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Hidden Heart of the Cosmos (Study Group)

Facilitated by Stephan Martin
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Description

Description

Join a . . .

Hidden Heart of the Cosmos
(Study Group)

Facilitated by Stephan Martin

Six Zoom Meetings, choose between two groups:
Tuesdays: 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT:  May 12, 19, 26; June 2, 9, 16
Wednesdays: 1:00 – 2:30 PM EDT: May 13, 20, 27: June 3, 10, 17

$125; $95 Early Bird Price Till May 5
Premium Members receive 20% discount ($76 with Early Bird Discount)
Basic Members receive 10% discount ($86 with Early Bird Discount)

Note:  If money is stopping you, please get in touch with us by writing hello@dtnetwork.org about a Covid discount.

 

NEW!
This is the first time we’re offering two groups
to accommodate different time zones.

 

Online study groups are a remarkable way to learn, connect with others around the world, and nurture your soul while staying safe.  In Zoom meetings (1.5 hrs) participants from around the world connect and learn together from the safety of their homes.  Each meeting will start with a ritual or practice to orient participants to the cosmic story as a experienced reality to which we all belong.

The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos explores the intersection of cosmology and life on Earth by asking the question, “What does it mean to be human in an evolving universe?” Bringing together transformative insights from leading edge science and spirituality, Brian Swimme explores how a life-affirming and life-enhancing New Story of our cosmic origin and cosmic perspective can begin to replace our old dysfunctional cultural story of materialism and consumerism. It’s a beautifully written book, filled with insights into the cosmic nature of human life and includes some wonderful exercises for cultivating a connection with a living universe.

 

 

In this study group, we’ll explore and unpack some of the scientific insights that fill the book and also dive deep into their transformative implications for our daily lives and the opportunities they present for a “mutually enhancing human presence to the Earth community,” in the words of Thomas Berry. Each session will begin with an opening ritual, a short presentation of the science explored in each section of the book, followed by the opportunity to interact and discuss our own insights with others in the group. We’ll also take time to explore some of the rich exercises presented in the book together so that we each have an opportunity to experience ourselves, as Brian Swimme suggests, “as being a place where the universe seeks to deepen its intimacy with itself.”

No scientific background is needed or assumed and we’ll record the science presentation segment so that participants can review it at any time.

 

 

 

Who is this for?

  • Everyone who wants to delve deeply into the Universe Story and it’s implications for our future.
  • Teachers who want to frame their curriculum inside the Story of the Universe.
  • Montessori teachers in particular will be interested in how this work compliments the Cosmic Education curriculum.

 

Study Group Sessions

Session 1: Introductions, orientation to the course space
Introduction to the New Cosmology – why is a new story/cosmology important in our culture at this time? Chapter 1: The Way of Cosmology

Session 2: Orienting to the Solar System. Chapter 2: A Three-Hundred Thousand Year Lineage, and Chapter 3: The Whirling Solar System. Chapter 4: Cosmology and Ecstasy. Practice: Experiencing the whirling Earth

Session 3: Energy and the Sun and Locating ourselves in the Milky Way galaxy and our galactic neighborhood. Chapter 5: The Sun as the Center, Chapter 6: Looking Down on the Milky Way, Chapter 7: A Large-Scale View of Space and Time. Exercise: Experiencing Cosmic Allurement

Session 4: Discovering the origin of the universe. Chapter 8: The Story Came to Us, Chapter 9: Nighttime and Cosmic Rebirth, Chapter 10: The Place Where the Universe Began. Exercise: Contacting the Origin

Session 5: Omnicentrism and the expanding universe. Chapter 11: A Multiplicity of Centers, Chapter 12: Cosmic Desire, Chapter 13: Universe Guidance. Exercise: Activating Cosmic Guidance

Session 6: The quantum vacuum and generative aliveness, Chapter 14: The Origin, Chapter 15: All-Nourishing Abyss, Chapter 16: Einstein’s Awakening. Exercise: The Quantum Moon

 

 

Stephan Martin is an astronomer, educator, and author who has taught astronomy, physics, and consciousness studies at colleges, universities, and learning centers across the US for over twenty-five years. Between 2003-2008 he studied directly with Brian Swimme and others at the California Institute of Integral Studies, out of which came his first book Cosmic Conversations, in which he held dialogues with scientists, spiritual teachers, and cultural creatives on the nature of the universe and our role in it. Since then he has led workshops on the New Cosmology at seminars and retreat centers across the US and Europe and has been active in exploring multidisciplinary approaches to exploring the universe.

He is currently adjunct faculty in the Consciousness and Transformative Studies graduate program at John F Kennedy University where he teaches a course on “Cosmology and Consciousness.” Steve is also a co-director of the continuing care program at the Center for Spiritual Emergence in Asheville, NC where he assists clients in living more conscious lives from an expansive perspective.

Steve says, “The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos was a wonderful book in helping me transition from a more traditional scientific worldview to one which includes the way of cosmology as an approach to experiencing the universe directly.” He’s looking forward to sharing his passion, knowledge, and wonder for this amazing universe with everyone in this study group.

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Anthony Robert Zelle, Esq., Tony is an Earth lawyer. While serving as Chair and President of the Earth Law Center, following 30 years in private practice trying cases and arguing appeals, he served as lead editor and author of the only comprehensive book on the subject: Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law-A Guide for Practitioners. Developed for law school curricula, and now part of developing LLM programs internationally, the book has also become the primary reference source for practitioners.

The focus of Tony's current work is developing Earth law in practice and creating revenue-generating opportunities for Earth lawyers.

Learn more about Tony’s journey from a recent Boston College Law School Magazine profile.https://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2025/02/voice-for-the-earth/

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Maisie Paddon, Maisie is spearheading the advancement of Earth Law by integrating its principles into transformative policies and business strategies that resonate with Earth-centric practices and Nature's patterns. At the helm of Project 2040, she seeks to revolutionize financial systems, foster circular economies, and develop regenerative food systems. Her extensive experience in top-tier management consulting, with roles at Ernst & Young and Capgemini, showcases her ability to lead complex innovation programs and engage with C-suite leaders. With a solid foundation in Philosophy and Climate Science, Maisie is deeply committed to beneficial systemic change. She champions the inclusion of Nature's voice in discussions that tackle the multifaceted crises of today's modern world, while aligning her efforts with global frameworks like UN SDGs, ESG principles, and ISO standards. Her holistic and emotionally intelligent approach underscores her pursuit of sustainable and equitable solutions.

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Kerry Hudson, Hudson works as an activist and public interest lawyer with a focus on social justice, and an academic and employment history addressing heirs' property reform and protections of the Florida aquifer. He served as co-founder and manager for a medical practice that focused on Environmentally Acquired Diseases, and the effects of that most macro of human phenomenon—climate change, on the most granular, personal issues—individual health and the chronic and intractable maladies brought on by changing climate. He has served as Education Director for Rights of Nature and eco-centric education, creating informational content addressing topics such as environmental protections and property law, and the Public Trust Doctrine, and creating supplemental educational content for the law school textbook Earth Law: A Practitioner’s Guide. He holds an MFA in writing, has a publication history with both fiction and non-fiction, and has authored funded grants examining strategies to mitigate generational heirs' property abuses. He holds a J.D. with a focus on Environmental Justice, social equity, and restorative justice and has created informational and educational content addressing the intersection of environmental and legal issues such as the one-percenters' climate change preparations. Currently based in London, He works on a long-form manuscript addressing the importance of property law, social justice, and the climate change crisis.

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April Elizabeth Finlayson, April Elizabeth Finlayson is an “Edu-neer” dedicated to designing holistic and transformational learning experiences. She has a fervent commitment to reimagining education, promoting lifelong learning and creating uniquely curated, humanizing educational experiences for youth, and the young at heart. This has led to the development of nearly a dozen innovative schools and numerous educational programs in the K-12, after-school learning, adult development and Higher-Ed spaces.

April’s style of leadership and service is rooted in making space for learner voice, agency and empowerment. She believes that the best teaching and learning is reciprocal, interwoven and interchangeable. April asserts that “if a learner knows that they are seen, affirmed, “in-powered” and protected while learning, they will feel loved, and will henceforth thrive!”

April's students and graduates have gone on to international and national renown in philanthropy, entrepreneurship, professional athletics, entertainment, and being great, enjoyable people. April was cross culturally raised and educated between The Bahamas, the USA and Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree in International Development Studies, Political Science and Management from McGill University, and earned both her Master's Degree in Mind, Brain and Education and her Doctorate Degree in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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Tara A. Pierce, Tara holds degrees in painting, the humanities, a J.D., and an LL.M. in Oceans, Environment, & Sustainability. This transdisciplinary background enriched her legal studies and contributed to the successful publication of several papers on Earth Law and Restorative Ocean Farming. Her latest thesis synthesised her entire academic and hands-on experiences into an approach to transforming the law into a healing practice. Tara regularly guest lectures on Ocean & Coastal Law developments for various institutions in the United States and Europe.

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Cat Haas, Cat Haas is the Director of the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor (EJM), where she oversees the research and development of the world’s most comprehensive database of ecological jurisprudence initiatives globally. Since 2022, she has led efforts to document and analyze the global evolution of Earth-centered law, with a particular focus on the Rights of Nature movement, ecological law, and Indigenous ontologies. Cat holds an M.A. in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her research explored the influence of Indigenous cosmologies and pluriversal ontologies on the development and globalization of the Rights of Nature movement.
She also serves on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) Academic Hub, an interdisciplinary network of scholars specializing in ecological law and governance.
With a background in environmental education, Cat is passionate about fostering awareness and advocacy for sustainable, equitable legal frameworks that address the climate crisis and center ecological well-being

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Ava Roche, Ava is currently a pre-law focused senior at Columbia University studying Political Ecology, conducting her senior thesis on the socio-political effects of deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands. She is attending Columbia University’s Climate School next fall, and aspires to be an earth lawyer, with experience as the student director of the Earth Law Centers, “Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law- a Guide for Practitioners” course last summer. She is an avid scuba diver who is passionate about protecting earths vital oceanic ecosystems, and is interning at Columbia Law Schools, "Sabin Center for Climate Change Law” this coming summer under Michael Gerrard. Above all, she can’t wait to TA with Earth Law Practice and work in such an impactful environment.

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Joseph O’Brien, Joseph recently graduated from Brown University with a concentration in environmental studies. At Brown, he organized an experimental climate negotiation simulation featuring non-human, non-state, and state actors. With a background in regenerative agriculture, political theory, and contemplative education, he is excited to support this year's cohort jump into the chaotic, beautiful, and generative world of Earth Law.

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Janet Marley is completing an MA in Ecopsychology at Naropa University. She is currently researching styles of governance in traditional indigenous societies of Turtle Island and how such wisdom ways can positively influence modern ecocentric regenerative residential communities and bioregional initiatives. She has a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University. Janet is a community organizer with an abiding interest in designing and co-creating intentional living and learning centers that model and teach connection, communication, and reciprocity with the natural world. Her gifts and roles include Teacher, Naturalist, Healer, Event Producer, and Facilitator of ceremony, council, rites of passage, vision quests, ecotherapy, and trauma integration work. She is a Montessori-trained educator and mom of two young children. She currently serves as a board member for The Circle for Change Initiative and is the Director of Programming and Events at the Manitoulin Eco Park, an indigenous-led nature connection facility in Ontario, Canada.

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