One River Wisdom School honors the human religious impulse without promoting any specific religion in particular. We offer a safe haven for spiritual exploration, both intellectual and contemplative; a place where doubt is welcome and questioning is encouraged; where friendships are forged through shared inquiry rather than shared answers; and where community is rooted in study, conversation, personal growth, and spiritual practice. One River Wisdom School is a practice–based program, and our goal is to provide you with five foundational disciplines upon which to build your own spiritual practice. We base our approach to practice on the five dimensions of human experience: body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit. The five practices we teach follow this model: Walking (body), Compassion (heart), Passage Meditation and Text Study (mind), Mindfulness (soul), & Inquiry (spirit). “Humanity stands at a crossroads between horror and hope. In choosing hope, we must seed a new consciousness, a radically fresh approach to life drawing its inspiration from perennial spiritual and moral insights, intuition and experience. We call this new awareness Interspiritual, implying not the homogenization of religion, but the recovering of the shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.” (Wayne Teasdale, Mystic Heart) “I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation. Not mediation, negotiation, problem–solving, debate, or public meetings. Simple, truthful conversation Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Ph.D. is an award–winning writer, professor of world religion, and retreat leader. Author of over thirty books on religion and spirituality, Rami’s also writes the Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler column for Spirituality & Health Magazine. One River Wisdom School draws from his training in and experiences with Zen Buddhism, Vedanta Hinduism, Sufism, Centering Prayer, and Kabbalistic Judaism where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we each listen well.” (Margaret J. Wheatley, Turning to One Another) 2441-Q Old Fort Parkway # 412 Murfreesboro, TN 37212 615.653.5041 www.oneriverwisdomschool.com We live in a global village where, for the first time in history, the wisdom of all humanity is available to all humanity. For some this is frightening and requires an ever–tighter circling of the wagons. But for a growing minority this is exhilarating, calling us to cultivate the fullness of human spirituality and realize the promise of what it is to be human in the 21st century. Widening the circle and cultivating this promise is the mission of the One River Wisdom School. (Rabbi Rami) “ Balancing the Body Contemplative walking is more than putting one foot in front of the other; it is putting your entire being into each step as if there is no other. We practice walking outdoors, indoors, and, if possible, with a labyrinth. One River Wisdom School is a retreat–based program for three reasons: 1) taking refuge in nature restores our connection with and compassion for all life; 2) learning, eating, talking, and practicing together restores our faith in humanity; and 3) living the spiritual life we want (even briefly) helps us transform the lives we live. A retreat is a safe place in which to re–imagine our lives, reconnect with our highest values, and awaken to the Greater Reality in which we live, and move, and have our being. One River Wisdom School retreats blend practice, study, dialogue, and silence. In addition to our formal learning sessions, time is provided for individual contemplation and communal exploration. Each evening ends with the Great Silence, a period of silent reflection that extends through breakfast. “Spirituaity is a verb rather than a noun: something we do rather than something we talk about.” (Rabbi Rami) Preparing for the Retreat The only things you need to bring to a One River Wisdom School are an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to see what is so regardless of doctrine, dogma, and personal preference. Yet many attendees find that reading the books from which much of what we do at a Wisdom School is drawn can help with prepare them for the experience of the retreat. The practices and teachings of One River Wisdom School are drawn from many of Rami’s books, but four in particular stand out in this context: Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent, The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness, Recovery, and Writing: Beyond the Page. You can order these books from the publisher, SkyLight Paths, or from amazon.com/. Freeing the Heart. Cultivating compassion is essential to spiritual as well as psychological well–being. Adapting Buddhist metta practice we will engage with ourselves and others in ways that free us to live kindly, justly, and courageously. Opening the Mind. We are what we think. Passage meditation and text study help us think wisely and well. Drawing on texts from the Perennial Wisdom of the world’s religions we plant seeds of truth in our minds in order to cultivate lives of compassion, justice, and peace. Awakening the Soul, Awakening as Spirit. We are like Matryoshka dolls with lesser levels of consciousness embraced by larger levels of consciousness, and our entire and entirely unique self (or Soul) embraced by the singular Self (or Spirit) of the Absolute. Mindfulness meditation and Self–Inquiry awaken us to this Greater Reality.