Our next show is White Passages V Inner Journey, the paintings of Chiyomi Longo. The show is curated by Fariba Bogzaran, and co-sponsored by the Lucid Art Foundation.

In the White Passage series, Chiyomi Longo captures the mystery of inner and outer light, moving through layers and depths of various dimensions of spirit and her personal journey. Each canvas is a detail of a larger event, tracing and weaving the earth elements with archetypal markings of the inner world.

Exhibition: October 1 - December 30, 2009
Opening Reception: Sunday, October 11, 3-5 PM

Wine License

The Retreat Center has received a license to sell wine following a long application process. Soon we will be offering delicious local wines, mostly organic and biodynamic in our emerging gift shop for purchase.

Gift Shop

We are developing a gift shop in a space near the reception area. It has been given new ceiling tiles and a fresh coat of paint in preparation for merchandise. Wines (as mentioned above), sundries for retreat guests, books and cds and gifts will be offered as we gradually get our gift shop up and running with our small staff.

Forestry Plan Funded

We have received a $4000 grant to create a comprehensive CFIP Forest Management Plan for our campus. This CFIP-funded plan, which includes a forest inventory, monitoring and pre-fire planning, a hazard tree evaluation around the building on the property, and erosion control recommendations for roads and hiking trails, will allow us to qualify for future CFIP funding and implementation. The plan is scheduled for completion by late December, 2009. We have contracted with Edward A. Tunheim and Matt Greene, Consulting Foresters, to do this work.

Monthly Dinner Series, from 5:30-8:00 pm on campus here in Petaluma for dinner, with guest speakers. ($35, please register in advance and pay at the door.)

Wednesday, October 28: "Poetry as a Spiritual Practice" with Robert McDowell

Poetry, the root language of spirituality, calls us to explore and deepen the transformative journeys we are all on. Now, more than ever, we need to wake up to poetry as the pure sound and shape of the spirit. Join us to discover how poetry enhances your personal relationships, improves your performance at work, and soothes your heart through storytelling and laughter. Register now.

Robert McDowell, IONS’ own Development Director for Earthrise Retreat Center and Land Management is also the author of the bestselling Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions (Free Press/Simon & Schuster) and 9 other books. Formerly an editor, professor, and farmer, Robert leads retreats and workshops, and mentors organizations and individuals in journaling and poetry (www.robertmcdowell.net).

Wednesday, November 11: "The Lost Symbol" with Julia Bondi

Author/Astrologer Julia Bondi of Ashland, Oregon will present a fascinating interpretive talk on the symbols and ancient mythologies that Dan Brown mined and features in his runaway bestseller, The Lost Symbol. Join us and find out what Brown is really getting at in his blockbuster! Register now.

Julia Bondi began her study of Astrology and Metaphysics in 1973. Julia has been an accomplished counseling astrologer, intuitive, teacher and writer for more than 30 years. With degrees in clinical psychology and esoteric philosophy Julia brings insight, clarity and caring to her work.

Transformative Learning Workshops

October 9-11 - Extraordinary Dreams: Working Creatively with Dreams in Your Life Practice with Fariba Bogzaran, PhD and guest Patricia Garfield, PhD
October 24-25 - Circle of Stones: An Autumn Retreat for Women with Judith Duerk, MS
October 30-November 1 - Integrating with Your Shadow—Connecting with Your Guide with Ralph Metzner, PhD
November 20-21 - Clear Mind Wild Heart: Finding Courage and Clarity through Poetry with David Whyte

Thank You

The Sufficiency Foundation of Pennsylvania, which believes that scarcity is a myth and negative thinking, recently awarded the Retreat Center a gift of $1,400.00 in unrestricted funds, in part as recognition of our work this past summer with Oakland's Art in Action, a youth leadership program. We are grateful for their generous support and recognition.

Opportunities

• Hot Tub and Yoga Deck.
  Help us make the dream come true!
  
• New Classroom and Community Building.
  Contact Robert McDowell, Director of Development rmcdowell@noetic.org, 707-779-8215.

Donate now.

You can support and help enhance the Retreat Center by gifting us with some of our specific needs around the campus by visiting our Amazon.com "wish" list (click here). In small but significant ways, your help will support the blessed land and some of the animals that inhabit it, and support people in their quest to learn more about the world and themselves during their stay at the retreat center. This is just a beginning launch of an ongoing wish list. We welcome your gift and invite you to make other suggestions. Your gift will be acknowledged in our next newsletter.

For the past two years, Earthrise Retreat Center at IONS has hosted the Nine Gates Youth Mystery School. Folloiwng is a testimonial from one of the graduates, David Byrd:

My Transformation

When I went to the Youth Mystery School in June of 2008, I was a broken soul. I had just come out of the hardest and most painful time of my life. I had lost nearly everything I held dear, my girlfriend had been assaulted and broken up with me, my martial arts practice had gone down the drain, my grades were at a record low, and I had gotten out of the hospital for a suicide attempt just a month earlier. I had all but given up on life or any good that could happen in it. I figured that if life had given me so much pain and suffering, it wasn’t worth it to continue anymore. There was no way there was enough good to come, to make up for the bad I had already experienced. I had lost the will to live. Read more...

A big Thank You to our Retreat Center clients in September!

David Spero
Global Citizen Year
Jean Houston’s Mystery School
New Equations
RSF (Rudolf Steiner Foundation) Social Finance
Stress Free Schools
Wise Earth—Mother Maya

Annual Client Appreciation Dinner is Thursday, December 3.

We host retreats, workshops and client events on an ongoing basis throughout the year at the Retreat Center. Please click here to see our detailed events schedule.

Meet Our New Lead Chef Trecey Chittenden
By Cathy Coleman

The Earthrise Kitchen at IONS is now led by Trecey (birth name Betty) Chittenden. Trecey grew up in New Hampshire with parents who valued alternative living. They had only a wood-burning cook stove (no gas or electric stove). Starting fires to cook food was part of her childhood; as one of seven children she learned to cook at an early age. She had many friends whose parents were macrobiotic or vegan or vegetarian and she remembers many amazing meals at their homes. She was inspired to bring some of the delicious food she experienced at their homes into her own home. She attended a Waldorf High School and had to work each third period in the kitchen to help pay her tuition. She baked lots of bread and became the assistant chef in her high school.

Food became a central theme again when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She had to re-align herself around eating balanced meals. She then attended the Culinary Academy and worked in numerous restaurants. Another experience was cooking for several parent/youth camps in Utah. She was charged with cooking the best local, organic food for these groups.

Trecey was brought to the Earthrise Kitchen by our former Executive Chef Shannon Hughes. Cooking at IONS wraps up many of Trecey’s life experiences and talents (tarot, massage, baking, cooking, and spiritual care giving) into a magical package. Remarking that she "loves the vibe of the land," Trecey says that when she gets here for each work day she knows it is the "right place to be." She finds the kitchen crew to be "an amazing group of people, who have a really good time when they get together and cook."

Trecey brings her gift of leadership into taking care of all aspects of kitchen management so that her crew can not only have a joyful time preparing food for Retreat Center guests, but also run like a well-oiled machine. She values spontaneity and joy and brings an intention to create food that tastes good and looks beautiful.

A good time was had by all attending the Benefit Art and Wine Auction on Sunday, September 13. The Earthrise Kitchen prepared five fabulous appetizers that were paired with five different donated wines:

• Benziger 2008 Signaterra Casey's Block Savignon Blanc (Demeter certified bidynamic)
• Benziger 2005 Oonapais (Bordeaux blend) (Demeter certified bidynamic)
• Grgich 2006 Napa Valley chardonnay (their first certified biodynamic chardonnay)
• Chateau Veronique Red from Organic Wine Company
• Wellington 2008 Zinfandel

Art (the art of the exhibit of Sam Hoffman's Hubble Space photos and Sondra Barrett's molecules from the microscope), books, jewelry, workshops, and many other items were purchased by guests through the silent auction. Ivo Jeramaz, grand nephew of Mike Grgich of the Grgich Hills Estate, was the keynote speaker. He shared his passion about wines, sustainability, and biodynamics. The tone of the evening was enhanced by local pianist, Aldo Garibaldi, whose witty improvisations of classic standards provided a festive backdrop for the event.

The Organic Wine Company is proud to partner with the Retreat Center at the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

Join the EcoWine Club now or try our introductory organic wine sampler pack. Click here for more information about the wine, the offer, and about The Organic Wine Company:

www.ecosalon.com/organic-red-wine

To try our wines and experience what responsible drinking of organically grown wine will do for you, visit www.theorganicwinecompany.com or go directly to our Earth Rise Sampler, or call us at 1-888-ECOWINE.