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Solstice Celebration 2020

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Description

Description

This is the solstice, the still point of the Sun . . .
where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.

— Margaret Atwood

 

Celebrate the BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE . . .

Solstice Celebration 2020


 

 

with Jennifer Morgan, Sarbmeet Kanwal, Margie Abbott, and Sally Neaves

Free!  All are welcome!

 

These celebrations happened on:

Sat. Dec. 19  (to listen to the audio, click here!)

and Mon. Dec. 21  (to listen to the audio, click here!)

 


A time of ritual . . . .

From time immemorial, humans have honored the winter and summer solstices, as sacred and rich times, to align our personal and collective lives with the movement of celestial bodies.  Some of us are heading into the darkness of winter while others are headed into summer and longer days.  Wherever you are, the solstice is a planetary event.

You’re invited to celebrate this time of “turning” with other deeptimers.

As we align with the movement of celestial bodies, the solstice can also be a time to celebrate the birth of the universe and the miracle of existence itself.  As part of our celebration, physicist Sarbmeet Kanwal will give us a short 15-minute presentation on how the universe emerged out of a primordial quantum field by breaking symmetry and creating “seeds” out of which stars and galaxies would later form.

He will also explore an uncanny parallel with seasonal solstices that resulted from a broken rotational symmetry that caused Earth’s axis to become tilted. The resulting cycle of seasonal renewal opened the way for the evolution of greater complexity. Life happens not because of perfection, but because of a breakdown that allows for reassembly into new relationships (communion) only to be broken again. It is the beautiful cycle of differentiation, subjectivity and communion that Thomas Berry talks about.  What a beautiful and instructive learning from the universe itself that can guide us in these times!

 

 


Bring your favorite libation, relax, and we’ll:

    • Have a 15-minute presentation about the birth of the universe through disruption
    • Have a polarities ritual
    • Listen to music
    • Dance
    • Be inspired
    • Connect with others across the globe
    • Share announcements with others!

What’s a solstice?

A solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the equator. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21.

The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this event occurs. The day of a solstice in both hemispheres has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice) for any place other than the Equator, where the days and nights are equal in length all through the year.

The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”), because at the solstices, the Sun appears to “stand still”; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.

Winter/Summer Solstice 2020 — December 21, 10:03 (Universal Time)


Jennifer Morgan, president and founder of the Deeptime Network, is an award-winning author, storyteller, and educator inspired by the work of Teilhard de Chardin, Maria Montessori, Thomas Berry, and Brian Swimme. Her Universe Story Trilogy — Born With a Bang, From Lava to Life, and Mammals Who Morph — are used in classrooms around the world, particularly in Montessori schools as part of the Cosmic Education Curriculum, and have received the Teachers Choice Award, Nautilus Semi Finalist, highest ratings from AAAS and endorsements from Jane Goodall, Neil de Grasse Tyson, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme and others.  She is Vice President of the American Teilhard Association.  Her life inspiration is to foster emergence by helping to link a planetary nervous system of people immersed in this radical new understanding.

Sarbmeet Kanwal is an award-winning college level educator and a pioneer in novel ways of teaching quantum physics and astronomy. He holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the California Institute of Technology. His aptitude for explaining, in everyday language, intricate concepts in cosmology has made him a sought after speaker among both scientific and non-scientific communities. Last year he was selected from hundreds of applicants to make a speech titled “Chaos to Cosmos” at the highest rated TEDx event on the East coast. Sarbmeet is a long time board member of the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought where he helped initiate several interfaith projects including the cofounding of an award winning youth leadership program called MOSAIC. Strongly influenced by the writings of Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry, he is the founder and leader of a popular study circle centered on the New Creation Story.

Margie Abbott, RSM is based in Geelong, Australia. With experiences in education, spirituality, theology, and counselling, as well as psychodrama, Margie values highly inner independence and capacity development. She integrates action methods, myth, creation centred spirituality and ritual to enhance her work. Through her private practice, “Igniting Sparks” she works extensively with retreats in eco spirituality. Recently Margie published her latest ritual book entitled “Cosmic Sparks: Igniting a Re-enchantment with the Sacred.

Sally Neaves is an educator and facilitator of Earth literacy, the Universe Story and eco-spirituality programs and rituals based in Bathurst NSW. For the past 5 years she has developed programs for the Rahamim Ecology Centre and now serves as the Integral Ecology Animator for the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.

 

 

 

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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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Aurélie Rodzynek, advances Earth Law by uniting global advocacy, legal strategy, and community-led action. As Communications, Marketing, and Strategy Lead for the Earth Law Alliance, she works to embed Rights of Nature principles into governance systems worldwide. She has held leadership and coordination roles across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, guiding water governance initiatives, supporting international advocacy campaigns, and developing education programs on climate resilience and biodiversity. Leveraging her expertise, Aurélie has contributed to major UN-based gatherings and COP, promoting a holistic legal approach to protecting nature.

Holding an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a BA in International Relations, she works at the nexus of law, science, and community priorities to help restore ecological integrity and strengthen the relationship between people and the planet.

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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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Urwa Hameed, is a final year law student at Boston College Law School. She is a graduate of Boston College with degrees in International Studies and Political Science and has taught a course in Environmental Law at her alma mater. Urwa is the author of two published books, including her most recent, Hosting Earth: Facing the Climate Emergency (Routledge, 2024), which examines the environment through a philosophical and theological lens, framing humans as both hosts and guests of the Earth. Her work blends academic rigor with a deep commitment to exploring humanity’s moral and spiritual responsibilities toward the planet.

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