2016 Conference Program (see Program Here)
Reclaiming the Commons: Diverse Ways of Being and Knowing
Eastern Michigan University
College of Education Porter Building
March 17-19, 2016
Pre-Conference Events
Meditation Retreat: Compassion's Constant Companions:
Meditations on Unbounded Love for Educators and Activists
This Event is now closed to registration.
Dates: Tuesday morning, March 15-Wednesday evening, March 16
Facilitators: Buddhist Monk and Scholar Derek Rasmussen, assisted by Dru Oja Jay, Yoga and Meditation
Location: Emrich Retreat Center in Brighton, MI.
Cost: $35 per day for meals (this may be waived)
Description: Most of us don't know that when the Buddha introduced 'karuna',the meditation on compassion, he always included three other practices with it: loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. This workshop will focus on these "balancers"--practices that help compassionate activists to avoid burn-out and maintain energy and joy. Other meditation tools to support our ecojustice efforts in schools, colleges and communities will also be outlined, including: breathing meditation, mindfulness, mantra practice and contemplative movement meditation. Questions we may explore include:
Schedule: This event will be held at the Emrich Retreat Center in Brighton, MI, about an hour's drive from Ypsilanti. Participation requires that you commit to at least Tuesday through Wednesday including an overnight on Tuesday. The schedule is as follows:
Meditation on the Four Immeasurables
Tuesday, March 15
8:00-8:30am: Arrive settle in to rooms; coffee/tea snacks available
9-11:00am: Gather, intros, review schedule, meditation and discussion
METTA (Cultivation of unboundaried Friendliness, warmth)
12:00 - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00pm: Rest; contemplative yoga or walking meditation outdoors
2:00-4:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A; (start of "social silence"
KARUNA (Cultivation of unboundaried Compassion)
6pm: Dinner (social silence; 'screen'/electronics-free till Wed afternoo)
7:00-8:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A
MUDITA (Cultivation of unboundaried Sympathetic Joy)
Wednesday, March 16
7-8am: Breakfast (silence)
9-11:00am: Meditation, Q+A
UPEKKHA (Cultivation of Unboundaried Equanimity)
12:00 - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00pm: Rest; contemplative yoga or walking meditation outdoors
2:00-4:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A
Wrap-up: Breathing Meditation, non-clinging awareness
6pm: Dinner
Note: You will need to bring sleeping bag and pillow, or blankets and linens. Sleeping quarters are separate men and women's bunk rooms. Also, if you have a yoga mat and sitting cushion, please bring them. We are being provided three meals a day. You must register for inclusion in this activity. Space is limited, first come first served.
Retreat Registration: Closed
Bus Tour of Detroit
Date: Thursday, March 17th, 8:00am-4:00pm
Facilitators: Ethan Lowenstein and Lisa Voelker, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition
Location: Departing from and Returning to EMU Porter Building
Cost: FREE!
Sponsor: EMU Porter Chair, Ethan Lowenstein
Description: Commons-based educational practices and caring communities are often hidden from public view. Stories of youth, teachers, and communities who are seeking to create "beloved communities" are not often shared by the media. In this pre-conference event, sponsored by the John W. Porter Chair in Urban Education, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition staff and youth leaders from the Cody Youth Ambassadors invite you to join them on a day-long learning journey to schools and community organizations in the Detroit area that are seeking to transform the "way we do school" and the communities we live in. We will leave from EMU on a bus in the morning, visit school and community sites in Detroit, stop and dialogue for lunch, and return. Intergenerational discussions are rare in our society and this promises to be a rich one! Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP early. Space will be limited.
Schedule:
8:00 am for breakfast @ EMU Porter Education Building, 3rd floor, middle rooms, look for signs.
8:30 am prompt departure from EMU Porter bldg., Circle Drive Entrance to Detroit Institute of Technology
9:15 Detroit join-up option at Detroit Institute of Technology (18445 Cathedral St, Detroit, MI 48228)
2:45 pm back at DIT and Detroit drop-off location
3:45-4:00 pm return to EMU
(Reminder: Opening Keynote for the Conference begins at 7:00 pm!)
Detroit Tour Registration: CLICK HERE
Meditation Retreat: Compassion's Constant Companions:
Meditations on Unbounded Love for Educators and Activists
This Event is now closed to registration.
Dates: Tuesday morning, March 15-Wednesday evening, March 16
Facilitators: Buddhist Monk and Scholar Derek Rasmussen, assisted by Dru Oja Jay, Yoga and Meditation
Location: Emrich Retreat Center in Brighton, MI.
Cost: $35 per day for meals (this may be waived)
Description: Most of us don't know that when the Buddha introduced 'karuna',the meditation on compassion, he always included three other practices with it: loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. This workshop will focus on these "balancers"--practices that help compassionate activists to avoid burn-out and maintain energy and joy. Other meditation tools to support our ecojustice efforts in schools, colleges and communities will also be outlined, including: breathing meditation, mindfulness, mantra practice and contemplative movement meditation. Questions we may explore include:
- What does it mean to be mindful in a setting where we are actively opposing wrongdoing by the state or corporations?
- What are the spiritual tools that cultivate love and care without encouraging acquiescence to institutional wrongdoing and the status quo?
- How do I find time to practice in a busy day?
Schedule: This event will be held at the Emrich Retreat Center in Brighton, MI, about an hour's drive from Ypsilanti. Participation requires that you commit to at least Tuesday through Wednesday including an overnight on Tuesday. The schedule is as follows:
Meditation on the Four Immeasurables
Tuesday, March 15
8:00-8:30am: Arrive settle in to rooms; coffee/tea snacks available
9-11:00am: Gather, intros, review schedule, meditation and discussion
METTA (Cultivation of unboundaried Friendliness, warmth)
12:00 - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00pm: Rest; contemplative yoga or walking meditation outdoors
2:00-4:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A; (start of "social silence"
KARUNA (Cultivation of unboundaried Compassion)
6pm: Dinner (social silence; 'screen'/electronics-free till Wed afternoo)
7:00-8:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A
MUDITA (Cultivation of unboundaried Sympathetic Joy)
Wednesday, March 16
7-8am: Breakfast (silence)
9-11:00am: Meditation, Q+A
UPEKKHA (Cultivation of Unboundaried Equanimity)
12:00 - 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00pm: Rest; contemplative yoga or walking meditation outdoors
2:00-4:00pm: Group meditation, Q+A
Wrap-up: Breathing Meditation, non-clinging awareness
6pm: Dinner
Note: You will need to bring sleeping bag and pillow, or blankets and linens. Sleeping quarters are separate men and women's bunk rooms. Also, if you have a yoga mat and sitting cushion, please bring them. We are being provided three meals a day. You must register for inclusion in this activity. Space is limited, first come first served.
Retreat Registration: Closed
Bus Tour of Detroit
Date: Thursday, March 17th, 8:00am-4:00pm
Facilitators: Ethan Lowenstein and Lisa Voelker, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition
Location: Departing from and Returning to EMU Porter Building
Cost: FREE!
Sponsor: EMU Porter Chair, Ethan Lowenstein
Description: Commons-based educational practices and caring communities are often hidden from public view. Stories of youth, teachers, and communities who are seeking to create "beloved communities" are not often shared by the media. In this pre-conference event, sponsored by the John W. Porter Chair in Urban Education, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition staff and youth leaders from the Cody Youth Ambassadors invite you to join them on a day-long learning journey to schools and community organizations in the Detroit area that are seeking to transform the "way we do school" and the communities we live in. We will leave from EMU on a bus in the morning, visit school and community sites in Detroit, stop and dialogue for lunch, and return. Intergenerational discussions are rare in our society and this promises to be a rich one! Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP early. Space will be limited.
Schedule:
8:00 am for breakfast @ EMU Porter Education Building, 3rd floor, middle rooms, look for signs.
8:30 am prompt departure from EMU Porter bldg., Circle Drive Entrance to Detroit Institute of Technology
9:15 Detroit join-up option at Detroit Institute of Technology (18445 Cathedral St, Detroit, MI 48228)
2:45 pm back at DIT and Detroit drop-off location
3:45-4:00 pm return to EMU
(Reminder: Opening Keynote for the Conference begins at 7:00 pm!)
Detroit Tour Registration: CLICK HERE