AT NAKA-IMA WE FOCUS ON:
* The practice of deep honesty with ourselves and others.
* Learning how to recognize attachments.
* Letting go of attachments.
* Living our lives from our vision and intention.
The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, Sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
- Derek Walcott
When an inner-situation is not made conscious, it appears as fate.
- Carl Jung
Who Does Naka-Ima?
YOU HAVE A DESIRE to be fully alive, to be joyous, to be free. You intend to be aware, perceptive, intuitive, clear, empty. You are courageous in your efforts to discover who you are beyond the apparent, aware of the possibilities which lay dormant within you. You recognize that being honest is the surest path to your own wholeness. It excites you to embark on this journey. You envision balancing creative individuality with group harmony; social consciousness with spiritual growth. You recognize the link between personal transformation and planetary evolution.
AT NAKA-IMA YOU BEGIN to perceive the ways you've been limiting yourself. You learn to recognize the attachments you've created which undermine your vision, your reality, your life. You develop the facility to let go of ideas and emotions which separate you from yourself and others. You face where you've been stuck, where you've been reluctant or unable to change. With this awareness you make choices and take actions that are aligned with your purest intentions.
DURING THE WEEKEND you establish a way of relating with others that encourages a mutual unfolding of your essential selves. You open to the possibility of love which is contained in a vessel of honesty and clarity; to truth which is tempered with an energy of caring and awareness toward others that is filled with delight in giving. You remember who you are without the protection that you began building so many years ago.
HOURS
Friday and Saturday 9am - 7pm, Sunday 8:30am - 2:30pm
MEALS
Organic, vegetarian breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday. Breakfast only on Sunday. Snacks, tea and water provided.
LODGING
No formal lodging space is provided. You are welcome to bring your sleeping bag/mat and share sleeping space with other workshop participants in the workshop space.
Reviews
"This was such a wonderful and profound weekend for me. I am excited to continue the honesty practice with myself and others."
- Colette M.
"We have already accomplished more [with Naka-Ima] than with hundreds of hours of therapy, dozens of parenting books and courses, and countless systems of our own devising. Thank you for giving us the best chance we have had at building a happy, nurturing, and loving family life."
- Michael R.
"Deborah's great depth and insight into people with discernment, not judgment, was truly masterful. I was very inspired by the skill and compassion embodied in Maria and Deborah."
- Lynn M.
"The gifts I have received from everyone, including myself, are wonderfully overwhelming! I feel so full, so ripe, so thankful, so open, and best of all so loving and lovable!"
- Jami W.
"I feel profoundly affected by the weekend—I took risks to trust in sharing myself and, while it got me in touch with emotional pain, I felt blessed by loving, accepting feedback."
- Jason R.
Teachers of Naka-Ima
DEBORAH RIVERBEND is one of the two original creators of the Naka-Ima workshops. She has been teaching Naka-Ima in Canada, New Mexico, California, and Oregon for over 12 years and has helped hundreds of people with this simple yet profound work.
"I am mastering the art of teaching, aligning others with spirit, creativity, vision and passion. I've discovered that by honestly interacting with myself and others all barriers disappear. My purpose is to create life, joy, social and political justice, aliveness, divinity."
- Deborah Riverbend
MARIA GUTIERREZ has been assistant teaching Naka-Ima courses with Deborah for over eight years. She first attended Naka-Ima as a student in 1998 at Lost Valley Educational Center with Larry Kaplowitz and Karin Sundberg. Two-years later she became the first Naka-Ima Teacher Intern at Lost Valley. Deborah offered to continue her training after Maria completed her BA in Sustainable Community and Group Process in 2001. Maria received her MA in Integral Counseling Psychology from CIIS in 2009. She now offers ongoing classes in the work of Naka-Ima and intensive self-exploration support to graduates of the courses.
Contacts and Registration
For information about upcoming workshops or to receive a registration packet, please contact:
Michelle Vesser
(707) 874-9609 :: michellev@saber.net
NEXT COURSE
March 5 - 7, 2010
Guerneville, CA
CONSCIOUS AWAKENING
Advanced Classes and Individual Counseling for Naka-Ima Graduates with Maria Owl Gutierrez
FEES
Naka-Ima is offered on a sliding scale from $315 to $615. A $100 deposit is required at the time of registration.
REFUNDS
If you need to cancel, keep in mind that there will be a $25 processing fee. No refunds are available less than two weeks before the workshop date.
COME ASSIST!
If you've already experienced Naka-Ima, you're welcome to come back as an assistant. Assisting is a way to deepen into the tools learned at Naka-Ima by experiencing the course over again, while being of service to the students. Assistants are required to attend a half-day Assistant’s Meeting on the Thursday before Naka-Ima begins.
