Kalaa Dhari, in collaboration with ReConectando invites you to be part of Interconnected Roots.
THE SPIRAL PATH: Awakening to Life in a Time of Unravelling
In a world where many are sensing the multi-crisis—the collapse of familiar structures, whether social, ecological, or spiritual—this gathering invites us on an ancient yet urgently needed journey: to remember our deep interconnection with the web of life. Through ritual, dialogue, embodied practices, and nature-based learning, we will traverse the Spiral of The Work That Reconnects, transforming our pain, rekindling our vitality, and reigniting our sense of purpose in service of a more life-affirming future. This is a journey of collective healing, in which participants will explore the transformative power of theatre and imagination
Please note, this event is not run or facilitated by Dharmalaya Institute.
We are happy to host Kalaa Dhari and ReConectando for this special retreat.
Overview
Programme Type: This is being run by Kalaa Dhari in collaboration with ReConectando.
Dates: 2nd October - 9th October
Facilitators: Héctor Aristizábal & Arundhati Samudra
Key themes of the course:
Coming from Gratitude: Remembering What Sustains Us
Honouring Our Pain for the World: Opening the Heart of Compassion
Seeing with New Eyes: Shifting into Inter-being
Going Forth: Cultivating the Courage to Act
“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth, is not that we are on the way to destroying the world — we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other”
Campus life and the experience of living in community
Most of our past long-term participants tell us that experience of being a part of the Dharmalaya community, living and working together, is one of the best parts of the experience for them.
We emphasize a culture of kindness and cooperation rather than selfishness and competition, and it’s great to live with kindred spirits in that kind of atmosphere.
Dharmalaya maintains an environment in which everyone is supported to learn and grow in this way, and this kind of learning truly changes lives for the better, because few lessons are more valuable than those that help us understand ourselves and others better and learn to relate with others more sensitively and skilfully.
So one thing to understand is that learning to be a healthy part of a healthy community is one of the most important aspects of all of our residential programmes — and of compassionate living more generally — so that kind of inner work and social evolution should be something that appeals to you strongly if you’re thinking of applying for this programme.
We’ll be spending a good bit of time talking about it and asking you to self-reflect, journal, and share with others about your experiences, which benefits everyone.
Facilitators
Primary Facilitator: Héctor Aristizábal
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Hector is a therapist, actor, director, and activist with over four decades of experience weaving together the arts, healing, and social justice. Exiled to the United States in 1989 after surviving torture by the Colombian military, he worked as a bilingual therapist with people affected by violence, HIV/AIDS, incarceration, forced migration, and systemic trauma.
In 2000, he founded ImaginAction, bringing participatory theater and ritual to more than 50 countries to address personal and collective wounds.In 2017, Héctor returned to Colombia to co-found Reconectando, a project that integrates deep ecology, social theater, and healing rituals in service of collective transformation. With a focus on reconciliation and memory, Re-Conectando accompanied the Colombian Truth Commission by creating Laboratorios de Verdad y Reconciliación en el Vientre de la Madre Tierra, working with ex-combatants, victims, and communities across the country. He also co-founded Dreaming Action, which supports cultural evolution in organizations and communities.
Héctor’s work has been recognized with awards such as the Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theater. His life story and philosophy are chronicled in his autobiographical book The Blessing Next to the Wound, co-written with Diane Lefer.
Co -facilitator: Arundhati Samudra
Arundhati is the Founder of and co-Director at Kalaa Dhari: The Art of the Inner Revolution.
She is a Psychotherapist with a focus on Multidimensional Trauma Healing, a Womb Medicine Woman with a focus on the Menstrual Spiral & a Theatre Facilitator with a focus on Theatre of the Oppressed.
The epiphany that ‘the answers to my questions are within me’ came to her in the midst of a burn out she experienced while labouring for social justice and empowerment amidst indigenous women in Central India. Amidst the intensities of the conflicts with-in & with-out, she began to listen to the whispers of her womb, the movements of her body and the songs of her heart to realise that the exemplar of her agency nestled deep within her body.
Consequently, she delved deeper into methods that began to support her journey back ‘home’. Today she offers & shares these methods that have helped her alchemize my pain into beauty with the world around her.
Application process
Please visit Kalaa Dhari’s website for further information about applying for this program.