In this issue: Skills for Living Coming Events The Trail is Finished! Letter from Scott Eberle, MD Pictures Wanted! Weddings & Celebrations Help the Environment!

to Notes of: 5/04 • 4/03

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Skills for Living Internship Program

Twenty-five high school and college students participated in a two-week Internship Program called Skills for Living at Ocean Song this summer. Sponsored by Polestar Education, the program emphasized individual spiritual growth, community building, life skills, service, adventure and fun.

Each morning the 5:00 am wake-up conch called participants to an ambitious day, beginning with the opening circle on Solstice Hill. Activities included yoga and meditation, gardening, building projects; drama, music, storytelling, healing classes, rock climbing and service projects of all kinds. Ocean Song staff members Fred, Ron, Lynn, Kate and Jason facilitated many of the workdays. The energetic teens installed new skylights in the barn, poured a concrete parking area for the new bathrooms, worked on the natural building remodeling in the barn, completed countless gardening projects and more.

The program culminated in a four-day trip to Yosemite to participate in service projects throughout the Park. Here is what some of the teens shared about their experience:
 

Coming Events

 
Saturday, December 7, from 9am - 3pm:

Conscious Activism Council Gathering. Facilitated by Ocean Song owner/trustee, Andrew Beath, this workshop will take a deeper look at what it means to engage in "conscious activism" and "activism from the heart", and how they differ from other types of activism. The cost of the workshop is $20 - $70, sliding scale. For registration or more information call Ann Dolin at 707-874-1526.

 

Sunday, December 22, Noon:

Winter Solstice Ritual on Solstice Hill. If there is rain we will move indoors. Bring food to share for a lunch potluck. As always the solstice and equinox gatherings are free for the community.

 The Trail is finished!

Letter from Scott Eberle, MD  

For those of you who have been saying "Nice trail but it doesn't go anywhere...", we now have a completed trail. The trail starts at the Finley Creek Nature Preserve boundary, makes a loop through mixed oak-bay woodlands, meanders across a meadow with ocean views and passes through a riparian area up to Solstice Hill. The trail was designed to maintain a 5% grade, with a few exceptions, to allow for people of all fitness levels and abilities to enjoy a walk through the Ocean Song Nature Preserve.

A big thank you goes to the Sonoma County Volunteer Center. In late August, 40 young adults came to Ocean Song for two days and along with other learning activities, helped with the trail. They learned not only how to use tools, but also how to build trails that do not contribute to run off and erosion. Thanks very much to Alissa Garner, the Youth Volunteer Coordinator at the Volunteer Center.

Be sure to join us this spring when we begin working on a new trail that travels through the deep canyons of the 240-acre Finley Creek Nature Preserve.

It is now day three of a four-day fast, which along with my three friends I've undertaken on your land. We have come here for a "vision quest": a four-day solitary fast in the natural world. We follow the modern day lead of Steven Foster and Meredith Little who have distilled this practice from the the rites of many indigenous peoples, from all over the world and throughout human history (consider Christ wandering in the desert, the Buddha sitting in the forest, an aborigine on a walkabout, or, of course, a Native American on a vision quest). We each bring warm clothes, a sleeping bag, and a simple tarp with rope, leaving behind the four walls of a tent or house. Our home without walls does have a ceiling - the immense sky above - and a floor - the solid earth we walk on, As for solitude and fasting, they are age-old methods for emptying die mind and slowing the body ... so that neighboring creatures will come to visit... so that the individual intentions we each have brought here will blossom inside into a new vision of the way forward. Speaking on behalf of the others, we are deeply beholden to Ocean Song - both the land and its stewards, for having embraced us so fully. We extend a special thanks to Fred and Ann, whose consistently warm and open-hearted greetings were essential to our decision to come here. photo ©2003 John Springer

Pictures Wanted!

Do you have favorite pictures of the Ocean Song property, members or events that have taken place over the years? We hope to assemble an online photo gallery for all to share. Please email gallery to let us know what you have, or with feedback generally on gathering historical material.

Weddings and Celebrations

Six couples, were married at Ocean Song this summer. Accompanied by family and friends amid the herb, flower and butterfly gardens, brides and grooms were thrilled with the beautiful setting. Everyone enjoyed the new road, bathrooms, and the new garden gates. As winter rains arrive, we're preparing the soil and seeding a new native grass lawn in the garden. To arrange for your celebration with family, friends or group, call Ann: 707-874-1526. In the meantime, click here to see the flavor of the location.