulvenna,The Awe of Nature
Why Does the World Need More Wonder?
It has been said that we are experiencing a collective awe deficit,
that many of us have lost our sense of reverence for the planet, each other, and the many forms of life with whom we share our gorgeous home.
Not only that, but many of us have lost a sense of curious wonder about ourselves
and the incredible miracle of our existence.
When we lose a sense of awe, reverence, and wonder, it becomes easier to otherize, easier to destroy, easier to harm oneself, and easier to blindly focus on endless GDP growth at the expense of deteriorating ecosystems.
When we don’t see how profoundly interconnected we are with the rest of the cosmos and all of life, we lose a piece of our humanity. We lose touch with the magic.
What the Science Says
According to the latest scientific research, awe has been shown to:
Increase Quality of Life And Help us Step onto an Upward Spiral
Orient Us Towards Something Bigger & Provide New Perspective
Increase Generosity, Altruism, Humility, and Kindness
Increase Prosocial Behavior & Deeper Connections
Serve as a Doorway to Flow and Creative Insights
Increase Inspiration and Innovation
Expand Our Sense of Time
Decrease Inflammation
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us
the less taste we shall have for destruction."
~ Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
That is why I created this program for you.
Awakening to Wonder
will help you to...
...experience a renewed sense of wonder, awe, and reverence.
...step up on your upward spiral towards a vibrantly flourishing life.
...have a new perspective from which your problems will seem smaller and opportunities will seem clearer.
...see through new lenses so that the magnificent beauty all around you comes clearly into focus.
...have a toolset of skills and a personalized plan to help you induce different states.
...have a greater sense of belonging in the cosmos as well as the biosphere of our gorgeous planet.
...experience a deeper intimacy with the natural world.
...fall so deeply in love with beauty that you can’t help but want to add to it in your own unique way.
Course Outline
What's Included:
Twice Weekly Multimedia Lessons
Like an Advent Calendar, every Monday and Thursday you get to open a virtual package of goodies. Each lesson includes an in-depth hour-long video on the subject, an audio meditation, & a workbook.
Course Projects
This is not a passive online course. There is a syllabus, course projects, and tons of hands-on, directly applicable exercises to apply what you learn each lesson.
Three LIVE Group Calls
Connect with like-hearted humans in community and celebrate the treasures we are discovering.
Held in sacred ceremony, these calls go deep! Please join us even if you missed previous lessons.
Awe Library
Together we will compile an epic database of resources that we can peruse at any time to get a micro moment of awe, wonder, and a reminder of the beauty in the world.
Course Portal to House All the Content
All the main content housed in one easily accessible gorgeous home.
Circle of Enchantment
Private Facebook Community
A special place to share our treasures, connect, create, and meet soul friends!
Plus...
Your Very Own Macro Lens!
Yes, this is happening! I am so excited to share that, as a special bonus, you will receive through snail mail the same macro lens that changed my life! (Plus a bonus video explaining how to use it!)
The Easy-Macro lens fits over your smart phone camera (compatible with Android and iPhones) so you can magnify your photos and see the beauty in the tiny treasures all around you! This has been a central part of my Wonder Walks and love affair with wonder!
And finally, each week you will also receive a new
Doorway to Wonder
Audio Interviews with Visionary Thought Leaders
in which they share with us the wonders of their area of mastery.
Whether it is the wonders of cosmology, evolution, neuroscience and the brain, or how wonder inspires art, music, or activism, these weekly interviews are sure to inspire, expand your mind, and open your heart.
Featuring...
Patricia Ellsberg
Founder, Opening to Divine Eros
Eros, gratitude, and love as gateways to wonder.
Daniel Schmachtenberger
Civilization Designer
Wonder as a gateway to discovering your unique genius.
Melissa Michaels
Founder, Golden Bridge
The wonders of our capacity to heal.
Shawn Shirazi
Neuroscientist, UC Berkeley
The wonders of our brain, biology, and evolution.
And More...
The Modules
Each module has a main video lesson, a guided meditation or visualization, an audio interview with inspired visionaries, a workbook, a state induction experiment, a weekly checklist, and often extra credit options and resources. The video lessons are full of content from Positive Psychology, the latest research on awe, neuroscience, NLP, somatic psychology, evolutionary spirituality, mindfulness, and peace studies.
Here's a look at what is inside. . .
About Your Instructor
Catherine Douglas is an artist, educator, peace activist, imaginal cell, and founder of The PeaceRipples Institute. She is deeply passionate about helping to create a more beautiful world that works for all beings. She taught her first program, PeaceDance, back in 2004 and fell in love with facilitating experiences for her students. Her love of ecstatic states led her to study with Professor Csikszentmihalyi, one of the founders of Positive Psychology and the person that coined the term "flow state." After writing her thesis on finding flow through dance, she taught Natural Highs: Healthy Alternatives to Drugs and Alcohol, a substance abuse education program based in neuroscience, adolescent brain development, and experiential practices to change one's state of consciousness.
The more people she taught, the more interested she became in larger systemic solutions that could help address the root causes of the suffering she saw in her students. After years of working with many dozens of organizations and some of the top thought leaders of our time, she is excited to be offering more educational programs through The PeaceRipples Institute.
Catherine is a certified SomaSource Practitioner and educator at the annual global youth rites of passage program, Surfing the Creative. She completed the Strengths-Based Positive Psychology Coaching Program at San Francisco State University, sat on the board of directors for the Happiness Alliance, co-founded the annual Peace Day campaign, BeThePeace, and most proudly, graduated Valedictorian from her Laughter Yoga Leader training (yes, Laughter Yoga is a thing).
Sam, Making Love With Life Student
From the first time I saw you, Light was bubbling out of you like a glass of champagne. Attending the Making Love With Life course in Boulder tickled my heart, my palate of perception, my tear ducts, my voice box, and gently prodded my protected heart to open up to the possibilities of letting in the beauty of existence.
Natural Highs Student
I just wanted to take some time out to thank you
for today. Ever since I left the studio, I was filled with the most incredible inspiration and energy I had felt in a long time. No kidding, I literally sprinted on my bike home I was loving life so much... Catherine, you are like the most amazing person I have ever met. No joke! You are so kind hearted and have ideas that CAN change the world. Radiant energy flows from you when you talk and somehow makes me feel less hopeless in this dark world.
I am very grateful for having participated in the 10 day project. It has changed the way I think about life over all and my life in particular. The new practices that I have adopted have blessed my life and the lives of those I have touched. This has been a very beneficial 10 days for me and the world as a whole.
Participant in the free BeThePeace Challenge
What Catherine's Former Students Have Said
This is not an ordinary online course.
This is an intervention. A re-alignment. A deep re-membering.
This is a pair of glasses that will help bring the magnificence, the beauty, and the magic
clearly into focus.
Imagine wrapping yourself up in a blanket of love covered in stars,
where you no longer feel alone in the universe, seeing all life as your kin.
What could your life look like if you allowed the beauty in?
What if you said yes?
Special Inaugural Opportunity!
All of this for just:
$497 $197
And you get to help be a part of co-creating this program!
This initial beta round is a special opportunity for a small intimate group to give input, feedback, and help add to the magic, as well as form a tight and long-lasting community together.
If this speaks to your soul and you know you are meant to be a part of this sacred container,
I am beyond excited to welcome you into this program.
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