The Way of the Heart - awakening your Loving Nature

‘There is only one question’, as the deeply respected poetess Mary Oliver says… ‘How to LOVE this world?’

‘The Way of the Heart - Awakening your Loving Nature’ is a seven-day program organized by Actions for Change from Romania. The program will bring together youth workers who are curious and hungry souls to discover and explorare the topic of LOVE, as a vital elixir, perhaps forgotten, certainty needed, in our world-making as youth workers. The alchemy of Love will be explored through Eco and Soul-centric development practices and Nonviolent Communication.

Having at the heart of this program this very question: ‘How to love this world?’, this will be a deeply immersive and transformational experience that will invite youth workers to enquire into the depths of their Loving Nature in order to guide and inspire youth to bravely step into the generosity of what it means to be fully human in this World and for this Earth.

LOVE through NATURE and SOUL

The human race desperately needs to remember the way of the heart. Our youth need a revolution of  remembering the gift of Love, that which connects us to the original life energy. It is dangerous for the World to live disconnected from the vital elixir of Love.

Love seems to be the astounding force of connection between our own heart and the heart of the world that seeks to create and procreate, to unite and combine images, stories, worlds. If we, as human and youth workers, allow Love to be present in every interaction, in the person that we are, we find the poetry of the world again as it appears to be the interconnectivity of everything on Earth. We find Love in the deep forests, on the surface of the lake, in the blossom of a rose, in the light of the sunset, as well as in the depth of our Souls.

Falling in love with a vision, with a landscape, with a poem, with a human actives the divine in youth. The Divine that is both filled with renewal and death, transformation. Love may be perceived as the energy for creating consciousness and is a vital resource for wholeness and Soul.

Love is a conversation between the possible, the impossible and a profoundly imagined sense of belonging and fulfillment. How we, as youth workers, shape that conversation is the heart-felt artistry of our ability to love and fully inhabit our world.

LOVE through NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION

In the realm of Nonviolent Communication, love emanates as a radiant light, illuminating the depths of human connection. This sacred fire ignites the spirit of empathy and melts away the veils of separation, revealing the profound unity that lies beneath.

As we venture into this mystical landscape, love reveals itself as a portal to the ethereal space of true understanding and deep listening. It invites us to shed the armor of judgment and approach one another with gentle curiosity, creating an expansive sanctuary where the wings of compassion can unfurl.

Love whispers secrets of connection, teaching us the language of the heart, where needs and feelings intertwine in a dance of profound resonance.

‘The Way of the Heart’ that AIMS at cultivating and straightening the capacities of youth workers to offer transformational and purposeful learning opportunities for inclusion of  youth by using Nonviolent Communication in an Eco and Soulcentric Educational Context.

Methods and concepts of the course:

- Storytelling

- Poetry

- Collage

- Free and Authentic movement

- Solo and group nature wandering

- Eco-psychology experiential work

- Wisdom practices such as The Way of Council or The Art of Mirroring

- Personal practices for well-being

- Deep listening of and sacred speech

- Needs and Feelings of the language of the heart

The GUIDES of this program:

SANDRA HOREA: Sandra is a soul initiation guide courting and embodying Love and Death as necessary allies to the journey of transformation, supporting the remembrance of the sacred truth one is Here to make manifest. She is in love with the depth of the world’s mysteries, fiercely guiding humans to their most exquisite place of belonging, and inviting them to live a Soul-driven life in service of Earth. As a guide, she creates deep purposeful spaces of inner-discoveries incorporating in her work her experience regarding depth psychology and soul-based practices, eco-centric development, embodiment, storytelling, poetry and deep imagination. She has a wide experience of 13 years in working with humans in facilitating spaces of personal transformation and cultural evolution. She graduated from the Wild Mind Program (focusing on eco-depth psychology of wholing and healing) at Bill Plotkin’s Animas Valley Institute in the USA. At the moment she is intensively studying Soul Initiation Guiding Apprenticeship and Initiation Program (SAIP) within the same organization, an in-depth study of soul-initiation practices and guiding skills.

ȘTEFANA FORGACIU: Ștefana has been a trainer of outdoor camps and programs for 10 years, guiding both adults and children towards discovering their inner resources and unique gifts. With her magical blend of playful exploration, experiential learning, and non-formal education, she's been opening the way for self-connection and personal growth. Since 2020, Ștefana has increasingly incorporated Nonviolent Communication into her work, joyfully facilitating a range of programs and activities in this field. Her aim is to foster gentleness and compassion in interpersonal relationships, allowing individuals to experience greater closeness, openness, and harmony in their interactions.