"The world is full of magic things,
patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper"~Yeats
Awakening to Wonder supports big-hearted creatives like you to wake up to the sparkling beauty all around you, 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.
Awakening to Wonder
Eight Weeks to Transform your Life from Grayscale to Vibrant Color
May 14th - July 2nd, 2018
"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.
Feeling the touch of a gentle breeze and humming along to birdsong - 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
Are you...
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Feeling overwhelmed and a sense of despair at the current craziness of humanity?
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Wanting to contribute to a world that works for all but unsure where to begin?
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Bored of your bland monotonous daily routine and yearning for more inspiration?
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Already on fire with creativity and yet feeling alone and yearning for a community of like-minded change agents?
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Feeling like you've lost or dimmed your wide-eyed sense of wonder and want to find it again?
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Wondering where life's sparkle and vibrancy has gone and why you seem to be viewing things through old dusty lenses?
I hear you, beautiful.
Hi, I'm Catherine. Since an early age, I've been enamored with the beauty of existence, especially the simple things like the glimmers of light bouncing off water drops, the delight of the first rising star at night, or the exuberant joy of finding 4-leaf clovers on a warm summer's afternoon.
Then, several years ago, I got sick from living in a toxic environment and a whole cascade of health challenges ensued. With chronic inflammation that completely dis-regulated my nervous system, 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. And for the first time, I lost the ability to see the sparkle, the magic, the beauty all around me. I sank into a debilitating depression, barely able to get out of bed.
What helped me through this period was a deep devotion to wonder, awe, and focusing on the simple beauties of nature. Unsure what was "fake news" or how quickly nuclear war threats could escalate, returning my attention to nature and the beauty directly in front of me, became essential for calming my nervous system. Through my Wonder Walk practice with my macro lens, I was literally learning to SEE the world from a new lens. The more I explored and the more I studied the latest science on awe, the more I began to realize just how needed this medicine is right now, for me, as well as for humanity.
Slowly, I began to see the sparkle of life again. Not only that, but I found a renewed sense of inspiration, motivation, and clarity in how I'd like to magnify and amplify the beauty of the world, so that others, too, may experience this medicine.
Awakening to Wonder is a gem I bring back with me from this decent. I cannot wait to share it with you!
Sam, 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.
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“The world is full of outrageous pain.
It is also full of outrageous beauty.
The only response, is outrageous love.”
~ Gafni
Awakening to Wonder offers practices to help us SEE the outrageous beauty so we can respond with outrageous love.
Why the World Needs Wonder
Since this course is about learning to induce states of awe, wonder, delight, moral elevation, and reverence for the sacred cosmos of which we are a part, here are some of the recent scientific finding.
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
After these 8 weeks, you can expect to...
...experience wonder, awe, and a sense of the miraculous like you’ve never known
...step up on your upward spiral towards a flourishing, vibrantly alive, and joyful life
...have a new perspective from which your problems will seem smaller, opportunities will seem clearer, and creativity will be pouring forth
...have a toolset of skills and a personalized plan to help you not only induce the emotional state you want to feel, but to begin to wire that into your baseline
...have a greater sense of belonging in the cosmos and the biosphere of our gorgeous planet
...fall so deeply in love with beauty that you can’t help but to want to add to it in your own unique way.
...meet an amazing community of like-minded beings from around the world that want to celebrate this with you
And so much more...
Course Outline
8-Week Online Course
May 14th to July 2nd
Weekly Multimedia Lessons
Like an Advent Calendar, you get to open a virtual package of goodies each week.
Live Weekly Calls
We will discuss the content of the week and the treasures we are discovering.
Illustrated Workbook
Like an Advent Calendar, you get to open a virtual package of goodies each week.
Course Projects
We will design our own Awe-Mersion Retreats as well as other fun projects!
Course Portal
All the main content housed in one easily accessible place.
Private Facebook Community
A special place to share our treasures!
Plus...
Your Very Own Macro Lens!
Yes, I am so excited to share that as a special bonus, you will receive an Easy-Macro lens that fits over your smart phone camera so you can magnify your photos and see the beauty in the tiny treasures all around you!
While the rest of this course is offered virtually, for those that would like, add your local home address and you will be (snail) mailed this little physical lens.
The 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.
The Whole Program is Dripping with Beauty
I am thrilled to announce that I'm partnering with my National Geographic photographer friend, Patrick Kelly, to bring you something truly beautiful.
And finally, but not least, you will receive the weekly
Doorways to Wonder Series
Featuring Audio Interviews With...
Jon Doe
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Jane Doe
I’m a paragraph. Double click me or click Edit Text, it's easy.
James Doe
I’m a paragraph. Double click me or click Edit Text, it's easy.
Module 1: Opening to the Magic in the Ordinary
In This Module You Will...
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Take an "eye exam" to assess what you are seeing currently (don't worry, it's not your traditional eye exam!)
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Put on your Wonder Glasses and enter the realm of enchantment
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Understand why wonder is important
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Get clear on the course projects, outline, and plan
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Start compiling and exploring our Awe Library
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Get all situated and set up for a magical journey
In This Module You Will Learn...
Module 2: Switching Lenses
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The emotional states we are in create a lenses through which we see the world and even through which we recall memories
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The art of seeing is something you can learn and practice
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In this lesson we will learn how to induce desired emotional states
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What virtuous and vicious cycles are
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How to design your own on-ramp system to your Upward Spiral
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How to find new perspective and why this is needed
Module 3: Tuning Your Focus
In This Module You Will Learn...
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With a fancy camera lens, you can choose both what to include in your frame as well as what you want to be in focus
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Like a camera lens, we too, can help direct our tiny amount of conscious attention out of the millions of bits of information that we’re taking in in any given moment
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Learn the skills necessary to shift your focus as well as create a daily strategy to strengthen these skills
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How to apply this in our lives so that they actually become a habit
Module 4: Cleaning the Lens
In This Module You Will Learn...
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There are many ways that our lenses get dirty, dusty, blemished, cracked or distorted
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In this lesson you will work with a handy chart that illustrates a number of ways that this happens and how to address each one so that we can see clearly and find right relationship with reality
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We will learn specific practices and actions for dealing with emotions
Module 5: Deep Seeing
In This Module You Will Learn...
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Awe is often experienced when someone is confronted with such perceptually vast stimuli that they must reconfigure their mental models to accommodate the experience
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In this lesson we will explore how we would like to reconfigure our mental models more consciously, specifically focusing on a deep embodied experience of interbeing
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If we were to really see the world through eyes of interbeing, how would we then show up?
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As a group we will also chart a number of other core values for the emerging worldview necessary for the survival and thriving of our species within the biosphere
Module 6: Seeing as a Form of Loving
In This Module You Will Learn...
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Amazing research on the science of awe has shown what scientists call awe's "altruism effect"
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This week is all about Moral Elevation and how it helps inspire us to spread more goodness in the world
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Building off of lesson 5 and the chart that we will create together of the core values to be cultivating, we will deepen our exploration of these qualities
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We will do some of my favorite exercises this week that really help to open the heart
Module 7: Insight and Inspiration
In This Module You Will Learn...
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How flow states, insight, creativity and innovation are all linked to wonder
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Pick a final project for the last week
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Report on your Awe Therapy Experience
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Compile and share your art
Module 8: Living a Life of Wonder
In This Module You Will Learn...
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We've explored how to see through different lenses, choose our focus, clean the lenses, and pick the frames. In this lesson we explore how to improve our eyesight, moving this from an exploration of states to traits
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We will create our personal ongoing plan to help us life a Life of Wonder
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We will share our final projects with each other and highlights from the journey
