HIGH DESERT ODYSSEY

Renew Yourself through Wild Nature Initiation

REstore trust and remember your worthiness
Cross the THRESHOLD into Mystery

September 13-20, 2024

with Scott Kloos and Samantha Tanis
Limited to 12 participants

Registration opens March 18th

Stepping out of consensus reality for these periods of time and connecting with plants or other ecological allies can really help us recalibrate and remember who we really are and what we are here to do. Because these trips are initiatory in nature, they provide excellent opportunities to help guide us through major life transitions and in changing career paths, reconfiguring relationships, breaking through stagnant stretches, and/or stepping into and aligning with new aspects of our interrelated selves.

“My time in the desert with the School of Forest Medicine’s plant teacher immersion trip was honestly one of the major turning points of my life this far. I experienced such deep healing and learned of a new way of being from the plants and the simplicity of life I was able to experience for the first time. Almost 2 years after that trip, the lessons that came to me there are continuing to unfold and guide my life on an almost daily basis, and I can say that since that time, my life was set on an entirely new course.”
— Yaeli
 

weaving ourselves back into the Earth community

On this trip, we call upon our bioregional botanical allies, each a living embodiment of ecological intelligence and archetypal wisdom, to help guide us as we navigate our way through life in a culture that has forgotten its ties to the land and other-than-human intelligence.

We explore and experience new ways of being and thinking rooted in and specific to who we are as people living in this place at this time in history. Through plant-based ceremonies, song, communion, and prayer we weave ourselves back into the Earth community as we restore our awareness of and presence within the myriad connections that make life possible.

On this trip we may also find greater understanding of questions such as:

  • Who am I, and how can I best serve my family, friends, and the community of life?

  • How can I be more present in all of my relationships?

  • Who are the allies that can help me stay calm, grounded, and aligned in these times of great transformation?

  • How can I break free of the cultural conditioning and unconscious biases that maintain separation and contribute to exclusionary ways of being?

  • How do I navigate the dissolution of this out-of-alignment society and economic system as I participate in the already emergent ones?

“The plant teacher immersions provided me with opportunities to listen...to nature and to self. A new intimacy with nature brought deeper connection to the natural world. New curiosities and questioning revealed unexplored ways of thinking and created positive change.”
— Doug


What to Expect

The High Desert Odyssey is not just for “plant people” but for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of life here on Earth. On this trip we:

  • participate in embodied experiences of essential interconnectedness that broaden our capacities of perception.

  • remember and awaken to ways of being that respect and honor the dignity of all beings.

  • let go of old stories, remember who we are, and find a deeper gratitude for life.

  • find real and deep community with others who share our passion for the wild.

  • receive gifts to share with our community as we work to build the foundations of a renewed, intact culture.

  • prepare the ground for generative and life-affirming human interactions as we navigate our current planetary crises.

Trip Details

  • You will need to arrive in the evening of the day before the trip starts to set up camp.

  • To prepare each of us for this initiatory journey and to enhance our ability to go even deeper as a group, we will connect with each other and with the plants with which we will be working via a series of online Zoom meetings. This will allow us to enter the journey familiar with each other, the plants, and with the initiatory processes that will unfold.

  • We will do our best to facilitate carpooling and arrange rides for those coming from outside of the Pacific Northwest bioregion.

Caveats

Please be aware that we are not seeking comfort. We will be actively working to get ourselves out of our comfort zones to help open ourselves up for healing and learning.

We will engage in deep ceremony and sometimes intense sharing circles. Before signing up be sure that you are comfortable with this type of work.

There also will be no dogs, alcohol, cannabis, or guests allowed, and you will be asked to sign both a liability waiver and a wildcrafting agreement.

REGISTRATION, Payment, and REFUNDS

  • To register, add the trip to your cart. If you'd like to pay by check, Venmo, or via payment plan, please email us via our Contact Page specifying your preferred payment method.

  • As we approach the trip's start date, we will send directions and detailed information on what to bring and how to prepare for the trip.

  • If for some reason you cannot make a trip after submitting your payment, we will issue a refund only if we are able to find someone else to take your spot. No refunds will be issued within 2 weeks of the departure date.

Initiation is a living force that guides our integration within the ecosystems of knowledge that sustain us on all levels, but in our culture we have little understanding of the process of initiation. Without the renewal of real and true initiatory practices we will remain in an adolescent stage of development as a species and continue to relate to the world in unhealthy, distorted ways.

Traditional cultures, integrated with the land, recognize that to be healthy, we as humans must also allow ourselves to be guided by ecological intelligence. Rituals of initiation ensure that we are tuned into and can understand the ways these forces make us who we are in relation to the lands and ecosystems in which we live.