PRACTICING PEACE: PERSPECTIVES FROM NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOTHERAPY, AND SPIRITUALITY

  FRIDAY thru SUNDAY     JULY 13-15-2007               DANBURY, CT

Deep in our hearts abides an unquenchable longing for a peaceful existence, which is marred by the tragedy of strife and war in both personal and collective life.  CIL’s summer learning retreat will address this dialectic between our dream of peace and love and the nightmare of our destructiveness. Only through awakening our consciousness can we refine our intention and evolve toward a practice of becoming peace.

We are very excited to gather together a group of noted neurobiologists and meditation teachers who will offer theoretical and practical understandings of what enhances the integration of body-mind-brain-spirit in the service of a peaceful, loving and witnessing self.  It is the strength of the witnessing, reflecting self and its devotion to the sacredness of all life that ultimately commits us to choose peace over being right and thus warring against the Other who may be parent, partner, friend or nation.

           SUMMER LEARNING RETREAT PROGRAM
Friday:  9:30AM to 10:00 AM   Registration                                    Coffee and tea

SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE RETREAT  10:00AM to 1:00PM  

THE FACE OF THE FEMININE          JUDITH S. SCHMIDT PhD
The life- giving experience of being real within one’s own being and with others is the cornerstone of living a creative life.  This is rooted in the earliest face to face connection between mother and child which warms aliveness and constitutes the archetype of the feminine. We will explore the trauma that can affect both a person and a nation when one’s vital essence is not mirrored. Judith will present case material and discuss current research, literature and film to convey the profound relevance of the face of the feminine for our time.

ROMANTIC LOVE AND COMMITTED LOVE     ALEXIS JOHNSON PhD
Falling in love often generates an obsession with the beloved whom we are driven to be near, to be with.  Our feelings range from exhilaration and joy to jealousy and anxiety.  The road from romance to truly loving is not easy.  Committed love is a state of being, not a feeling state, but it includes many feelings like curiosity and compassion.  Understanding the many facets of falling in love, including our underlying attachment dynamics, can help us move into the grace of committed love.