Wild Serenity Practices

Wild Serenity is a name that has evolved over the years to describe the workshops that Camille and I teach. It's evocative and descriptive, and points to the interplay of opposites that powers and magnetizes the teachings: passion and peace, wildness and serenity, individuality and universality.

When people sit down to meditate or tune in to body and soul, one of the first things they become aware of are the wild impulses. The desire to break free, run wild, jump up and go do something fun, wiggle, dance, have sex, throw off obligations, escape, become uncaged. Wild is not bad. Wild is nature. Restless impulses are not an obstacle to be blocked out; they are a gift of energy and intelligence from life. One of the most important decisions you will ever make with regard to your spiritual practice is whether to embrace your inner nature or make war on it. In Wild Serenity, we welcome our passionate impulses and ride their electricity inward to bathe in the vibrating essence of life and liveliness.

Hmmm. . . I was just looking at Esalen's writeup of our Wild Serenity workshop, and it is pretty interesting:

Wild Serenity is a radically liberating, deeply revitalizing week of meditation, movement, and energy practices. The workshop explores the interplay between meditation and expression—the way that contact with the soul inspires dynamic engagement with the outer world, which in turn contributes to a rich inner life.

Meditation can be defined as paying attention to the current of life and love flowing through us and riding it inward to our essence. This is an instinctive ability, a way of accessing inner wisdom, and we all can do it. The course alternates sitting and moving meditations that awaken the senses, soften the heart, and stretch the muscles of the mind. Through body awareness, sound, and breath, you gently and gradually let more life force stream through you.

In this approach, you learn to embrace the fullness of your nature—vastness and vulnerability, sensuality and surging power. You will discover that what might seem like obstacles—raw emotions, restlessness, desire—are actually gateways into vitality, renewal, and creativity.

Living and loving fully takes courage and all the inner resources one can muster. Drawing on three decades of teaching and 23 years of relationship, authors Maurine and Roche share their experience with humor and compassion. If you've given up on meditation, or are ready to take your practice to a new level; if you want to tap into more joy and inspiration; if you long for more intimacy with yourself and others, then perhaps it's time for Wild Serenity.