What is IEA?
_About
Integral Ecoawareness is an integration of all layers life is made of.
This journey is not about ‘either-or’.
It’s not about personal growth, it’s not about environmentalism, it’s not about political issues, it’s not about art, it’s not about therapy… and it includes all of that.
Humans are an integral and inseparable part of the living, dynamic Earth system.
We have co-evolved with plants, animals, microorganisms, rivers, mountains and forests. We are an integral part of the Web of Life, of the Earth Community that evolves through intimate and interdependent relationships with every being, every element within this system.
Integral Ecoawareness offers a strong grounding in a deeply felt, connected and integrated understanding of oneself as a part of the living earth.
The human being has the capacity of consciousness, being aware of his inner life and being aware of his role within a system. Also, the human being has the capacity of choice, he can opt for serving the greater context or opt for struggling against it.
Being aware of the inner and the outer space at the same time and understanding our interdependent and cocreative nature enables us to make adequate and responsible decisions.
Providing a safe space to explore and question our cultural believe systems, Integral Ecoawareness offers fertile ground for new ways of perceiving, thinking and relating to emerge.
Embarking on this journey will empower the individual, enhance perception and life quality, and alter the way in which we organize human endeavor.
_The Method
Since perception is the connection of the inner and the outer, determining one’s feelings, thoughts and actions, we give individuals the possibility of becoming aware of his/her own perceptions with as little outside interference as possible.
Integral Ecoawareness Training and Practice should be seen as a continuous, interrelated process. Every individual will integrate whatever he/she needs in their own pace.
Sensory work provides one aspect of the process. We focus on refining the senses so that one can use them in a more complete way, becoming aware of judgments and preconceived ideas.
Another important aspect of our work is the use of Somatics.
Working with Somatics allows a person to gain wisdom from within. It teaches to pay attention to the ever-changing movements (both subtle internal bodily cues and large external movement) of the living body. Somatic approaches support you to develop body connectivity, re-pattern habitual alignment and movement patterns, expand your dynamic range, increase kinesthetic awareness through embodied anatomy, and learn skills for deepened communication with self and others, thus creating community-mindedness.
We also draw exercises from the acting process.
The acting process offers the possibility to learn what it means to be in the moment, what it means to use all of your senses, to use your imagination, to be open and perceptive. You learn about empathy, rhythms, impulses, your emotional life, your mindsets, your blocks. You get to know yourself as your own instrument.
This engagement allows the individual to find out what it means to serve a greater context. One can make the choice to shift perspective/dimensions (in acting you would say you ‘become somebody else’) and dive into an experience that can be profoundly revealing, providing you with access to information that could not be accessed by a conventional way of research.
Integrated somatic-based psychological work enables participants to observe, recognize and deal with personal emotional patterns and dynamics.
The process of Past Reality Integration Therapy offers tools any person can apply and thereby aquire the ability to take responsibility for their emotional life.
Through dance (Contact Improvisation, Tango argentino) the awareness is widened into the fields of motion and contact with another person.
Also the practice of Shiatsu and other Massage Techniques supports the simultaneous awareness of oneself and another person, the simultaneous awareness of inner and outer space.
Outdoor experience, the introduction to the surrounding eco-system, basic skills and knowledge about organic gardening and food processing, an introduction to the permaculture concept, aquiring skills in musicmaking and consensus practices, and of course the common experience of the process of the Integral Ecoawareness Program provide possibilities for developing and integrating the ability to create and sustain living communities/cultures.
The philosophical and intellectual background for Integral Ecoawareness Training and Practice can be found in Living System Theory (Capra, Wheatley), Earth Democracy (Shiva), Deep Ecology (Lachapelle, Naess), Permaculture, the knowledge and practices of indigenous cultures and traditions, and Taoism.
The teaching of these thoughts, ethics and concepts, will be integrated in the practical program, individual research will be supported.
The connective tissue and essential framework for Integral Ecoawareness Training and Practice is the direct exposure to and experience of nature herself.
Thus, carefully chosen locations are fundamental and of primary concern.
refining the senses
alignment of body and mind
reconnecting to intuition
re-integrate an understanding for our participation in the processes of life
provide a fertile ground for new ways of perceiving, thinking and relating
developing a sustainable, meaningful lifestyle
ability to facilitate ease in systems
enable community-ability
empowering the individual to creatively engage in change
‘Life coevolves. There are no separated individuals. The coevolutionary process of life cannot support isolation. Even as we draw the boundary of self, we also are creating an environment for others to participate in. (…)
Once we observe the self-creation process from a coevolutionary perspective we see that we simultaneously mold our individual identity and create a contribution to a greater whole. (…)
If our self-expession is not meaningful to others, we will not survive.’
(M.J.Wheatley)