Turning The Old Story On Its Head©

There are no accidents in nature’s designs. Evolution tends to move towards balance and aids the survival of life forms and entities that exist towards that end. So, what is the purpose of adolescence? 

Our orientation in youth & community development through rites of passage recognizes reciprocity between the transformation processes that occur during adolescence with those occurring within their parents. The potential for a “collision of transitions” between adolescence and mid-life is at hand. These transitional periods also have implications for change and transformation in one’s family, community, in relationship with their culture/ancestors, spirit and the natural world in which one lives. What might be possible if instead of our narrow focus on teenagers as if they are inherently a problem that needs to be fixed, they actually were designed by evolution to hold the keys to our survival and the future? The Planetarium Initiatory Event^® PIE^® explores this orientation and the potential that exists if we employ adolescences in this way.  (more…)

Lost Without Space©

“For most of human history, the stars told us where we were in space and time.”

What has been lost when we loose sight of the stars and the stories they told that guided our ancestors for millenniums? 

Gene Tracy, Director of the Center for the Liberal Arts and William & Mary in Virginia penned a story I first came upon in AEON, an on-line journal. Sky Reader spoke eloquently about our lost relationship to the stars and in the process have lost ourselves.

I encourage you to visit the site and under ideal conditions to listen to the story while sitting out under a starry night sky if possible. I’ve excerpted some of the text that spoke deeply to the reason we undertook our work with PIE^® the Planetarium Initiatory Event^®. (more…)

Being in the Big Bang A New Story Making and Serving PIE® To Nourish Life

A unique approach has been designed and is being adapted and refined to meet the extraordinary challenges in contemporary western society of supporting our children’s awakenings and yearning for connections. It is through a whole system’s community-oriented rites of passage called the Planetarium Initiatory Event – PIE^®. Yes, it happens in a planetarium.  (more…)

The Beginning of a New Story Initiation & Awakening – Filling the Void

I first heard this old Yiddish story, which has roots in the Talmud, from Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.¹

While we are in the womb, we know everything there is to know about the universe, but we forget it all at birth. 

At a later time, to help us remember, God runs a finger from the bottom of our nose to the top of our lip. That’s why there’s an indentation. (more…)

Change the Story Transform the Future© – Part II

Remembering Our Shared Story 

Puberty is a time of great transition and potential in our personal story making. Children begin to wonder about the mysteries of the Universe and their place in the world. Their internal narrative becomes more robust energizing their creative imagination with thoughts of increased possibilities. External influences fuel our children’s creative imagination and inform their internal narrative, which in turn formulates their personal values and view of the world. We live in an interconnected global community where images and messages from around the world bombard our senses. Public and private education environments convey another kind of message about what is important. Raising test scores is touted above raising children in educational environments generating climates that may unwittingly compromise our children’s sense of safety and belonging.  (more…)