In this season, the sun hangs lower in the sky each day, stretching out the shadows of wind rustled branches and leaves on the ground. We move from the Falling Leaf Moon to the First Snow Moon. Feelings of nostalgia and a pull towards introspection are in the air. The time of Autumn is a curious mix of love, loss and remembrance. We have much to gratefully remember and much to mourn here in the Tracker community, not the least of which was the passing of Tom Brown Jr. on August 16th of this year. Tom was the Tracker School, the continuation of the lineage from Grandfather and on back into the mists of time. There were mighty few teachers like Tom in this day and age, and the loss of him has been keenly felt by all of us.
But Tom viewed death not as an ending - it was a graduation to a different state of being. He taught that there is no true death, only a change of form. He encouraged us to honor those who have passed by celebrating their transition and the gifts they brought to the world, rather than being stuck in mourning.
Tom and Grandfather also thought of death as a tool - "You will find it in the top five things that Grandfather taught, and through the years, Grandfather taught us this philosophy of death. We lost our fear of death, dying, and we began to use it as a tool. So, we tried to follow what grandfather said, "It is good to die often", because that is a cleansing, that is a purification." - (TBJ, Sept. 2008)
So, this class will explore these thoughts, and the ideas of moving beyond the fear of death, what it is to effectively mourn, and adapting to grief - using the awareness of mortality as motivation to live authentically and empower our true visions. The tools suggested by Tom will be examined, some exercises re-visited, and stories will be told of not only Tom but our own use of his teachings to move beyond grief and mourning.
For this class we'll be joined by River Brown, Charlie Blackwell, Meredith Blackwell, Jorge Brana, Matt & Carmen Corradino, Kyle Keller, Nancy Klein, Elizabeth Moes, Dave Ott, Seth Perelman, Randy Walker, Peter Bergen, Dawn Roh and Jon Young. A few other special guests are planned as well.
Open to all Tracker Family folks.
