Wisdom Camp
Oppression, tyranny, abuse and injustice: We’re sick of these rogue ‘principalities and powers,’ and we’re not taking them lying down. People are mobilizing for organizing and activism at record highs, and we’re grateful.
But why does it sometimes feel like we can never do enough?
Do you ever feel burned-out?
Is there a higher, deeper, or more joyful way to pursue the healing of our world?
We think so, and we want to share what we’ve discovered with you.
Come center, refresh, and find your tribe at Wisdom Camp – a day-retreat starting the Thursday morning of the Wild Goose Festival.
Check In for pre-festival events will be available on Wednesday from 1 pm to 5 pm, and Thursday from 7am to 9 am.
In the exile of inhumanity, we’re discovering our kinship with all creation.
In the branching sorrow of seemingly endless conflict, we’re rooting in the eternal joy of the Divine.
Come discover the stories, tools, and practices that reconnect us to God, ourselves, each other, and our world.
Speakers and Storytellers
Drawing from the deepest reservoirs of Jesus-informed spirituality alongside receptive hearts to other vital wisdom lineages, Wisdom Camp equips us to take up these resources together, fearlessly and lovingly facing the present moment, in all its beauty and pain alike.
Mike Morrell is the Communications Director for the Integral Theology think-tank Presence International, co-founder of The Buzz Seminar, and a founding organizer of the Wild Goose Festival. Mike curates contemplative and community experiences via Relational Yoga, the ManKind Project, (H) Opp and Authentic North Carolina, taking joy in holding space for the extraordinary transformation that can take place at the intersection of anticipation, imagination, and radical acceptance. Mike is also an avid writer, publishing consultant, author coach, futurist, and curator of the book-reviewing community at TheSpeakeasy.info. He lives with his wife and two daughters in North Carolina. You can read Mike’s ongoing exploration of Spirit, Culture, and Permaculture – and receive his free exclusive updates – at MikeMorrell.org.
Lerita Coleman Brown, PhD, Professor of Psychology Emerita at Agnes Scott College, is a spiritual companion/director, writer, retreat leader, and speaker. A graduate of the Spiritual Guidance Program at the Shalem Institute, Lerita writes about and promotes contemplative spirituality in everyday life, the life and work of Howard Thurman, and uncovering the peace in one’s heart on her website PeaceForHearts.com, and also on Facebook.com and Twitter. Her publications include, “Praying without Ceasing: Basking in the Loving Presence of God,” published in the edited book, Embodied Spirits: Spiritual Directors of Color Tell their Stories, and “Dissecting Racism: Healing Minds, Cultivating Spirits,” published in the edited volume, Living into God’s Dream: Dismantling Racism in America.
Carl McColman is the author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism and several other books. He is a member of the Lay Cistercians of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit―a contemplative community under the spiritual guidance of Trappist monks. He is active in the Atlanta interfaith community, and regularly leads workshops and retreats on contemplative spirituality at churches, seminaries, monasteries, and retreat centers. Connect with Carl online at www.carlmccolman.net.
Lama Rod Owens, officially recognized by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, is one of the leading teachers of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He is the Guiding Teacher for the Radical Dharma Boston Sangha and teaches with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education and Natural Dharma Fellowship. He will be completing a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School in May where he has been focusing on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He is also heavily engaged in social change work and has just released a book with Rev. angel Kyodo Williams and Dr. Jasmine Syedullah entitled, Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. He can be reached through his website www.lamarod.com.
Aline Defiglia LCSW, MPH, CADC is an integrative, licensed psychotherapist adventuring at the intersection of health, healing, and the restoration of connection in a disconnected world. Aline currently serves as a behavioral health provider at a primary care clinic through the National Health Service Corps. She also owns a private practice and works with clients using a unique blend of mind and body healing modalities, life coaching, and team performance improvement. She lives with her husband in Chicago. Discover more at ABWellness.life.
George Craig McMillian {Kirantana} began his formal spiritual research with the Catholic Brothers of the Holy Cross of Notre Dame. He had already mastered two styles of Kundalini yoga in over 20 years of practice in ashram and monastic life before meeting Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who taught and initiated him into the Kalachakra Tantra. After having received a vision of the Universal Christ, he gave up all titles and compiled the knowledge of his three decades of spiritual search into the “Peace Yoga” classes and seminars. Today he is a musician, licensed Naturopathic Medical Doctor, and teacher of peace studies.
Lynyetta Willis, PhD, has woven spirituality into her healing work with individuals and families for over fifteen years; she specializes in spiritually-centered psychotherapy, trauma healing, and is the creator of the Inner Pathways Parenting program. As a speaker, teacher and multi-award winning author, Lynetta’s latest is a children’s book, My Forgotten Self: A Story About a Girl, a Powerful Encounter, and a Universal Message. She lives with her husband and their two children in Georgia. Learn more at MyForgottenSelf.com and MyInnerPathways.com.
David Bollt has cultivated a remarkable capacity to help people map their inner landscapes through years of spiritual inquiry, meditation, personal transformation and relational training He has an uncanny ability to illuminate unconscious behavior patterns that cause people to feel disconnected from themselves.
Wisdom Camp Topics
Carl McColman
Embodied Liberation: Contemplation, Chaos, Crisis and Compassion
Are practices like mindfulness meditation or centering prayer simply the way privileged people manage their stress? Or do these “interior” disciplines invite us into a new way of seeing and being Christ in the world? By weaving together theological reflection, conversation, and silence, Carl McColman looks at how contemplative practices can be abused by our consumer culture — but also how they invite us into a transfigured life of radical service, joy, and care. “Silence is praise!” proclaims the oft-mistranslated first verse of Psalm 65: but it’s not only praise, it’s also a vocation: to a deeper way of knowing, a new way of seeing, and a compassionate way of working for justice and peace.
George Craig McMillian
The Tantra of Jesus Christ
Drawing from his experience as a devotee of Jesus, a Kalachakra Monk, and a Kundalini Laya Yoga teacher, Kirantana Khalsa – aka George Craig McMillian – looks at how Jesus rested in the trust, voice, and guidance of Spirit – and how you can do the same, practically and everyday, with confidence that you can act appropriately and wisely as the challenges of each moment unfold.
David Bollt & Aline Defiglia
Practicing the Presence of People
What is possible when we have permission to trust our own deep wisdom? We often outsource our wisdom to preachers and gurus, forgetting that some of the most profound spiritual insight can arise out of spontaneous interaction between people. If God is truly everywhere – and here within us – then a divine connection should be available, simply by looking beneath the surface with whoever we are with, at any given time. Join co-facilitators Aline and David for a deep, experiential dive into exploring the possibilities of connection. Our aim is to give you tools, perspectives and understanding to help you deepen and clarify all of your relationships … with life, yourself, others, and with God.
Mike Morrell
Evolving Wild: Wisdom Interventions for a Primal Future
What do hunter-gatherers, developmental psychology, and forgotten Bible stories have in common? A surprising common revelation about the trauma of our origins – and the way through them. In this far-ranging exploration, we’ll look at the recurring mysteries of who we are as a species, how we wound up in a cul-de-sac of disconnection from Spirit, self, society, and our surroundings – and how we can consciously choose re-connection. It isn’t too late, and the wisdom we need is hiding in plain sight.