2009 Summer Course

Experiencing Wholeness in Nature
June 21 to June 27

While we may “know” that organisms are integrated wholes, can we actually experience that wholeness? Can we learn to see the unity of the organism that is reflected through its diverse parts and through its growth dynamics? Such are the questions we want to pursue in this course. At the same time we will explore how our thinking can become more dynamic and integrated so that we perceive more deeply and vibrantly the wholeness in the rest of nature. As Henri Bortoft writes, “The complete phenomenon is visible only when there is a coalescence of sensory outsight with intuitive insight.” This work can help us transform our fragmented and disjointed ways of thinking that are so destructive in the world.

Morning seminars:

• Exercises in imaginative, holistic thinking through projective geometry. (Henrike Holdrege)
• Plant study: learning to discover how the whole reveals itself through the parts; practice in what Goethe called “exact sensorial imagination” to deepen our perception and understanding. (Craig Holdrege)

Afternoon activities:

• Project work in small groups: plant observation and wholeness.
• Drawing: deepening our experience in observation. (Nathaniel Williams)
• Each day will end with a review and open forum.

Daily schedule:
Morning seminars from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Afternoon activities from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The course begins on Sunday evening, June 21, at 7:00 p.m. and ends on Saturday, June 27, at 12:30 p.m.

Course Staff:
Craig Holdrege is a biologist, educator, and the director of The Nature Institute.

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